"He had a great Dauphiné, but we have to see how he fares" - Bernard Hinault warns about excessive Paul Seixas hype

The reputation of Paul Seixas as the rising French GC star was underlined by the 18-year-old's debut WorldTour GC attempt. At the highly contested Criterium du Dauphiné with the biggest stars of today at the start, Seixas fought commendably to finish 8th overall. And if it weren't for a crash on Mont Cenis, even more could've been possible...

Then there's no surprise the excitement of French fans is through the roof as it seems that the young prodigy could finally become a successor to the last Frenhc Tour de France winner Bernard Hinault, who triumphed five times in total - last time in 1985.

Of course the rise of Seixas has not escaped attention of the legendary rider himself who commented briefly on his compatriot: "We shouldn't sell the bear's skin before we've killed it," Hinault sounds careful in his assessment of the up and coming French prospect for RMC.

A week-long race is quite different from a three-week long battle he points out: "First of all, he needs to manage his physical abilities well. He had a great Dauphiné, but we have to see how he fares. Will he progress and continue to be as good as he is?" wonders the legendary Le Blaireau.

Seixas made it clear in his statements that it's not on his 2025 schedule to debut at Tour de France nor any other Grand Tour, but cycling fans are already projecting the 18-year-old's path to breaking the four decades long fasting of French cycling at the Grande Boucle.

But according to Hinault, Seixas shouldn't skip any steps on his way to the top. Instead, he reckons it would be wise to get the feeling at "small Tour" - the Tour de l'Avenir in August. "He'll find himself with riders of his generation, and that would be great," Hinault calculates.