"They both have this relaxed, fun approach to cycling": Pavel Sivakov compares Paul Seixas to Tadej Pogacar

In the language of numbers, Pavel Sivakov's 2025 season wasn't all that much worse than the year prior, but the Frenchman with Russian origins will not look back at the past year with much pride. While his season was framed with more than solid performances both at the beginning and towards the end, the 28-year-old didn't deliver at the races that mattered the most to him, something he hopes to not allow to happen again in 2026.

"It was a mixed season," Sivakov puts it bluntly in an interview with Cyclism'Actu. "I started really well. Then I got sick during the last two days of the Ruta del Sol. And there you have it, I was super motivated to keep going, but I fell into this state of chronic fatigue and was really trying to get back in shape each time without giving myself enough time to recover."

As a result, Sivakov was under the weather the entire spring and summer, only coming to his best self again for the autumn block of racing with second places at GP Quebec and Giro del Veneto and a top-10 finish at the European Championships. "I had some good results and finished quite well," he concluded on the topic.

His lacking form particularly annoyed Sivakov at the Tour de France where he felt like he couldn't be much help to leader Tadej Pogacar: "It's more about the pressure to perform on my part. That's normal; I had higher expectations than I actually achieved. Of course, alongside Tadej, you have to be at your best. There's pressure, but that pressure is on him. I wasn't there, but luckily, we have such a strong team that they kind of saved the day for me."

Sivakov's current contract at UAE Team Emirates - XRG runs out at the end of 2026. The former rider of INEOS Grenadiers shouldn't have problems finding a team for 2027, but maybe he won't have to as his relationship at UAE seems to be quite good:

"The team is happy, and I'm happy within the team too. Time will tell. For the moment, nothing is finalized, nothing is signed, but we're in discussions and I think things are going very well on both sides," he said about contract extension talks.

Although Sivakov has not always represented France, he's now a full-fledged member of the national team where the young gun Paul Seixas is shaping up to be one of French main leaders in years to come. That was already evident at the European Championships where the 19-year-old climbed onto the final podium, losing only to phenomenons Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. In that race, Sivakov was France's second best finisher in 8th place.

The comparison of Seixas and Pogacar is then on the agenda and Sivakov is the piece of puzzle that can connect the two men as he got to race with both this year.

"I think they both have this relaxed, fun approach to cycling. They really enjoy themselves," Sivakov points out the main similarity. "Sometimes you see young riders who are incredibly meticulous, weighing every gram of dough. Paul, on the other hand, is extremely professional and intelligent, but he also enjoys himself and loves to race, loves to compete, and doesn't take himself too seriously."