"I can't say after what I've seen in the last few days that he impresses me" - Paul Seixas no longer surprising teammate Tiesj Benoot at Tour de France
CyclingSunday, 19 July 2026 at 11:11
Paul Seixas is no longer blowing away his Tour de France teammates, according to Tiesj Benoot. The Decathlon CMA CGM sensation has taken the plaudits after another strong performance in the mountains as he continues to hold his own in the general classification.
At 19-years-old, those closest to him have been surprised to see his growing maturity and ability to deal with the stress and fatigue that comes with La Grand Boucle. This week, Seixas surpassed his longest continuous race days as the Tour rolled on.
Not only is Seixas holding his own, but he has been calling for his teammates to work for him in recent stages. Versatile helper Benoot thinks that he has improved since the first big mountain stage last week.
"He's been saying for a few days that he feels good. It's better than at the Tourmalet, I think," Benoot said after the stage.
Noting the difficulty of the heat and intensity of the first week, Benoot believes the teenager has grown into the race. Aiming for the podium, it's so far so good for both the team and rider.
Seixas aims for the podium
"The first part of the race was very difficult. There were two small valleys in the second half of the stage. It was the right time to communicate. [...] He told me this morning that he felt good, and before the foot of the last climb as well.
"We continued with the plan to ride hard to try and gain places in the general classification. We also know, of course, that it's good for Tadej Pogacar, but we're here to try and finish on the podium, and we did a good job."
Benoot put Seixas' rapid development into context as he noted that his junior World Championships triumph coincided with Benoot's eighth appearance at elite level. Benoot became accustomed to the surprises of his development, but not anymore.
Seixas development no longer surprises Benoot
He added: "When Paul became junior world champion, I was already competing in my eighth World Championships. Everything is new for him; he's learning and adapting very quickly. He's exactly where he needs to be.
"This is his first major race; until now, the longest he's done was seven or eight days. We don't know how the third week will go. He hasn't had a single moment of weakness. In fact, he impresses us every day. I can't say after what I've seen in the last few days that he impresses me."
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Benoot insists that Seixas' level also adds oxygen to the fight for the Decathlon riders. With a horse in the race, they have extra incentive to battle UAE Team Emirates - XRG's dominance.
"He was already there last Tuesday (stage 10 at Le Lioran) and on the Tourmalet. It's also good for me as a teammate; otherwise, I'd spend all day getting dropped by UAE. Now I'm happy to be doing something."
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Exactly. Sweating and urinating are the fastest mechanisms for something in blood and those take 1-4 hrs. So check at 10pm and again check at 6 am. Its easy to catchabstractengineer20-07-2026
- Most recently on Stage 2.Hills3320-07-2026
- The tour organizers screw up again. It was a fast part of the course, a sudden turn. No warning. Only the first few riders would have been able to know it was coming . At this point I believe they want crashes to happencaptmike20-07-2026
- Shhhh, let people have fun 😉 You have fun too
KerisVroom20-07-2026 - I think, like with most other institutions, you’ll find the total costs outweigh the fine. Apart from US lawsuits, corrupt inofficial authorities and maybe Swiss speeding fines to the very rich, it’s usually the general population or if there is a victim, them, that pays the real price, the punishment is mostly arbitrary and the whole implementation often costs more than the fine. This will be especially true if the judge is Swiss with a Swiss salary, swiss paperwork to write up and Swiss rights to contest to have to deal with. It’s actually a no-brainier, 2-3 500 fines a day doesn’t even cover the hours.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- Yeah, but we’re definitely not all the same there.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- And why would good reasons be made public so easily or before findings lead to conclusions? People would go apeshyt if controllers started to release statements why they are turning up at 2am. With their knowledge of past practices, it is hardly unexpected this happens from time to time and sorry, it’s been a real long time since it happened, it’s also been a REAL long time since anyone of interest was caught, that is increasing pressure to be seen to be actually checking. Typical doping checks have been so integrated into the routines that people have probably forgotten they exist, new spectators might not even realise they have them.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- It’s not that simple. This was part of the whole dilemma of deciding to do the Tour or not. Once you’ve accepted you’ve committed to do media work and you have to be very careful about how, when and to who you decide to opt out. The media makes you but can also break you and it’s pretty risky to set your own rules before you’re established enough to negotiate with many of them. Also, in this day and age you’re also kind of obliged to go in order to control the narrative. If you don’t show up you’re basically giving everyone a blank check to write whatever they feel like and that can increase external pressure even more than doing post-race com work. Best thing is to prepare riders on how to deal with it and cope. Someone who can’t has a handicap to reach the top.Mistermaumau20-07-2026
- It would be interesting to add up the total value of the fines after the tour is finished. I think the amount the UCI make from fines would be surprisingCyclingsbestfan20-07-2026
- I don't think it makes a difference on Seixas being a French rider, it makes a difference for the test-times tho if anyone could've been tested..
leedorney20-07-2026
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