"It’s another world from all the races I’ve done" - 2006-born Paul Seixas mixing it with Tadej Pogacar and co at the UAE Tour
Cycling
One of the youngest riders in the whole World Tour, big things are expected of Paul Seixas in the future. Already in his first World Tour race, the 18-year-old Frenchman is impressing, in the GC mix after two stages at the 2025 UAE Tour.
"The feeling is good, it’s another world from all the races I’ve done except for La Marseillaise. I’m pretty happy to be here and enjoy the moment," Seixas, who sits 55 seconds off the race lead after the stage two individual time trial, told Cycling News. "It’s another level here but it proved I can be in my element and not be last at the level of the race. But I don’t know where I am so we will see. I'll just try to enjoy the moment and yes, the media is something, but you have to keep focused on the race and do your job. That’s it."
Ahead of the stage 3 summit at Jebel Jais, where Seixas will test his climbing legs against the likes of world champion Tadej Pogacar, the Frenchman's teammate at Decathlon AG2R La Monidiale, Felix Gall, gave a rave review. "He’s super talented and already on a really good level," said Gall of Seixas. "When I was his age for me it was a much harder process, so it’s a bit hard for me to imagine how it is but I think he’s dealing with it super well. He seems also really relaxed and is just enjoying being here racing and taking the next steps."
Seixas himself though, is keen to play down the expectations ahead of the stage 3 summit finish. “I think we will ride for Felix, we have great hope with him," the 18-year-old insists. "He’s a very strong rider and I admire him. I hope he will get a great result and I’m here to help him so I’ll enjoy it this week."
“I’m feeling great, I had a really great altitude camp. I’m in good shape and I’m excited to race. Today is the first test," Gall adds. "I never did the climb but I will be surprised if Tadej waits for the sprint. It's not the hardest but I think he wants to go early, last 2-3kms that’s what I personally expect. Sunday is definitely much better for me but we really want to be ready when Tadej is attacking and you have to be really focused in the final as it’s not the typical mountaintop finish."
And as for Gall's expectations of Seixas? "I’m pretty sure he will be up there," the Austrian concludes. "That’s for the plan for the final that we are together."
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- I believe Mathieu rather gets beaten by a stronger rider than one who raced smarter. That is why he wanted to team up with Pogacar to drop the JV riders and Mads who were not helping in the chase of the first group since they had a teammate up front.JoostMehrtens08-04-2025
- Just shows that LA is not truly repentant. JUSTICE was served. No winner, no second , no third on the podium for those 7 years. No real winners could be determined, ever. Lance got to keep most of his money , he really should can it . He is toxic to cycling.dave08-04-2025
- Tricky one as while I agree Pogi and UAE are simply faster over a long distance which means Visma and MVP need to be as smart with energy use as can, it's also been proven in the past that one way for Pogi to be beaten is relentless attacks, to put him into the red. However that does require a rider to as good as sacrifice themselves for that one move which makes riskHoopoeChai07-04-2025
- Even if not technically against the rules, this is just bad etiquette and frankly I hope the rest of pelaton remembers Arkea don't care about etiquette or honoring tradition which means they shouldn't benifit from it.HoopoeChai07-04-2025
- The other issue is that Mad Petersen and Wout would have let MVDP do most of the work, as he kept showing he was stronger. MVDP did the strategy with the highest likelihood of victory, he just wasn't strong enough.acem8207-04-2025
- Crash did not help, Out of position for first attack did not help, illness did not help, pacing was not the best either. MVDP has never raced to his limits against other riders but this is his characteristics when he cracks, he cracks big time just like his first elite men WC RR. Against Pogi he needed to be optimized and he is notabstractengineer07-04-2025
- Yes, I completely agree! Before going to a doctor, I give my immune system time to react. If a reasonable amount of time passes and I'm not cured, then I go to the doctor. Fortunately, I haven't needed a doctor in years!
maria2024202407-04-2025 - A lot of medicine does nothing more than speed up recovery time 4-5 days instead of 7-8, 10-12 instead of 2 weeks. It is questionable if it’s really a good thing for healthy people to rely on it as it also makes your immune system lazy and less responsive next time round, making you more and more reliant on medication (surprise, surprise). A bit like glasses, the less you succumb to adapting their strength, the slower the deterioration. Unfortunately many bacterial infections are not so easy to fight without help, your body should manage in the end but it can take really long, I once had strong fever for 3 months trying to fight an infection without reducing work or lifestyle (the antibiotics at the beginning didn’t help).Mistermaumau07-04-2025
- In this case, maybe is my fault (my ignorance). Fortunately, my family hasn't been sick for many, many years, so I can't say if doctors in Italy are still old-fashioned. When we catch a cold (very mild, nothing that requires medical attention), we recover completely in about a week. This may have reinforced my belief in the 7-day cure. Thank you so much, MisterMmaria2024202407-04-2025
- I appreciate the No Excuses thing...bobo07-04-2025