Paul Seixas will race the 2026 Tour de France
/ EFE
Alberto Teruel
Barcelona
Paul Seixas is gearing up for the biggest challenge of his fledgling career. Team Decathlon CMA CGM has confirmed that its rising star will be part of the 2026 Tour de France lineup – an announcement that has sparked immense excitement among French fans and the wider cycling world, who see the Lyon native as a potential future winner of the Grand Boucle.
The initial plan for Decathlon CMA CGM, long aware of the raw talent in its ranks, was to avoid rushing the youngster’s development. Seixas had his entire career ahead to compete for the prestigious yellow jersey, and at the start of the year, it seemed unlikely that his highly anticipated debut would happen in this edition. However, his explosive emergence on the WorldTour stage has upended all those plans.
Seixas’ performances over recent months have inevitably drawn comparisons with Bernard Hinault, the last French rider to win the Tour. It’s worth remembering that Seixas has just turned 19 and is only beginning to find his feet in the professional peloton, yet expectations surrounding his performance are sky-high.
Paul Seixas, winner of the 2026 Itzulia
/ EFE
Despite the necessary calls for caution, Seixas has not hesitated to embrace responsibility. In his first comments since the news broke, the Frenchman made clear he intends to make a major impact at the 2026 Tour de France:
“It’s not in my mindset to go to the Tour just to discover the race. I’ll try for the best possible result in the overall classification,” said Seixas, who instantly becomes one of the main threats to Tadej Pogacar’s bid for a fifth victory in a race the Slovenian has dominated in recent years.
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