“He’s never even had a rest day before... There are so many unknowns” – Decathlon urge caution as 19-year-old Paul Seixas enters uncharted territory on Tour de France debut
CyclingMonday, 13 July 2026 at 21:30
Paul Seixas reaches the first rest day of his Tour de France debut sixth overall, only 28 seconds from the podium after passing the opening mountain test with fifth place on the Tourmalet stage.
For Decathlon CMA CGM Team, Monday marks the point at which the 19-year-old moves beyond anything he has previously experienced in a bike race.
“He has never even had a rest day before,” sports director Julien Jurdie told Eurosport France. “We are already discussing what plan we should use on Monday. Should he ride or not ride? Should he do one hour or two hours?"
“We will try to optimise everything, put him in the best possible position and protect him as much as possible," continued Jurdie. "Recovery is the key.”
Seixas moves beyond his previous racing limit
Before this Tour, Seixas had never competed for more than eight consecutive days. Stage 9 took him beyond that mark for the first time, while Monday introduces a rest day before racing resumes with seven categorised climbs. “Normally, when he rides a one-week race, it is over by now,” former Tour de France stage winner and Eurosport consultant Jacky Durand joked.
Seixas has so far handled the step up with few visible problems. He finished ninth on Stage 2, fourth at Les Angles and fifth on the Tourmalet stage after crossing the summit third among the leading general classification riders.
That moved him to sixth overall, 3:55 behind Tadej Pogacar but within 28 seconds of Isaac del Toro in third. “The assessment after the first nine days is rather encouraging,” Jurdie said. “Everything is going very well. He was very strong on the Tourmalet stage. We must not forget that he is only 19 years old. He went over the summit in third position, finished fifth on the stage and is sixth overall. All the signs are positive.”
Seixas also negotiated a difficult Stage 9 without losing ground before the race reached its first pause. “We were slightly worried about that stage,” Jurdie admitted. “We knew we could not afford to make a mistake, but we managed it rather well. It was difficult. Now it is time for the rest day.”
Paul Seixas waves to the crowd at the 2026 Tour de France
Decathlon resist drawing conclusions from brilliant opening week
Seixas arrived at the Tour after a 2026 season that made his selection increasingly difficult to resist. He won Itzulia Basque Country, including the opening time trial and queen stage, became the youngest winner of La Fleche Wallonne and finished second to Pogacar at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
His opening nine stages have carried that form into his first Grand Tour. Decathlon still have no previous reference for how he will recover after two weeks of racing or whether he can maintain the same level into the final week.
“We must not forget that Paul is 19,” Jurdie continued. “We do not know what will happen next week and we do not know what will happen in 15 days. Of course, he is a phenomenon and we always have to keep that in mind, but he is only 19. We do not know how he will recover.”
Seixas is already occupying the position of an established general classification contender, but his team are refusing to project his current standing all the way to Paris. “There are so many unknowns that we do not completely control with Paul,” Jurdie said. “And that is logical.”
Seven climbs await immediately after unfamiliar rest day
The first indication of how Seixas has handled the pause will come on Tuesday towards Le Lioran. Stage 10 contains around 3,800 metres of climbing and seven categorised ascents, beginning the second week with another demanding examination of the riders around the podium.
Seixas will start it sixth overall and closely marked after his Tourmalet performance. The rest day may be entirely new to him, but Decathlon will receive their first answer almost immediately once the road begins climbing again.
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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- Lack of support? Do they need someone to hold his hand when he gets dropped on the big mountain climbs?frieders314-07-2026
- Don’t cap rider salaries, cap team budgets. UAE can pay tadej 10 million, but then has to spread the other 10 mil across the rest of the team for exampleCrashjames13-07-2026
- Yes, sure, Pog had been injured. But Jonas said he would win by minutes and did it. in two days, as everyone remembers. But he hasn't yet won races all year round,, so people who want to bring up this topic tend to talk about Pog.Hills3313-07-2026
- I bet Seixas has extra cold AC.mrvco13-07-2026
- Now it's clear why Simon left.MajorPayne13-07-2026
- Wondering if there is any other teams at that hotel. Or if another team has anything to do with the AC. Don't laugh as stuff this paying fans to throw thumbtacks on the roan or crowd some riders on climbing stages have been talked about for yearsmd197513-07-2026
- First thing: That's not true. In 2023 Pogi completely blew up. Any cyclist that day would have beaten him. He said himself: 'I'm gone. I'm dead.' Vingegaard never blew up, but he loses 80% of the time when he goes mano a mano against Pogi. Second thing: We have "two" Pogi's... one from 2019-2023... and the second from 2024-on. He will not blow up again. OK, maybe Pogi will lose a stage against Jonas here and there, but he will win 80% of them. Ad acta!!!mus-musculuspeedypogigonzales13-07-2026
- To be honest, this is at least where I expected Pogi to be relative to the field, based on the parcours of the tour so far. I was actually surprised that he didn't take more time in Stages 2 and 4. If Jonas was ever going to challenge Pogi in GC, it was going to be late in week 3. His only hope has been that somehow he's more durable, that he recovers from the heat better, and that he can out-diesel Pogi in stages 19 and 20. I think it's unlikely, but I do think he still has a small chance.DAS13-07-2026
- Some chose to live/watch cycling with a 'glass half empty' mindset -- must be tiring.b3tlla13-07-2026
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