"He should focus on what Pogacar and Vingegaard are doing": Tour debut will be a steep learning experience for Paul Seixas
Cycling
No more guessing. No more assumptions. No more uncertainty. Paul Seixas is confirmed to lead Decathlon CMA CGM at the 2026 Tour de France as the "people's champion" who could take down at least one of Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar to end their five-year-long dominance at Grande Boucle. And even though it wasn't always part of the plans, Seixas' level in the first half of this season left no room for doubts about whether he belongs at the world's greatest stage.
While opinions differ, Jens Voigt is a supporter of this decision. "He won the Itzulia Basque Country convincingly and finished just behind Pogacar second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. Therefore, it makes sense to send him there," Voigt told Eurosport.
The 17-time Tour de France participant also believes Sexias will not hide in the shadows during his Grand Tour debut: "He is so strong and one has to say without a doubt that Paul has the potential to reach the podium at the Tour. He is young and fresh."
However, Voigt cautions that Seixas shouldn't focus on the overall standings, "but rather on what Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are doing. How do they ride, when do they attack, how do they shape the race, and how do they utilize their teammates? Seixas should learn from this how he can do the same, or perhaps even better."
Would stage win be a good consolidation prize?
If the three-week workload proves a bit over the top for the young Frenchman, Voigt believes a change of strategy is no shame. According to the German ex-professional, Seixas is also capable of "winning a stage if he is far enough behind in the overall standings."
In the long term, Seixas is among the favorites to win the Tour de France, the expert has no doubts: "I think he's not quite ready yet to compete at his best against Pogacar and Vingegaard in July. But in two years he'll be on par with them."
Tadej Pogacar and Paul Seixas at the podium of 2026 Liêge-Bastogne-Liège
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- 18 broken bones. 78 crashes, among 30 rider per year is a lot. so for a rider over 15 seasons, they will break their bones 7-8 times and crash 38 times.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
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