37,000 vertical meters in 12 days: Paul Seixas drops mind-boggling Strava stats ahead of Tour debut

While the peloton is turning itself inside out in the brutal final week of the Giro d'Italia, French prodigy Paul Seixas is quietly constructing a launchpad for his historic Tour de France debut. The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM sensation has been turning heads all spring with his racing, but his recent training data on Strava proves he is totally ready for the challenge in France.

The cycling world debated whether throwing a 19-year-old into the high-pressure cooker of a home Tour de France was a wise move, but Decathlon CMA CGM has backed their young star completely.

To prepare for the biggest month of his life (so far), Seixas has been hammering the climbs at an altitude training camp alongside most of the teammates that should be with him at the Tour de France: Leo Bisiaux, Matthew Riccitello, Nicolas Prodhomme, Aurélien Paret-Peintre and Stefan Bissegger.

If anyone thought the teenager might ease into the volume required for a three-week race, his Strava uploaded quickly corrected that assumption. Over a punishing 12-day training block, Seixas accumulated around 1,500 kilometers with a total elevation gain of 37,000 meters.

To understand just how ridiculous 37,000 vertical meters in 12 days is, consider this: Jonas Vingegaard will climb roughly 49,000 vertical meters over the entire three weeks of the Giro d'Italia - spread out over nearly double the number of days Seixas took to hit his training total.

Before Seixas can roll down the ramp at the Tour de France, his ultimate dress rehearsal will take place at the Tour Auvergne - Rhône - Alpes (the prestigious French stage race formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné).

Running from June 7 to June 14, the race will serve as a definitive test for the young Frenchman. He won't have the luxury of hiding in the wheels either, as he is set to lock horns with other young talents who are also looking to stake their claim before July, such as Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso.

Seixas's racing CV over the last year is staggering for a teenager. At just 18, he secured eighth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné, won the Tour de l’Avenir, and shared a European Championship podium with Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel. This season, he followed up a second-place finish at the Volta ao Algarve by destroying the field at the Itzulia Basque Country, winning three stages and taking the overall title by 2:30 over Florian Lipowitz.