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Will all the hype and expectations piled onto the slender shoulders of Paul Seixas\u00a0be too much?<\/p>\n
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The cycling world will soon find out.<\/p>\n
The 19-year-old singlehandedly revived the hopes of an entire cycling-crazed nation with his promising rookie season and rekindled the Tour de France hopes of Europe\u2019s sleeping giant in France.<\/p>\n
His 2025 results sheet is enough to set any long-suffering French fan\u2019s heart fluttering: fifth at GP La Marseillaise, runner-up at Paris-Camembert, winner of the points jersey at the Tour of the Alps, eighth overall at the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9, and a dominant overall victory at the Tour de l\u2019Avenir.<\/p>\n
And all that came before a European championships podium alongside cycling gods Tadej Poga\u010dar and Remco Evenepoel.<\/p>\n
No wonder France is all goo-goo over their latest next big thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously when you follow these guys once, it gives you a lot of confidence,\u201d Seixas told AFP<\/em> during an altitude training camp this week in Spain.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing much younger than them, I tell myself that if last year at the end of the season, I managed to keep up with them, that means that if I progress further,\u201d he said, \u201cI will be able to close this gap.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s just the kind of cool panache that French fans have been waiting for, well, since the 1980s.<\/p>\n Seixas now carries the weight of expectations that have buried one generation of French riders after another, all chasing the same elusive prize: becoming the first French male Tour winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985.<\/p>\n Unlike many who came before him, Seixas appears to possess that je-ne-sais-quoi<\/em> quality that sets apart pure talent from pack-fill.<\/p>\n He\u2019s got the motor, the climbing and time trial chops, and a killer instinct.<\/p>\n Nearly everyone who\u2019s come close to him has said the same thing: Yes, he could win the Tour de France some day<\/em>.<\/p>\n But that was also said about nearly every rising French prospect who\u2019s come down the pipe ever since \u201cThe Badger\u201d hung up the cleats.<\/p>\n Generation after generation have raced and eventually succumbed to the weight of cycling\u2019s biggest unfulfilled destiny.<\/p>\n The challenge for Seixas is to try to put that hype and pressure to one side, and focus on racing.<\/p>\n After all, he\u2019s only 19.<\/p>\n The hype train has already left the station. Every French media \u2014 from L\u2019Equipe<\/em> to V\u00e9lo Magazine<\/em> to a phalanx of radio and TV reporters, YouTubers and Instagrammers \u2014 will follow his every move in 2026.<\/p>\n So much so, Decathlon CMA CGM has even brought on a full-time press attach\u00e9<\/em> to deal solely with requests about the French prodigy.<\/p>\n Everyone around Seixas is trying to protect their young protege.<\/p>\n From Decathlon staffers to teammates, everyone can see how the pressure is already building.<\/p>\n Entre neige et temp\u00eate, Paul Seixas pr\u00e9pare\u00a0sa deuxi\u00e8me saison pro dans des conditions extr\u00eames en Sierra Nevada : \u00ab\u00a0Si j’\u00e9tais l\u00e0 pour skier…\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/2JVz6gcuAr pic.twitter.com\/SjNjsNFx0I<\/p>\n \u2014 L’\u00c9quipe (@lequipe) February 9, 2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n Aurelien Paret-Peintre said he hopes everyone will give him room to improve and progress.<\/p>\n \u201cThe media are overdoing it, but he\u2019s a guy with exceptional talent,\u201d Paret-Peintre told Cyclism\u2019Actu<\/em>. \u201cTo do what he did at 19 last year, there\u2019s not much you can criticize about his physical maturity. He\u2019s already at the very top after just one year as a professional, so you have to give him time.\u201d<\/p>\n Decathlon\u2019s brain trust is walking cycling\u2019s ultimate tight rope. Team brass want to give Seixas space to grow, but they\u2019re piling on realistic opportunities.<\/p>\n For his sophomore season, it\u2019s about building on the momentum of 2025, and putting a few wins on the board. No one\u2019s talking yellow jerseys just yet.<\/p>\n Sport director S\u00e9bastien Joly said the team is putting circles around two major spring dates: Strade Bianche and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n That puts him on a collision course with Poga\u010dar and Evenepoel, and reflects how much confidence they have in their young steed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Tour of Algarve and the Ard\u00e8che Classic will be concrete opportunities to aim for victory,\u201d Joly said last month. \u201cPaul is entering his second season in the WorldTour, and the idea is to offer him a balanced schedule while allowing him to progress against the world\u2019s best.\u201d<\/p>\n Against the world\u2019s best means Seixas will be crossing swords with Poga\u010dar, Evenepoel and Co. all season long.<\/p>\n Is it too much, too soon?<\/p>\n Of course, the big hype will be around the Tour de France debut.<\/p>\n Everyone is waiting to see if Decathlon will take him to the Tour in 2026. Team brass said a decision won\u2019t be made until May.<\/p>\n \u201cIt would definitely be a dream, but it\u2019s not my goal this year,\u201d Seixas told AFP <\/em>this week. The Tour is, and will be, part of his racing future. The question is when the timing is right.<\/p>\n The central debate is whether going to the Tour too early could hurt more than help his progression.<\/p>\n Anything less than a spectacular debut might be framed as a disappointment. Yet history shows it can take several tries to crack the Tour code, meaning an early start could also have its upside.<\/p>\n Decathlon performance director Jean-Baptiste Quiclet talked to V\u00e9lo Magazine<\/em> about the quandary.<\/p>\n One option is to bring Seixas to the Tour without expectations. Let him race freely, jump into a few breaks, test himself in the time trial, and absorb the pressure, speed, and demands of the race that will define his future.<\/p>\n That is broadly the approach Groupama-FDJ took last year with France\u2019s other hyped prospect, Lenny Martinez.<\/p>\n The son of Olympic mountain bike gold medalist Miguel Martinez and the grandson of a Tour de France stage winner, \u201cMini Lenny\u201d did not impress in his Tour debut, and some were quick to write him off, so it is a double-edged sword.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are two opposing views. The first is somewhat similar to the \u2018Lenny Martinez project,’\u201d Quiclet said. \u201cDeveloping the skills to be a leader in a grand tour is a long continuum. And to achieve this, you need to aim for consistency, daily concentration and self-sacrifice, which builds you up from your first grand tour.\u201d<\/p>\n Quiclet said it will be a balancing act because right now Seixas is quite good at everything.<\/p>\n He can handle himself in one-days, monuments, classics, and the worlds \u2014 proven by his third behind Poga\u010dar and Evenepoel at the European championships \u2014 and he can race GC under the weight of expectations. His Tour de l\u2019Avenir win in 2025 confirmed that.<\/p>\n The team doesn\u2019t want to hold him back either.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to break the positive momentum, because with each passing month, we see a new Paul,\u201d Quiclet said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever Paul does, all eyes are on him,\u201d he said of a possible Tour start. \u201cWe won\u2019t be able to protect him from the pressure even if he rides in a free role. What matters is what he thinks is most relevant to his future quest for the general classification.\u201d<\/p>\n Seixas is the most complete French talent in years, bringing an all-around skillset that riders like Romain Bardet, David Gaudu, and Thibau Pinot never quite had, especially against the clock.<\/p>\n At the Dauphin\u00e9\u2019s race of truth last summer, he was 10th, more than 1 minute slower than TT king Evenepoel, but within a fistful of seconds of former world time trial champion Tobias Foss and Tour de France podium finisher Florian Lipowitz.<\/p>\n Seixas grew up in the northern suburbs of Lyon, with a mixed heritage featuring both Portuguese and Czech roots. Seixas is pure French, and he spent summer afternoons watching the Tour with his grand father, and learned about discipline from his father, a national-level karate champion.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I love is winning races. But even if I manage to achieve my dreams, that won\u2019t stop me. It just makes me want to push myself further in training to succeed in races,\u201d he told AFP<\/em>. \u201cAnd winning a race is still an indescribable, priceless feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s music to the ears of France\u2019s old guard, who\u2019ve sometimes slagged off subsequent generations as lacking the killer instinct or not putting in the hard work.<\/p>\n Groupama-FDJ boss Marc Madiot told CyclismActu<\/em> that Seixas is the prototype of a new generation of French riders who are taking the latest in science, training, nutrition, and coaching, and layering it on top of the deep French tradition.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you placed Bernard Hinault in today\u2019s generation, he would have had the same abilities as Paul Seixas,\u201d Groupama-FDJ boss Madiot said to CyclismActu<\/em>. \u201cThat gives you an idea of his level. Riders today are better prepared, better trained, better educated. They\u2019re ready to perform much younger.\u201d<\/p>\n Madiot \u2014 who Paris-Roubaix twice and raced alongside Hinault \u2014 said Seixas brings a winning attitude that he hasn\u2019t seen in years for a French rider.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has that attitude, that desire to win, that inner fire. That\u2019s what sets champions apart,\u201d he said. \u201cWe don\u2019t see that very often anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n It will always be about the Tour de France for Seixas, whether he likes it or not.<\/p>\n No French rider has won any grand tour since Laurent Jalabert won the 1995 Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a long, long wait for French fans.<\/p>\n Despite the incessant hype, Seixas is doing his best to keep his feet on the ground.<\/p>\n At just 19 \u2014 the age when most kids are entering university \u2014 he starts a new season as one of the central leaders at Decathlon CMA CGM.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been two months since I\u2019ve seen my parents or my girlfriend, but we know why we\u2019re doing it. These are the sacrifices we have to make for performance,\u201d he said from Sierra Nevada. \u201cWhen you come back down [from elevation], you really feel the difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Seixas opens the year at the Volta ao Algarve (February 18-22) and his second-season goals are realistic. He wants to post some strong and consistent early season results, and ideally knock down his first pro win.<\/p>\n At 19, it\u2019s an open road for Seixas.<\/p>\n France has been here before, and things can go either way.<\/p>\n If he\u2019s as good as everyone says he is, he could quickly rise to the top. Any setbacks or brutal reality checks, however, could see the dreams of Tour de France salvation sputter out again.<\/p>\n France must thread the needle with its next big thing: If they don\u2019t get it right, it could make that wait even longer.<\/p>\nNot killing the golden goose<\/h2>\n
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2259627163-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
Too much, too soon?<\/h2>\n
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2259567542-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
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Threading the needle of expectations<\/h2>\n
![\"Seixas\"](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2240428399-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
\n\u201cBut it makes me want to push myself in training to succeed in the race.\u201d<\/p>\nPacking the right stuff<\/h2>\n
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2219647698-720x463.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
No talk of yellow \u2013 yet<\/h2>\n
![\"European](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2239666089-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")