“One of the hardest days of my life on a bike” – Paul Seixas survives Alpe d’Huez ordeal to keep Tour de France podium dream alive
Cycling
Paul Seixas remains firmly in the fight for a place on the Tour de France podium after limiting his losses on an unforgiving first encounter with Alpe d’Huez.
The 19-year-old reached the summit alongside Isaac del Toro, preserving fourth place overall and keeping the gap to the Mexican at just 24 seconds before the final major mountain stage of the race.
Seixas had been unable to follow when Remco Evenepoel accelerated away from the group of podium contenders, while Tadej Pogacar had long since disappeared up the road on his way to a historic victory in the yellow jersey. Even so, the Frenchman again avoided the kind of major time loss that could have ended his challenge.
“It was terrible. It was exhausting,” Seixas admitted after the finish. “The crowd was going crazy. My ears are still ringing. It was magical, but at the same time it was probably one of the hardest days of my life on a bike.”
The atmosphere on Alpe d’Huez matched the scale of the occasion, with supporters packed tightly around the road as the Tour returned to its most famous summit finish. Seixas experienced the climb from the heart of the general classification battle, rather than from the relative anonymity often afforded to a rider making his Grand Tour debut.
Seixas limits losses after Pogacar attack
Decathlon CMA CGM Team had helped raise the pace before Alpe d’Huez, with Tiesj Benoot positioned in the day’s large breakaway before dropping back to assist Seixas on the final climb.
The favourites group had already been reduced on the Col d’Ornon, where Seixas remained alongside Pogacar, Evenepoel, Del Toro, Mattias Skjelmose and the other leading names.
Maxim Van Gils then lifted the tempo on the lower slopes of Alpe d’Huez, forcing Tom Pidcock and Juan Ayuso out of contact. Pogacar attacked soon afterwards and quickly established a vast advantage over the rest.
Seixas settled into the next group with Evenepoel, Del Toro and Skjelmose. After Benoot had finished his work, the teenager spent time setting the pace himself as Decathlon attempted to expose any weakness in Del Toro.
Evenepoel eventually attacked and moved clear, but Seixas remained with his direct podium rival through the final kilometres. “I limited the damage,” he said. “In the end, I did not have the legs I had hoped for, but it is still a good performance. I am still in the fight for the podium.”
That fight remains almost perfectly balanced. Del Toro holds third overall at 9:42 behind Pogacar, with Seixas fourth at 10:06. Lenny Martinez has moved closer after his day in the breakaway, but still sits 3:18 behind Del Toro in fifth.
Seixas also remains second in the young rider classification, with the same 24-second deficit separating him from the white jersey.
Decathlon praised after five-star performance
Seixas placed much of the credit for his position on the work of Decathlon, who committed riders both to the breakaway and the favourites group.
Benoot and Matthew Riccitello made the original 42-rider move, while the team later helped increase the pressure behind when riders threatening the top ten began gaining time. Benoot’s decision to drop from the front left him available when Seixas reached Alpe d’Huez. “The guys did a five-star job today,” Seixas said. “Everyone was at their best.”
The final mountain stage now offers one last opportunity to overturn the narrow deficit to Del Toro. Seixas has continued to match the UAE rider across the decisive third week, but neither has yet been able to create meaningful separation in their direct contest. “There is still tomorrow,” Seixas said. “It is going to be very hard, and it will come down to the legs.”
Seixas will begin that stage without needing a speculative long-range move or a complete collapse from Del Toro. Twenty-four seconds is small enough to be overturned through one well-timed attack, a moment of weakness or the bonus seconds available at the finish.
His first ascent of Alpe d’Huez left his ears ringing and his legs short of what he had hoped for, but it did not remove him from the podium battle. After three weeks of his Tour debut, the final mountain stage will decide whether Seixas leaves with fourth place or becomes the youngest rider in modern cycling to stand on the final podium in Paris.
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.
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- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
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