{"id":1954166,"date":"2026-05-24T05:35:20","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T02:35:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1954166"},"modified":"2026-05-24T05:35:20","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T02:35:20","slug":"decathlons-performance-director-reveals-what-makes-paul-seixas-so-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1954166","title":{"rendered":"Decathlon’s Performance Director Reveals What Makes Paul Seixas So Special"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2272629258.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Shane Stokes<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated May 24, 2026 02:16AM<\/div>\n
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Paul Seixas may be just 19 years of age but he\u2019s already underlined his formidable talent.<\/p>\n

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He was the only rider able to stay with Tadej Poga\u010dar when the world champion lit up La Redoute in Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge. Poga\u010dar dropped his usual atomic attack but this time he didn\u2019t blow everyone off his wheel; rather, a prodigious French teenager was able to stay with him and, once over the summit, even trade pulls with him.<\/p>\n

It was an oh la la<\/i> moment, but also confirmation of what most already knew: this kid is the real thing.<\/p>\n

So real, in fact, that his Decathlon CMA CGA team has taken the huge and risky move of selecting him for this year\u2019s Tour de France.<\/p>\n

Never mind that five-time French Tour legend Bernard Hinault advised caution about riding such a big race so soon. Never mind the danger of burnout.<\/p>\n

The team weighted everything up, considering risk versus reward and came to one conclusion: he is ready.<\/p>\n

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So what are the reasons behind that and, crucially, just why is such a young rider so good?<\/p>\n

Velo talked to Decathlon\u2019s Head of High Performance Stephen Barrett to get the lowdown on their high hope.<\/p>\n

So, who is Paul Seixas?<\/p>\n

\u2018He still has a big margin for improvement\u2019<\/h2>\n
\"Paul
Paul Seixas won La Fl\u00e8che Wallonnethis spring (Photo: Jasper Jacobs \/ Belga \/ AFP) <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve known about him in the team now for the last few years,\u201d said Barrett, an Irishman who has coached the team\u2019s riders for many years.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was with our U19 team, he was with our Conti team, and he moved up the WorldTour last year. He\u2019s an exceptional talent, but he\u2019s also an exceptional bike rider, and also a really just good guy who wants to learn, who wants to progress, who asks questions. He is eager to just absorb as much as he can.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe knew last year he took big steps every month, and what he has shown this year\u2026 He comes from a cyclocross background, so he doesn\u2019t have a huge amount of training volume, and that\u2019s now where we see he\u2019s making big steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some young riders have already been living like professionals from an early age, going to huge lengths to try to make the breakthrough.<\/p>\n

Seixas\u2019 ability isn\u2019t as a result of that, but rather comes despite a lack of very specific work early on. That\u2019s very much a plus as it means he had serious room for improvement, something that is becoming increasingly clear from his rapid rate of progress.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s starting to train more like a WorldTour rider,\u201d says Barrett. \u201cHe\u2019s increasing volume, he\u2019s increasing intensity. He\u2019s with us here now in Sierra Nevada for the preparation for the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat he showed in Strade Bianche was impressive. What he did in Pays Basque was impressive, what he did in Li\u00e8ge was very, very impressive. And he still has a big margin for improvement. We\u2019ll see where that brings him in the in the next few weeks, months, and years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018He\u2019s extremely durable\u2019<\/h2>\n
\"Finishing
Finishing second in Li\u00e8ge was a huge performance (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Junior world TT champion in 2024, Seixas moved up to Decathlon\u2019s WorldTour team the following year and settled right in. He took a number of second places in respected races, then wowed\u2014at 18\u2014with eighth overall in the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Seixas went on to win two stages plus the overall in the Tour de l\u2019Avenir and, to close out the season on a very encouraging note, finished on the podium with Tadej Poga\u010dar and Remco Evenepoel at the European road championships.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s very illuminating company.<\/p>\n

This year has built further on that. Second overall in the Volta ao Algarve was followed by a fine ride against Poga\u010dar in Strade Bianche, where he finished just one minute back. Even more impressive was the Itzulia Basque Country, where he won three stages and took the overall, beating last year\u2019s Tour de France podium finisher Florian Lipowitz by 2\u201930.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s just super talented. He\u2019s genetically a gifted athlete. He\u2019s got a big, big VO2 Max,\u201d says Barrett. \u201cAlready at such a young age, he\u2019s extremely durable.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got a massive resistance to fatigue. We often see that develop with the more experience you have, and the older you get, but he has that already. We saw him in the European Championships last year, when he came third behind Poggi and Remco.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven in Li\u00e8ge, he was producing his best numbers on La Redoute, which this year was a heavy, heavy high kilojoule race.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re taking things at a good pace\u2019<\/h2>\n
\"Following
Following a Tadej Poga\u010dar attack is a very difficult thing to do but Paul Seixas was able on La Redoute (Photo: Pool Bernard Papon \/ Belga Mag via AFP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Winner at Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, where he rode all of the other riders off his wheel on the Mur de Huy, Seixas ultimately finished second to Poga\u010dar in Li\u00e8ge. He held onto him on La Redoute and caused Poga\u010dar real concern as a result.<\/p>\n

The Slovenian said after the race that he had almost fully resigned himself to a two-up sprint to the line, but finally managed to gap the French rider with a huge last-gasp acceleration on the C\u00f4te de la Roche-aux-Faucons.<\/p>\n

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Seixas finished a mere 45 seconds behind at the finish.<\/p>\n

Few riders have caused Poga\u010dar to doubt himself, but this talented 19 year old kid has managed to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the whole package,\u201d said Barrett. \u201cHe can descend, he can time trial, he can climb. So it\u2019s exciting working with him and seeing him see him develop and improve in the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s exciting for everybody to see where he can go. So we\u2019re taking things at a at a good pace. We don\u2019t go too fast, we don\u2019t go too slow. He\u2019s capable of doing a lot of work, so we give him the work to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not too cautious, but at the same time we\u2019re ensuring he makes steps in the best and the most effective way.\u201d<\/p>\n

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To Tour or not to Tour?<\/h2>\n
\"Paul
Paul Seixas may have a lot of weight on his shoulders this summer (Photo: Dario Belingheri\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That latter point is, of course, something people will debate. There have been countless young talents in cycling who have been feted as future Tour winners but who have ultimately never delivered on the hype.<\/p>\n

Belgian has had more than a fair share of those, with countless rides deemed the next Eddy Merckx. And so too France, with the pressure of finally delivering France\u2019s first Tour win since Hinault back in 1985 snuffling out more than one hopeful.<\/p>\n

In that light putting a 19 year old into the Tour could expose them to massive physical and psychological pressure.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s even more so the case for a French rider on a French team, and particularly when they have never done a grand tour before.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, it was a big discussion point within the team,\u201d Barrett confirmed, \u201cif it was the right thing to do, or not. If you\u2019re good enough, you\u2019re old enough.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think originally we thought that he might do a different Grand Tour, he might do a Vuelta. But when you see his progression, I think it would be remiss of us not expose him to this type of race.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know he\u2019s physically capable of doing it, we know what he can do, it is only going to make him better. But the decision didn\u2019t come lightly. It was discussed a lot between a lot of different people.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt can only be good for him. If it goes well, we can progress. Either way, he will learn something about himself and about what he needs to do to improve as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

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All part of the learning curve and, as French fans will hope, all part of the journey to eventually pummel the likes of Poga\u010dar and to soar to the top of the sport.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Shane Stokes<\/span><\/div>\n

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Updated May 24, 2026 02:16AM<\/div>\n
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[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/velo.outsideonline.com\/road\/road-racing\/why-paul-seixas-so-darn-good\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/GettyImages-2272629258.jpg”] Shane Stokes Updated May 24, 2026 02:16AM Paul Seixas may be just 19 years of age but he\u2019s already underlined his formidable talent. He was the only rider able to stay with Tadej Poga\u010dar when the world champion lit up La Redoute in Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge. Poga\u010dar dropped his usual atomic attack but this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[71],"class_list":["post-1954166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954166","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=1954166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1954166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1954166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1954166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1954166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}