{"id":1969152,"date":"2026-06-02T08:28:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T05:28:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1969152"},"modified":"2026-06-02T08:28:51","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T05:28:51","slug":"this-19-year-old-wants-to-beat-pogacar-at-the-tour-hes-going-training-crazy-to-make-it-happen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1969152","title":{"rendered":"This 19-Year-Old Wants to Beat Poga\u010dar at the Tour. He’s Going Training Crazy to Make it Happen"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated June 2, 2026 07:20AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Paul Seixas wants to beat Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France, and he\u2019s climbing every mountain he can find to make it happen.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old wunderkind just completed a ridiculous 16-day altitude camp that accumulated the same elevation gain as a grand tour.<\/p>\n

With a total of 1,900km of riding and 48,000m climbing in 63 hours, it\u2019s a bonkers training block that will louden the purists who are wailing that \u201cthe kid\u2019s too young.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a reminder, Seixas will be the youngest rider to start the Tour de France in 89 years when he lines up alongside Pogi, Jonas, and Remco Evenepoel in Barcelona on July 4.<\/p>\n

Not that he or Decathlon CMA-CGM thinks age matters, of course.<\/p>\n

Seixas is gunning for King Pog, no matter what the stuffy old-schoolers say.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m only 19, but as I\u2019ve already said, age is neither a hindrance nor an excuse. It\u2019s not my mindset or my vision of cycling to line up for the Tour de France simply to gain experience,\u201d Seixas said when he confirmed he\u2019ll debut this summer at the Tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will be aiming for the best possible overall ranking.\u201d<\/p>\n

Preparing for Poga\u010dar at the Dauphin\u00e9<\/h2>\n
Seixas came close to Poga\u010dar in spring. The Frenchman will be hoping to push him further in the summer.<\/span> (Photo: Gruber Images )<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seixas parachuted down from Sierra Nevada on Friday and immediately spent two days reconning key Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9an stages of the Tour de France. He took a Strava KOM on the mythical Col du Tourmalet to put a few points on his aura.<\/p>\n

Seixas is clearly leaving no stone unturned \u2013 and no kilometer unridden \u2013 \u00a0to be ready for the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

Now he\u2019s got to put his Poga\u010dar-slaying capacity to the test at the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 (now called the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes), which starts Sunday.<\/p>\n

Seixas has gotten so good in the past 12 months that he\u2019ll start the prestigious 8-day race as super-favorite.<\/p>\n

Frustratingly \u2013 or perhaps tantalizingly \u2013 none of Seixas\u2019 anticipated rivals for the TDF will be racing.<\/p>\n

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Vinegaard is polishing his Trofeo Senza Fine. Poga\u010dar will be dynasty-building one week later in Suisse. Evenepoel is just training his ass off.<\/p>\n

Instead, Isaac del Toro, Joao Almeida, and Juan Ayuso will be Seixas\u2019 closest competition in the Rh\u00f4nes-Alpes.<\/p>\n

The Frenchman intends to torch them all.<\/p>\n

For Seixas, winning a WorldTour race in his very own back yard would mean everything.<\/p>\n

But for \u201cBig Seixas\u201d and his Decathlon entourage, the Dauphin\u00e9 is more valuable as a benchmarking session.<\/p>\n

The 19-year-old will return to altitude after the Dauphin\u00e9 to smooth out any wrinkles and apply the finishing touches to his Pog-slaying form.<\/p>\n

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Pushing the limits of teen physiology \u2013 for all to see<\/h2>\n
Seixas went into overdrive in his training camp on Sierra Nevada. <\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tour de France contenders typically keep their training efforts even more secret than their tire pressure \u2013 and they certainly don\u2019t stick it all on Strava.<\/p>\n

But Seixas is prime Gen-Z.<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar and the Dhiram-slingers in Abu Dhabi who are trying to sign him must have bookmarked his Strava profile, because his workouts (albeit without power data) are all there to see.<\/p>\n

One thing that\u2019s clear from Seixas\u2019 Strava feed?<\/p>\n

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The boy loves riding his bike.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s notorious for channeling all his teen energy into a super-high-volume regimen that would leave many frayed at the seams.<\/p>\n

He famously finished his breakout 2025 season with a 320km, 12-hour training ride that totalled more than 8,000m of high Alpine climbing.<\/p>\n

A few months later, Seixas laid the foundation for his phenomenal start to 2026 by spending two months away from his family and went full \u201cmonk mode\u201d in a snowed-in winter training camp atop the Spanish Sierra.<\/p>\n

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Seixas rides his own grand tour in XL altitude camp<\/h2>\n

Seixas turned his training volume from 11 to 12 in his first of two pre-Tour de France training camps.<\/p>\n

He accumulated around 48,000m of elevation gain into 63 hours of training in just 16 days last month.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s only a few meters shy of what Vingegaard just climbed in three weeks at the Giro d\u2019Italia, but in 75 percent of the time.<\/p>\n

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At 1,900km, the total distance of the camp was way short of a typical grand tour (the Giro was around 3,500km, for example), but that makes Seixas\u2019 climbing: distance ratio all the more devastating.<\/p>\n

There were no days off the bike for the WorldTour sophomore \u2013 four 60-90 minute recovery rides were the most reprieve his saddle-weary backside was allowed.<\/p>\n

Two of those easy days came after crushing seven-hour workouts designed to harden the edges ahead of Tour de France \u201cqueen stages\u201d across the Vosges and the roof of the Alps.<\/p>\n

Oh, and don\u2019t forget the hours of strength training, mobility, and activations the baby-face Frenchman will have worked through in Sierra.<\/p>\n

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Seixas training camp and Tour de France recons<\/h3>\n
\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Distance (km)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nElevation (m+)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\nTime (hh:mm)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 13<\/span><\/td>\nDay 1<\/span><\/td>\n68<\/span><\/td>\n2,135<\/span><\/td>\n02:35<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 14<\/span><\/td>\nDay 2<\/span><\/td>\n106<\/span><\/td>\n2,793<\/span><\/td>\n03:34<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 15<\/span><\/td>\nDay 3<\/span><\/td>\n102<\/span><\/td>\n3,348<\/span><\/td>\n04:00<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 16<\/span><\/td>\nDay 4<\/span><\/td>\n168<\/span><\/td>\n3,036<\/span><\/td>\n04:59<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 17<\/span><\/td>\nDay 5<\/span><\/td>\n24<\/span><\/td>\n731<\/span><\/td>\n01:03<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 18<\/span><\/td>\nDay 6<\/span><\/td>\n150<\/span><\/td>\n2,633<\/span><\/td>\n04:13<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 19<\/span><\/td>\nDay 7<\/span><\/td>\n162<\/span><\/td>\n4,885<\/span><\/td>\n05:35<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 20<\/span><\/td>\nDay 8<\/span><\/td>\n160<\/span><\/td>\n3,239<\/span><\/td>\n05:06<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 21<\/span><\/td>\nDay 9<\/span><\/td>\n26<\/span><\/td>\n895<\/span><\/td>\n01:24<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 22<\/span><\/td>\nDay 10<\/span><\/td>\n109<\/span><\/td>\n3,614<\/span><\/td>\n04:03<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 23<\/span><\/td>\nDay 11<\/span><\/td>\n232<\/span><\/td>\n5,092<\/span><\/td>\n07:05<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 24<\/span><\/td>\nDay 12<\/span><\/td>\n29<\/span><\/td>\n968<\/span><\/td>\n01:29<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 25<\/span><\/td>\nDay 13<\/span><\/td>\n155<\/span><\/td>\n3,749<\/span><\/td>\n05:09<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 26<\/span><\/td>\nDay 14<\/span><\/td>\n198<\/span><\/td>\n6,255<\/span><\/td>\n06:47<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 27<\/span><\/td>\nDay 15<\/span><\/td>\n27<\/span><\/td>\n907<\/span><\/td>\n01:21<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 28<\/span><\/td>\nDay 16<\/span><\/td>\n168<\/span><\/td>\n3469<\/span><\/td>\n05:01<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Training Camp Totals<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n1,884<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n47,749<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n63:24<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 29<\/span><\/td>\nDay off \/ travel<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 30<\/span><\/td>\nRecon 1<\/span><\/td>\n137<\/span><\/td>\n4183<\/span><\/td>\n04:43<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
May 31<\/span><\/td>\nRecon 2<\/span><\/td>\n91<\/span><\/td>\n2895<\/span><\/td>\n03:16<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Seixas\u2019 recent training camp was extreme, even by regular WorldTour standards.<\/p>\n

By \u201cregular\u201d 19-year-old standards, it\u2019s fully insane.<\/p>\n

For comparison, Matteo Jorgenson rode 2,100km and climbed 52,000m across 21 days (78 hours of riding) in his camp last May with Visma-Lease a Bike.<\/p>\n

Seixas did similar vert and distance as Jorgenson, but five days faster \u2013 and six years younger.<\/p>\n

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If there was ever a way for Seixas to be ready for by far the longest race of his career, he just put himself through it in Sierra Nevada.<\/p>\n

The question on all our lips: Is that enough to beat four-time champion Poga\u010dar and grand tour grand-slammer Vingegaard at their own game?<\/p>\n

Too much too young?<\/h2>\n
\"Seixas
Seixas has been training like a crazyman since winter.<\/span> (Photo: homas COEX \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Seixas blazed a trail through spring.<\/p>\n

He became the first Frenchman to win a WorldTour stage race since 2007 when he dominated Itzulia Basque Country. He put more pressure on Poga\u010dar at Strade Bianche and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge than his elder rivals could muster.<\/p>\n

Seixas has been so impressive that Decathlon CMA CGM could hardly not<\/em> send him to the Tour de France for his very first grand tour.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a strategy that contravenes one of the most ancient \u201crules\u201d of cycling \u2013 don\u2019t blood a grand tour rookie at the Tour de France. Especially not if they\u2019re 19. Even more so when everyone in France will be praying you win the thing and end a painful 41-year drought.<\/p>\n

Speaking recently to Velo\u2019s<\/em> Shane Stokes, Decathlon CMA-CGM head of performance Stephen Barrett batted away the chorus of concern about overtraining and burnout.<\/p>\n

In the modern era of precision training and recovery, teams prescribe training based on ability and durability rather than age.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019re taking things at a good pace,\u201d Barrett told Velo<\/em>. \u201cWe 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

Seixas\u2019 Sierra Nevada bootcamp was designed to ensure age doesn\u2019t matter when he goes chasing the yellow jersey on debut at Le Tour.<\/em><\/p>\n

Some might say it\u2019s too much, too young.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll find out if they\u2019re right in July when Seixas is climbing Alpe d\u2019Huez, the final mountain of the Tour.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Jim Cotton<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Updated June 2, 2026 07:20AM<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/1.jpg”] Jim Cotton Updated June 2, 2026 07:20AM Paul Seixas wants to beat Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jonas Vingegaard at the Tour de France, and he\u2019s climbing every mountain he can find to make it happen. The 19-year-old wunderkind just completed a ridiculous 16-day altitude camp that accumulated the same elevation gain as a […]<\/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-1969152","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\/1969152","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=1969152"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1969152\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1969152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1969152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1969152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}