“I consider him on the same level as Vingegaard”: UAE's Matxin blown away by Paul Seixas ahead of the Tour de France

The 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes provided plenty of drama, but in the end it was Isaac Del Toro who emerged victorious. The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider completed a remarkable turnaround to claim the overall title on the final day, adding the French stage race to his earlier victory at the Tirreno-Adriatico. According to UAE team manager Joxean Matxin, however, one of the biggest revelations of the race was not his own rider but French teenager Paul Seixas.

Reflecting on the race, Matxin admitted that Seixas exceeded expectations and should be considered a serious contender for the Tour de France. “Beyond the crashes, or perhaps because of them, we saw a super Seixas who is riding really strongly, stronger than we expected,” Matxin said in an interview. “I am not looking at the final result but at the way he raced. I consider him one of the main obstacles on Tadej’s path towards a fourth Tour de France victory.”

The Spaniard was particularly impressed by Seixas’s response to the crash that left him several minutes behind the peloton during stage 7 before he fought his way back into contention. “The crash he suffered shows that he is not only strong physically but also mentally. Otherwise, he would never have managed that incredible four-minute comeback.”

Asked what Seixas’s performance means for the upcoming Tour de France, Matxin argued that the young Frenchman deserves to be taken seriously despite never having ridden a Grand Tour. “He absolutely has to be considered for the general classification. He has never raced a Grand Tour before, but when you show things like that, you cannot be afraid of a three-week race.”

Matxin even compared Seixas’ performances to the level displayed by Jonas Vingegaard earlier in the season. “I consider him on the same level as Vingegaard and what the Dane showed at the Giro. We really cannot underestimate anyone.”

While highlighting Seixas, Matxin was equally pleased with Del Toro’s performance. “Of course, I think we also sent a strong message,” Matxin said. “We showed that Del Toro’s condition ahead of the Tour is there. What I liked most was that he never became discouraged and never lost sight of the final objective, even considering the breakaway that had completely changed the standings in the first days. Isaac emerged at the end and took the jersey on the final stage.”

Matxin acknowledged that the race situation was complicated, but insisted the team remained focused on creating the conditions necessary for Del Toro to recover the lost time. “It was not so much the battle with Ayuso that worried us, but the situations that can develop during a race,” he explained. “The race evolved in a complicated way because a breakaway gained many minutes. Recovering that time is not easy.”

“At two stages from the finish we were more than three minutes behind Tuckwell, who had made excellent use of the breakaway. We knew Isaac is an extremely strong rider and could recover the deficit, but we had to put him in a position to do it.”

Del Toro finished second at the 2025 Giro d’Italia and will now head to the Tour de France in support of Tadej Pogacar. Matxin believes the Mexican already possesses the qualities required to lead a Grand Tour team himself.

“Yes, absolutely. His quality allows him to aspire to anything,” he said. “I have never really liked the word ‘captain’, although in a big team there obviously have to be hierarchies. What matters to me is that Isaac has every possibility to emerge, which means we can approach the Tour with a Plan B in our pocket. He knows he is capable of winning a Grand Tour, and that is what counts.”

Looking ahead to July, Matxin identified the leading contenders. “On paper, the names are still Pogacar, Vingegaard, Seixas and Evenepoel,” he said. “But then the race develops in its own way and allows other riders to emerge.”

He also singled out Juan Ayuso as a rider who impressed him during the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. “Ayuso impressed me as well. He was very strong and could be a factor. That does not change the fact that the favourites remain those riders.”

The UAE manager was also asked about the contrasting preparations of Pogacar and Vingegaard. “I do not think there is one best way,” Matxin explained. “If you want to ride the Giro, you structure the rest of your calendar around that. If you do not want to race another three-week event before the Tour, you adapt in a different way. Everything depends on how you build your preparation for the main objective of the season.”