"His progression is completely logical": Legendary French manager on the early brilliance of Paul Seixas and the future of French cycling

The 2026 cycling season has already delivered spectacular performances from a new generation of riders, with 19-year-old French prodigy Paul Seixas recently capturing his first professional victory at the second stage of the Volta ao Algarve. His second professional win came on Saturday, after a solo masterclass at the Faun-Ardèche Classic.

For legendary French cycling manager Cyrille Guimard, the sudden explosion of Seixas onto the professional scene is not a shock. He actually saw the young rider's immense potential years ago during a junior cyclo-cross race where Seixas beat riders who were much older and already winning world titles.

"What I think is that the evolution of this young rider is completely logical," Guimard explained in an interview to Cyclism Actu. "His progression corresponds to what one could hope for and seems perfectly normal to me. The fact that he imposes himself with authority at the Volta ao Algarve is part of normal things."

Guimard recalled the exact moment he realized how special the young Frenchman was. "I discovered him when he was a first-year junior, at a cyclocross race where he beat Léo Bisiaux. That day, I said to myself: here, we have something quite extraordinary. As we say in Brittany, 'if the little pigs don't eat him', we will make something great out of him."

He was so convinced that he immediately tried to get a top team to sign him. "I immediately informed the manager of a WorldTour team, telling him: do not waste time, go see him. A few days later, he replied: 'it is too late'."

Seixas isn't the only young talent catching the veteran manager's eye. Looking ahead to the spring classics, Guimard issued a warning to world champion Mathieu van der Poel, telling him to watch out for Paul Magnier.

"Van der Poel must beware of Paul Magnier, there you go," he stated. "Today, France is lucky to have two gems: Paul Magnier and Paul Seixas. That reminds me of an era with Jacques Anquetil and André Darrigade. Today, we perhaps have a new generation capable of carrying French cycling for ten years."

Shifting his focus to the international peloton, Guimard had incredibly high praise for UAE Team Emirates' Isaac Del Toro, who recently dominated the UAE Tour and won the GC plus two stages, beating Remco Evenepoel.

"Isaac Del Toro, we have known him well since last year. It is very high level," Guimard noted, adding that the Mexican rider is already among the absolute elite of the sport. "For me, he is the number two behind Pogacar. To be verified, but that is my feeling."

However, Guimard was highly critical of Remco Evenepoel, who struggled to follow Del Toro's wheel. Guimard believes the Belgian star has fundamental flaws when it comes to specific types of high-mountain efforts.

"I do not know what is happening with Evenepoel, but there is a bolt that is not well tightened,"he said. "We know his potential. What happens to him on certain types of ascents is not normal. I am not his coach, nor his advisor, but he should not be dominated in this way. That being said, he remains one of the three or four biggest engines in the peloton."

The most explosive part of Guimard's interview came when addressing the ongoing legal and political warfare between the French Cycling Federation and the National Cycling League. Guimard did not hold back, condemning the federation's desire to strictly control professional teams for its own financial benefit.

"I am sorry, but that thing is a bag of sh*t," Guimard fired. "The problem is that a federation has always considered that the professional sector should not be independent, but part of the federation. The League is also a way for the federation to recover funds it needs."

Guimard pointed to a recent lawsuit where the League successfully sued the Federation as definitive proof that the current governance model is broken. He accused the leadership of running the sport with an iron fist, ignoring legal boundaries.

"When you refuse all legitimate opposition, you are in a dictatorship. The recent statements clearly show: 'I am the boss and you will do what I ask,' even after a conviction. That is called a dictatorship."

For Guimard, the entire economic structure of French cycling is outdated, built on an inverted pyramid, and completely unsustainable. While he praised teams like Decathlon CMA CGM for modernizing with immense financial backing, he warned that the broader domestic system is doomed to fail.

"The French system is economically obsolete," he concluded. "Since the beginning, we have been heading into a wall. If the League must be dissolved, it must be dissolved. But a healthy system will have to be rebuilt behind it."