{"id":554924,"date":"2026-04-28T11:11:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/554924\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T11:11:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:11:13","slug":"we-dont-want-to-take-any-risks-at-this-stage-of-his-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/554924\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe don\u2019t want to take any risks at this stage of his career\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBut while the external noise continues to build, inside Decathlon CMA CGM Team<\/a> the response remains measured, with no decision yet taken on whether Seixas will start the Tour this summer.French cycling divided as pressure growsSeixas\u2019 rise has already split opinion among some of the most prominent French voices in the sport. Reigning Tour de France Femmes champion Pauline Ferrand-Prevot has leaned towards the idea that a rider in this kind of form should embrace the moment rather than overthink it<\/a>. \u201cI think when you have the form, you have to take advantage of it,\u201d she said after Fleche Wallonne, offering the clearest counterpoint to those urging caution.Hinault, by contrast, has warned against rushing Seixas into a first Tour de France this summer<\/a>. \u201cEveryone says he should ride the Tour… I\u2019m not convinced,\u201d he said, arguing that facing Pogacar across 23 days would be a very different test.<\/p>\n

That leaves Decathlon management stuck between two powerful arguments. One says Seixas may never get a better moment to ride the wave. The other warns that the Tour is not simply another race to add to a calendar.<\/p>\n

Liege has only intensified that debate. What was previously a question of potential is now backed by a performance against the very best in the sport, under the kind of pressure and intensity that few riders of his age have ever handled.<\/p>\n

\"Paul<\/p>\n

Seixas shakes hands with Tour de France boss\u00a0Christian Prudhomme<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to take any risks\u201dThe key message from within Decathlon is not about ability, but timing. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to take any risks at this stage of his career,\u201d Performance director Jean-Baptiste Quiclet says to RMC Sport.<\/a> \u201cOur only obsession is to ensure his development continues and that we don\u2019t take the risk of putting him under pressure at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

That approach reflects a plan set well before the current wave of attention, with the team determined not to deviate from the structure that has guided Seixas\u2019 progression through the junior ranks and into the WorldTour. \u201cWe\u2019ve ruled out making any decision before the roadmap we set back in October,\u201d he continued. \u201cWe want to apply the same method we\u2019ve followed since we started working with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

A decision still to come<\/p>\n

A final decision on Seixas\u2019 participation at the Tour de France is expected within the next one to two weeks, following internal discussions. In the meantime, he will step away briefly from racing after his Ardennes campaign before entering the next phase of evaluation.<\/p>\n

A more gradual build remains the likely pathway, even as external expectations continue to rise.<\/p>\n

Seixas\u2019 performance at Li\u00e8ge has changed the scale of the conversation around him. The pressure to deliver a new French contender for the Tour de France is no longer building, it is already here. And that is precisely the environment Decathlon are attempting to manage.<\/p>\n

Because if Seixas does line up at the Tour this summer, it will not just be as a talented young rider. It will be under a level of scrutiny that few in modern cycling have ever faced, let alone at such an early stage of their career.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" But while the external noise continues to build, inside Decathlon CMA CGM Team the response remains measured,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":554925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[135703,4985,117520,148686,112065,101,6549,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-554924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-bernard-hinault","tag-cycling","tag-decathlon-cma-cgm-team","tag-liege-bastogne-liege","tag-paul-seixas","tag-sports","tag-tour-de-france","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=554924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/554924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/554925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=554924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=554924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=554924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}