"A lot of things I've heard are false" - Paul Seixas tackles transfer rumours head on
CyclingWednesday, 08 July 2026 at 19:01
Paul Seixas' maiden Tour de France has begun this Sunday and after two months of a dormant discussion on his future contract, the rumours and have reports have returned in strong measure. Between never-before-seen salaries and a move to Visma with Jonas Vingegaard as a mentor; the Frenchman has a lot of rumours surrounding him. He has finally tackled them.
False information on Seixas rumours?
The 19-year old rider was highly regarded from a very young age, but with a French environment, high ambitions for the future and a growing budget, it was Decathlon who managed to sign him into his pro debut. His rise in the professional world of cycling has been meteoric.
His contract ends at the end of 2027, but he is highly regarded as a future Tour de France winner and already an absolute leader currently, despite his extreme young age when comparing to his rivals. There have been conversations between Seixas' agency and several teams as reported throughout the year, but nothing concrete and no deal yet in sight.
Pinarello - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team was reportedly offering a salary of €13 million in an offer made; UAE Team Emirates - XRG hosted Seixas' brother Nino in a winter training camp; and this week Team Visma | Lease a Bike CEO Richard Plugge argued that aside from the team's interest, the team could also offer up experience of a Tour de France winner such as Jonas Vingegaard to support him.
How does Seixas, at 19, handle all of this speculation? "I don't have social media (on my phone), so I don't see much," he said this afternoon in Pau to FranceTV following the stage. "A lot of things I've heard are false. When I saw some of the information, I thought, 'Really?'"
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No decision made for French star
There is no hiding that all the teams at the top of the sport are interested in signing Seixas, whose next contract is likely to be of a long duration and can mark the next years in pro cycling. It is a big decision, and Decathlon itself is well present in the mix with a budget that has grown into €40 million and is rumoured to be bringing in Pavel Sivakov and Ben O'Connor already into its mountain block in 2027.
"There's definitely a lot of excitement, I can't deny it... I still have a good year ahead of me with the team next year, to think about what I'm going to do with my future," Seixas assured.
It was expected that during the Tour de France, the country's biggest sporting event, that the topic would re-emerge as Seixas' future is one of the biggest storylines in development. But for the time being, he is happy in the position he stands: "And within the team, you can see that I'm well supported."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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