It was the most hotly-anticipated Tour de France debut in decades, but teenage French sensation Paul Seixas was just in his “bubble”. The 19-year-old talent is France’s greatest hope to end their 41-year wait for a home Tour winner, and join the likes of record five-time victors Jacques Anquetil and Bernard Hinault in claiming the yellow jersey at the Grand Boucle. But while the whole country waited with baited breath for his first impressions of the Tour after Saturday’s opening stage in Barcelona, Seixas seemed
almost nonplussed by the fuss. “Of course it was great but at the end of the day, it’s a time-trial, we’re really in our bubble, so it’s strange,” he said. Seixas put in a strong finish on the final Montjuic climb to the 19.6km team time-trial to give his Decathlon CMA CGM outfit sixth place on the day. It left him 10th overall, 39 seconds behind leader Jonas Vingegaard, and 27sec off reigning champion Tadej Pogacar. “We did well to limit the damage today, I’m
happy with how it felt,” Seixas said. At just 19 years of age, Seixas displays a remarkable maturity, and also an ability to block out the frenzy around him. While warming down on the rollers outside his Decathlon CMA CGM team’s bus after the time-trial, he was already looking forward to what was to come in the next few days – notably the first road stage on Sunday and the first mountainous stage on Friday. “Tomorrow will be a great stage so of course I’m
going to see how the first road stage goes, to feel how it is ridden, to see the fans,” he said. “There were already a lot of fans today, so that’s nice.” However, he knows where he is going to come into his own in this race. “I can’t wait for it to really get going in the mountains,” Seixas said. “I’m sure everyone is in top form – peak form. I think it’s going to be a great battle.” ‘UNIQUE SOUNDING BOARD’ Seixas is
seemingly a man in a hurry – an ironic contrast to the stunning Sagrada Familia church he rode past on Saturday, which has been under construction since 1882. At 19, he has far outstripped the achievements of world champion Pogacar at the same age, even bettering those of Remco Evenepoel, the Olympic champion. He has won both a stage race and a one-day classic at World Tour level this year. Evenepoel won a classic at 19 but did not claim a World Tour stage race
until the following year. Pogacar was 20 before he won a stage race at that level and 22 when he claimed his first major classic. Seixas took everything in his stride after the opening stage, signing autographs but refusing all requests for a photograph. “He’s discovering the Tour, so it’s a unique sounding board – there is a lot of press, a lot of fans,” said his Decathlon sporting director Julien Jurdie. The team have prepared for the media and fan circus that will surround
him for the next three weeks. But Jurdie has no qualms that Seixas can handle it. “He’s a rider who manages his emotions very well, we’re here to protect him,” said Jurdie, who is used to such situations. He went through great excitement when Romain Bardet was second in 2016 and third a year later, or when Jean-Christophe Peraud finished second in 2014. Neither of them ever managed to end France’s long Tour drought, though. “With Paul, we know that anything can happen,” he added.
Amid all the clamour, Seixas spared a thought for his grandparents, who were instrumental in introducing him to cycling and whose greatest dream was to see him compete at the Tour. “Of course it was something really special for my grandparents,” Seixas said of his debut. “I think they were watching the TV today. “I saw them at the start of the week, they were really happy – I hope they will enjoy the Tour de France.”
Paul Seixas, Tour de France, Montjuic, team time-trial, Decathlon CMA CGM, Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, Sagrada Familia, Julien Jurdie