New phenomenon of French cycling, Paul Seixas received a response after opening the door to participation in the next Tour de France.
French cycling has a gem in its ranks. Promised for a great future, Paul Seixas made an impression in his first professional season. Eighth and seventh in the Dauphiné and the Tour of Lombardy, the 19-year-old rider also won two medals with the Blues (bronze in the road race at the European Championships and silver in the team time trial in the mixed relay at the Worlds).
Also winner of the Tour de l’Avenir, Paul Seixas now dreams of Tour de France. He recently opened the door to participation next year. “ But whether it’s in 2026, 2027 or later, the long-term ambition remains the same… My dream would be to win the Tour de France, I’ve already said it », he proclaimed on the set of Tout le Sport, on France Télévisions.
For his part, Bernard Thévenet would prefer that the rider of the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale team take his time and not expose himself from 2026 on the Grande Boucle. The double winner of the Tour de France (in 1975 and 1977) believes that he would do better to get tougher on the Giro or the Vuelta before launching into the deep end of the Tour.
“It would be a mistake to launch it on the Tour next year”
“ The French will come in two or three years I think. For now, they are still too young. We have very, very good runners in France, but they are still young. Particularly Paul Seixas, I think it would be a mistake to launch him on the Tour next year. We have time, we have to know how to bide our time and not go too early. It is preferable to put him in the Vuelta or the Giro, where he will be less exposed to the media and will be able to express himself more easily than in the Tour de France. “, judged Thévenet to the Quotidien du Sport, before discussing this new French generation which suggests great things for the future.
“ We have a fabulous generation, but unfortunately, we don’t talk about it enoughhe lamented. We have a boy like Paul Magnier for example, who won 19 races. How many French people have done this? We have a boy like Lenny Martinez… He won’t win the Tour de France in my opinion, but he will be a little stronger next year and he can win a stage. We have a great generation, but in France, we wait for them to do something in the Tour. But the Tour de France is the biggest race in the world, it’s not just that. »
