"It might be better to test himself at the Giro": Bernard Hinault cautious about Paul Seixas' debut at the Tour de France
Cycling
Paul Seixas and the possibility of his participation at the 2026 Tour de France are the hot talk at the moment. The 19-year-old rising star of French cycling made great strides at the start of this season. So great, that his team bosses at Decathlon CMA CGM can't hide that the odds of Seixas' Grande Boucle debut have increased notably over the past weeks.
Naturally, Seixas at the Tour would be an excellent advertisement for the race, and thus Tour director Christian Prudhomme expressed his hopes for Seixas to indeed travel for the Grand Départ in Barcelona this summer. Of course, hoping that Seixas can potentially end French four-decade-long wait for Tour de France winner since Bernard Hinault's victory in 1985.
RMC Sport have asked Le Blaireau himself to give his thoughts on Seixas at the Tour. The five-time Tour de France winner acknowledges that Paul Seixas "is a very good rider", but that it is not necessary to throw him in the deep end too soon. Rather, he'd prefer to see Seixas test himself in the three-week racing at either the Giro or Vuelta.
"If it’s to put him in the Tour de France and then he’s burned out, I think it’s better to think about it, to say we might manage it as best as possible. At 19, if he comes up against a Pogacar and finishes 10 minutes behind, it might be better to go and test himself in another race and if he went to the Giro d’Italia, if he found himself against Jonas Vingegaard, it would give an idea of his abilities," he confided.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- And the place he calls home is in Slovenia with his parents.RidesHills04-11-2026
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