Paul Seixas isn\u2019t shirking away from looming clashes against Tadej Poga\u010dar and cycling\u2019s other established superstars.<\/p>\n
In fact, the French phenom says bring it on<\/em>.<\/p>\n The audacious Decathlon CMA CGM teenager wants to take it straight to world No. 1 this spring, not only to see where he stands but to try to disrupt the current power structure.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is impatience to give 100 percent. You have to win when everyone is there, it is the most important and rewarding for a racer who has a competitive spirit,\u201d he told Cyclismactu<\/em>. \u201cThe goal is not to take over when he (Poga\u010dar) is no longer there. The goal is to be able to beat him one day.\u201d<\/p>\n He won\u2019t have to wait long to try.<\/p>\n He\u2019s on a collision course with Poga\u010dar and the peloton\u2019s other \u201cbigs\u201d at Strade Bianche and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, two races that he will race for the first time in his sophomore pro season.<\/p>\n Of course, he\u2019s not saying it\u2019s going to happen this year, and the grand tours will be the ultimate proving ground later in his career.<\/p>\n For now, the classics offer an early stress test on where the would-be heir to the Poga\u010dar throne stands.<\/p>\n Unlike some rivals who appear to sidestep head-to-head showdowns, at least Seixas is bold enough to want to test the waters to see how far he can go against the peloton\u2019s best.<\/p>\n Belgian star Arnaud De Lie raised eyebrows last week when he said he is skipping Milan-San Remo because he said he has no chance against Poga\u010dar or Mathieu van der Poel.<\/p>\n That might change, but right now, Seixas isn\u2019t afraid to take it straight to Pogi and the peloton\u2019s heavies.<\/p>\n \u201cI still have to progress, because they are still a little above,\u201d he said of Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. \u201cNow I want to measure my progress compared to last year, when I was already able to confront them. I think if you\u2019re afraid, you\u2019ve already lost.<\/p>\n \u201cThe word \u2018fear\u2019 is too strong and does not mean what you feel at the beginning of a race. I would say more that there is respect, a lot of respect for these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n Those words could come back to haunt him, but at 19, Seixas knows he has nothing to lose.<\/p>\n He is riding the buzz from his spectacular season debut at the Volta ao Algarve, where he came away with his first pro victory with a stage win and hit second overall against a loaded field featuring Juan Ayuso, Oscar Onley, and Jo\u00e3o Almeida.<\/p>\n His grand tour debut remains undecided. There is an expectation that the team will shield him from the pressure-cooker of the Tour and steer him toward the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a instead.\u00a0 A decision won\u2019t be made until later this season.<\/p>\n The fact that his debut pro win came on the same mountain where Poga\u010dar took his first pro win in 2019 was not lost on the French media.<\/p>\n Seixas\u2019s every move is already front-page news in a cycling nation starved for a modern-era grand tour contender.<\/p>\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I\u2019m completely changing my status, but it\u2019s no longer a novelty that I\u2019m here. I\u2019m in front, and we expect it now,\u201d he said ahead of this weekend\u2019s Faun-Ard\u00e8che Classic on Saturday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real change is more than that I will no longer necessarily go to races to discover them, but try to make results, affirm my status, and continue to progress to get closer to the best.\u201d<\/p>\n Now he rolls into an ambitious spring without flinching from the pressure.<\/p>\n His rookie pro season saw him win the Avenir \u2014 a race Poga\u010dar also won \u2014 and hit the top 10 at the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 against Poga\u010dar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel, and Tour podium man Florian Lipowitz.<\/p>\n He has not yet come close to beating Poga\u010dar, but third at the European road championships behind the Slovenian and Evenepoel confirmed he packs both the ambition and the engine to try.<\/p>\n His spring calendar also features a crack at a first GC triumph at the brutal Itzulia Basque Country against Isaac del Toro, Ayuso, Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d, and Mikel Landa.<\/p>\n \u201cThe goal is to raise your arms as much as possible, but to raise your arms, you have to race against the best,\u201d he told the French media. \u201cThere was already a huge plateau in the Algarve, but it\u2019s these top riders who have the most impact on a race are the ones I have to race against, so I can know what I lack to reach the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n Poga\u010dar, as always, might have the final word.<\/p>\n Faun-Ard\u00e8che Classic (February 28) [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/french-sensation-seixas-refuses-to-wait-his-turn-in-pogacar-era\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/seixas.jpg”] Andrew Hood Updated February 27, 2026 03:10PM Paul Seixas isn\u2019t shirking away from looming clashes against Tadej Poga\u010dar and cycling\u2019s other established superstars. In fact, the French phenom says bring it on. The audacious Decathlon CMA CGM teenager wants to take it straight to world No. 1 this spring, not only to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1798330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1798330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1798330\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1798330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1798330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1798330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}No fear yet respect<\/h2>\n
![\"Paul](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2262495616-720x480.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")
\u2018I have to race against the best\u2019<\/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\")
Confirmed spring program for Paul Seixas:<\/h2>\n
\nStrade Bianche (March 7)
\nItzulia Basque Country (April 6)
\nLa Fl\u00e8che Wallonne (April 22)
\nLi\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge (April 26)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n