“I’m just a bit annoyed by Sepp Kuss” – Paul Seixas vents sprint frustration after 19-year-old’s stunning first Tour de France mountain test
Cycling
Paul Seixas finished fifth on the first high-mountain stage of his Tour de France career, then admitted frustration with Sepp Kuss after the sprint behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in Gavarnie-Gedre.
The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider came home 2:57 behind Pogacar on Stage 6, crossing the line alongside Isaac del Toro, Remco Evenepoel, Florian Lipowitz, Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose. Kuss finished 10th, 3:06 down on Pogacar, after the chase group split in the final metres.
“I managed my climb”
Seixas had already impressed across the opening week, but the Col du Tourmalet offered the first full mountain examination of his debut Tour. UAE Team Emirates – XRG ripped the race apart before the summit, with Del Toro launching Pogacar clear before the Slovenian rode alone to the stage win and yellow jersey.
Behind Pogacar and Vingegaard, Seixas stayed in the heart of the GC chase. He crested the Tourmalet with Del Toro and Lipowitz, then was part of the group that came back together on the descent and final climb towards Gavarnie-Gedre.
“It was very hard, honestly, but it was going pretty well,” Seixas said in his first reaction to RMC after the finish. “I managed my climb.”
The result lifted Seixas to sixth overall in the general classification, 3:55 behind Pogacar, and third in the youth classification behind Del Toro and Ayuso. On the first proper mountain stage of his first Tour, the Frenchman finished ahead of several established GC names and only behind Pogacar, Vingegaard, Del Toro and Evenepoel on the day.
Seixas frustrated by Kuss in sprint
Seixas later continued in English with other journalists, accepting that Pogacar had been out of reach once the UAE leader went clear on the Tourmalet. “Tadej was very strong,” he said. “I think I’m where I belong at the finish.”
The irritation came from the final sprint within the chase group. Seixas placed fifth on the stage, behind Del Toro and Evenepoel, with Lipowitz sixth, Ayuso seventh and Skjelmose eighth. Kuss, who had been part of the same chase behind Pogacar and Vingegaard, finished 10th, nine seconds further back.
“I’m just a bit annoyed by Sepp Kuss, who did whatever in the sprint,” Seixas added.
Pogacar left Gavarnie-Gedre in yellow after a brutal Tourmalet attack, while Vingegaard moved second overall. Seixas left the first high-mountain stage of his Tour career fifth on the day, sixth on GC and still right among the strongest young riders in the race.
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.
claps 13visitors 8
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
Loading
7 Comments