“I won’t be on the roads of the Tour de France” - Key Paul Seixas domestique left out of Decathlon’s Tour squad with La Vuelta now the focus

Leo Bisiaux has spent recent weeks riding close to Paul Seixas, helping Decathlon CMA CGM Team prepare their teenage leader for one of the most anticipated Tour de France debuts of the summer. His own Grand Tour programme, however, is heading in a different direction.

While Seixas is being sharpened for July, Bisiaux confirmed before stage 5 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that he will not be part of Decathlon’s Tour de France group. The Frenchman is instead building towards La Vuelta, with the team having shaped his preparation around arriving there at full strength.

“No, no, no, I won’t be on the roads of the Tour in July,” Bisiaux said in conversation with Cycling Pro Net. “Since the start of the season with the team, we wanted to focus the preparation more on the Vuelta. So the objective will be to be really at 100% for the Vuelta.”

That gives Bisiaux a different summer to Seixas, even as the pair continue to work together at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The race has already offered Decathlon a direct test before the Tour, with the stage 3 team time trial and the Alpine block giving Seixas another chance to measure himself before July.

Bisiaux has not been hidden away purely as a domestique this season. He has had his own opportunities, but around Seixas’ biggest objectives, his job has increasingly been to stay close, guide and protect.

“Yes, for now it’s going well,” he said. “I have my opportunities in certain races. In other races, I’m more at Paul’s service, as one of the last teammates. But we’ll try to have a good weekend and support Paul as much as possible during these three days.”

That role has been visible across Seixas’ build-up. Bisiaux raced with him around the Basque Country and the Ardennes, and the same partnership is continuing at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where Seixas entered the Alpine stages still in the GC fight after Decathlon limited their losses in the team time trial.

“It’s true that I’ve raced quite a lot with him, and raced quite a lot with him on big objectives for him,” Bisiaux explained. “Honestly, it’s always good when the results come at the end. It allows us, the teammates, to push ourselves even a little more.”

Seixas’ form has also left Bisiaux encouraged before the race turns deeper into the mountains. “I think Paul is also really ready, really motivated,” he said. “So yes, we really can’t wait for tomorrow and to attack these three beautiful days in the Alps.”

Bisiaux also gave a small insight into what it is like to ride alongside Seixas in the peloton. Asked whether the Decathlon leader sometimes needs to be held back, Bisiaux admitted there are moments when his attacking instinct has to be managed.

“Yes, sometimes you have to hold him back a little in the climbs,” he said. “But otherwise, honestly, it’s always good. He’s always well placed and everything. Often my role is to be in his wheel, by his side. But honestly, he’s quite easy in the peloton.”

For Bisiaux, the immediate task remains clear. He will help Seixas through the final phase of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, then step away from the Tour de France pathway that is now carrying his team-mate towards July.

Decathlon’s summer plan leaves Seixas in the Tour spotlight and Bisiaux on a Vuelta trajectory. After working as one of the key young riders around Seixas, Bisiaux’s own Grand Tour target is now set for later in the season.