BREAKING: Paul Seixas abandons Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes as brutal crash cuts short key Tour de France test
Cycling
Paul Seixas has abandoned the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on the final stage, with the Decathlon CMA CGM Team teenager’s key Tour de France test cut short one day after his heavy crash on the road to the Grand Colombier.
The 19-year-old started stage 8 in sixth place overall, 1:54 behind race leader Luke Tuckwell, after fighting through a dramatic stage 7 chase following a high-speed fall on a descent.
Seixas was able to remount and limit his losses on Saturday, but the damage from that crash quickly became clear on Sunday’s decisive mountain stage to Plateau de Solaison.
Seixas spent the early part of the stage near the back of the peloton, then called for assistance from the medical car as the race moved through the opening climbs. Moments later, he lost contact with the bunch before stepping off the race.
Seixas’ Tour build-up hit by final-stage abandon
Seixas’ withdrawal removes one of the biggest storylines from the final day. He had begun the stage still within range of a high overall finish, with Decathlon also placing Leo Bisiaux and Valentin Paret-Peintre in the early break as the race opened aggressively on the Col du Pre.
Those hopes faded quickly. Seixas had already been bloodied and scratched after Saturday’s crash, when he chased for around 60 kilometres and still managed to finish seventh on the stage won by Isaac del Toro.
The abandon now shifts the focus from his GC position to his recovery before the Tour de France. Seixas has been one of the standout young riders of the week and arrived at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with major attention on his climbing form, but the final weekend turned sharply after his stage 7 crash.
His withdrawal came before the decisive climbs of the final stage had fully unfolded, leaving Decathlon without their main GC card on a day built for one last mountain battle.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He lives in Monaco
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - It's also highly significant for Lorenzo Finn as he won there last year. Also Mateo Ramírez and Henrique Bravo if they goRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- This is a phenomenal course design. I do wish that they'd stretch these tours for the women to at least 2 weeks.RidesHills03-11-2026
- This is an amazing route, honestly. Let's hope that it attracts riders to make it a compelling and competitive race. Side bar amusement: going to Slovenia and passing pretty close to Pogačar's house. I wonder if they were tempting him to get all 3 jerseys at once after winning the Tour and Vuelta. After all, only a very few have ever had all three at the same time (Froome being the last).RidesHills03-11-2026
- He was a child two years agoRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughieRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- Let Torito have a shot at itRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route, much more exciting than the Tour de France. Monte Livata is an interesting one, because they experimented with it at the 2026 Baby Giro, and it was fantastic. 4 km at 10%, then 10 km at 6.5% made for a great spectacle. The stage 16 is horrible. Montaner is also used in the U23s, in Giro del BelvedereRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- I remember when Mark went through that. He was really experiencing lows and thought about quiting many times. It took him a long time to recover. I, like many others were overjoyed when he came back. I hope Lafay has been tested. I wish him the best.Paggss03-11-2026
- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
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❌ Abandon de Paul Seixas. Tombé hier, le leader de @decathloncmacgm quitte la route du Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Paul Seixas abandons the race. After crashing yesterday, the @decathloncmacgm leader is forced to leave the #TourAuvergneRhoneAlpes 🚑
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