Seixas Pushes Pogačar Deeper — But Can’t Break Him Yet

Tadej Pogačar won Liège-Bastogne-Liège. That part didn’t change.

What did change Sunday was how deep Pogačar had to go to win.

The 19-year-old French phenom Paul Seixas went toe to toe with Pogačar and never flinched.

“It was my first Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I really wanted to give everything to fight for the win,” Seixas said. “Even if Tadej was stronger, I wasn’t far off.”

Unlike at Strade Bianche in March, where he lost contact at the first real acceleration, Seixas held Pogačar’s wheel on La Redoute, Pogi’s traditional launchpad.

And for once in a hilly monument in quite awhile, Pogačar looked back, and saw someone still there.

Seixas finally succumbed on Roche-aux-Faucons, losing contact at 15km to go as Pogačar soloed home to a third monument win this spring.

King Pogi still rules, but the peloton sees a new, impatient prince-in-waiting with the motor to prove it.

“No, I wasn’t surprised. I was impressed and amazed to see how good he is,” Pogačar said of Seixas. “Hats off to Paul. He rode a fantastic race. For me, it was one of the toughest Redoute races I’ve done so far. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a stronger rider than him.”

The takeaway was clear: Seixas is eight years younger than Pogačar, and represents the first real threat from a new wave of talent.

Seixas delivers on hype

The hype was in overdrive coming into La Doyenne, and it didn’t faze Seixas.

Insiders say he’s preternaturally calm for a 19-year-old, and he proved again Sunday that he’s a pure racer. Anything less would have been a major letdown for newly inspired French fans.

Despite pre-race suggestions from Remco Evenepoel that Seixas might be in for a shock in the near-six-hour distance, Decathlon CMA CGM positioned him perfectly for the decisive stampede up La Redoute.

“At Strade Bianche, I wasn’t able to follow his first attack,” Seixas said. “To be able to hang on today, that’s already huge. There’s still a lot of work to do. There are steps to take.

“My vision was blurry. I was absolutely exhausted on La Redoute. The speed we were going was mind-blowing.”

French media swarmed him after the race. Barely into his first full season in the WorldTour, he’s already at the center of a media firestorm.

And to beat Pogačar mano-a-mano?

“Power, that seems obvious. But it’s about progress,” Seixas said. “You can see the level he’s at. It’s already extremely difficult to keep up with him. To be able to hang on all the way to Roche-aux-Faucons, that’s already a big step.

“Now that I’ve finished second, my next ambition will be to win a monument,” he said. “You have to be ambitious in life.”

Pogačar has already beaten down one wave of riders, first with Primož Roglič and then Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, and Evenepoel of today’s golden generation.

A new rival could be just what Pogačar needs to keep things fresh.

Pogačar is impressed — and pushed

Before anyone gets carried away, Pogačar still won the race all alone in the photo.

He delivered. He always does. His win ratio over the past 48 months is beyond Merckxian.

What was different about Sunday is that Seixas is rising just as Pogačar hits his peak.

Seixas’ arrival comes at an interesting moment for the Slovenian, who is already facing questions about fatigue, burnout, and a shrinking list of milestones left to conquer.

Pogačar even admitted he was thinking the race could have come down to a sprint after Seixas was hanging tough so deep Sunday.

“Seeing Paul at such a high level at 19 motivates everyone to keep improving. He’s 19, and normally your body is at its best between 26 and 29-30,” Pogačar said. “I’m not getting any younger. We’re going to keep working hard, fighting in the coming years to win as much as possible until he destroys everyone.”

The two shared words at the finish, with Pogačar waiting at the line to congratulate him — not to pass on the baton.

“We both said it was a very tough day,” Seixas said. “He was glad to know it had hurt me because it had hurt him too.”

At 27, Pogačar is zeroing in on perfection, with four wins in five starts in 2026. Only a touched-by-God Van Aert denied him at Paris-Roubaix.

Arguably the greatest of all time is finally facing a next-generation rival putting a clear target on his back.

That’s just the kind of spice the sport needs to quiet a grumbling chorus that Pogačar’s dominance is somehow boring for the sport.

And with buzz around the Tour de France growing by the day, Seixas shifted from a promising rider to a real-time challenger capable of pushing the world No. 1 — and dropping everyone else.