"He is a great champion like Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel" - Paul Seixas' DS recognizes the talent that now leads the team at 19

Paul Seixas' metheoric rise has been the subject of much discussion over the past few months in pro cycling and he has truly been fulfilling every bit of potential that has been put on his shoulders. The Frenchman has now won La Flèche Wallonne and heads into Liège-Bastogne-Liège with the huge task of facing Tadej Pogacar.

“Paul finished it in a magical way. To do this at 19 is incredible. He is a great champion like Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, riders who can win both stage races and one day races," team DS Julien Jurdie said in words to Sporza.

Decathlon CMA CGM Team have the real deal in their hands, a rider that is thriving as a stage-racer, time trialists and classics rider. He is the first rider to come up since Tadej Pogacar has developed into his best version who looks like he can take him on, and the fans will get a taste of that clash this Sunday.

In the mid-week Belgian classic, the race was ridden as a bunch until the Mur de Huy, where the 19-year old had the superior kick in a peloton where climbers and classics specialists were mixed up front.

Teammate Stan Dewulf had only praise for the Frenchman in words to Wielerflits: “It was clear from the moment he joined the group that we were not just riding for a result. There was a real belief we could win. Not top five, not podium, but win the race.”

The Belgian was right, and his support played a role in the team's victory. “You still find yourself thinking, how is this possible? This was his first time racing here. He barely knows the climb, and still he finishes it off like that. It is hard to understand.”

It's about the legs in this case, however Seixas' positioning skills were also on point, and so it was a jointed effort to deliver on another top win for the French team. “It is getting bigger every week. And honestly, it is deserved. Even if a 25-year-old was doing this, it would be impressive. But at his age, it is something special. You do not see this often.”

The 28-year old can't help it but to be impressed with the jewel that is lifting the team into the top of the sport at an incredibly fast pace. “He is very calm. You can see it in the way he speaks to people, to the team, to the media. He has a lot of respect and that helps him deal with everything.”

Could he be at the Tour de France? Dewulf also does not have the straight answer: “I do not think he even knows yet what he wants". After the Volta ao Algarve, Faun-Ardèche Classic, Strade Bianche and Itzulia Basque Country, the evolution trend maintains.

“Things are changing so quickly. Every result changes the situation again. I think his value is going up every week. Probably by half a million each time," he jokes. But simultaneously, that can be taken literally, as Decathlon has entered a key negotiation phase where they will have to try and maintain him against the likes of UAE, Red Bull and even INEOS Grenadiers who will have a French title sponsor from next year onwards.

Can Seixas repeat his feat in Liège this Sunday? “It will be a completely different race,” Dewulf argued. “Pogacar has already proven so much. But if Paul can surprise again, then anything is possible.”