"Like Tadej Pogacar vs Jonas Vingegaard" - Jarno Widar & Paul Seixas set for epic 2025 Tour de l'Avenir duel according to Belgian coach

The Tour de l’Avenir has a habit of hinting at the future — and according to Belgian national coach Serge Pauwels, cycling’s next great rivalry may already be forming at the 2025 edition.

In an interview with DirectVelo, Pauwels drew a striking parallel between Belgium’s Jarno Widar and France’s Paul Seixas, likening their potential showdown in this year’s Tour de l’Avenir to the ongoing battle between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. “It’ll be a great duel — a bit like Pogacar against Vingegaard,” Pauwels said. “We’re hopeful, of course.”

It’s high praise, but not without precedent. The Tour de l’Avenir, often seen as the Tour de France for the stars of tomorrow, has seen names like Pogacar, Egan Bernal, Isaac del Toro and more announce themselves over the years. This August, Pauwels believes the race could once again serve as a launching pad for the next generation — with Widar and Seixas front and centre.

Jarno Widar arrives at the race in resurgent form. After abandoning the Giro Next Gen in June, the 20-year-old responded emphatically by crushing the competition at the Tour de la Vallée d’Aoste in July — a mountainous proving ground that has previously showcased riders like Thibaut Pinot and Pavel Sivakov. “Widar is in superb form now,” said Pauwels. “The Tour de l’Avenir really suits him — it’s his kind of race. But let’s not pretend it will be easy.”

Widar’s climbing ability has never been in doubt, and in a parcours likely to feature serious altitude and hard summit finishes, he will be one of the key names on every team’s radar. But standing opposite him is a rider Pauwels regards as potentially “another step up altogether.”

Enter Paul Seixas. Still only 18, the Frenchman stunned the cycling world in June with a remarkable 6th-place finish at the Critérium du Dauphiné — not in the U23 ranks, but in the World Tour race itself. “Paul Seixas is a bit of a phenomenon,” Pauwels said. “To finish 6th at your first Dauphiné at 18 — it’s crazy. If he shows up at the Tour de l’Avenir with that level, then yes, he’s at another level again.”

Seixas wasn’t just surviving — he was climbing with the best in the world. In a race featuring Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel, Seixas showed not only staying power but tactical intelligence and maturity far beyond his years. That performance alone put him on the radar as a generational talent.

While Widar brings more experience and a proven record in the U23 peloton, Seixas arrives as a wildcard who’s already proven he can hang with — and challenge — the WorldTour elite. If both riders hit the high mountains of the Tour de l’Avenir in peak condition, their clash could mark the beginning of a new rivalry worth watching for years to come.

The comparison may sound bold, but Pauwels’ analogy taps into something real: both Widar and Seixas appear to be climbers of rare pedigree, developing rapidly, and seemingly destined for Grand Tour contention.

The Tour de l’Avenir has always been about spotting the next Pogacar. In 2025, it may be about watching the next two.