New French champion Paul Lapeira shouldn't miss Tour de France selection: "I think there's a good chance you'll see me on the roads of Tour"
Cycling
France has a new champion, and whoever guessed they'd wear the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale jersey... was correct. The French WorldTour team is flying in 2024 and Paul Lapeira doesn't break the rule. Part of long 3-man attack, Lapeira didn't give the slightest chance to his opponents Julien Bernard and Thomas Gachignard in the final uphill kick to take the road title.
The 24-year-old is already in his third year as a professional, but it's only now he's finally making a name for himself in the peloton. With stage win at Izulia Basque Country and two victories in French 1.1 races, Lapeira seems worthy of wearing the French tricolor for next 12 months.
It means even more for Lapeira, who grew up in Fougeres, training daily on the roads of this year's National championships route. "I dreamed of it, I'm 5 kilometers from home, these are the roads I trained on when I was little, the race was perfect," declared the new French champion in an interview afterwards.
"The team was perfect, there was not a misstep, the jersey will be on my shoulders but everyone will have a piece of it, it was a dream day," continued Lapeira. He then explained his tactics behind joining an attack from afar: "I wanted to race against the big names. Personally, I had the perfect race, nothing more beautiful can happen in my career."
Lapeira also spoke about his team's season and potential participation at the Tour de France: "The season is incredible for us. At the beginning we said it was incredible, I think today we are right in our place and we harvest what has been worked on for months, the material we have this year is fantastic For the moment, there is nothing official, but I think there's a good chance you'll see me on the roads of the Tour."
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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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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