“Paul Seixas paid for the failure of his teammates” - Jerome Pineau slams French support collapse as Montreal Rainbow Jersey bid unravels
Cycling
Paul Seixas left Montreal blaming himself for France’s missed World Championship opportunity. Jerome Pineau has put much more of the responsibility on the riders who were supposed to still be around him.
The 20-year-old arrived in Montreal as France’s undisputed leader, with the entire team built around his bid for the rainbow jersey. He survived deep into a race his own teammates had helped blow apart from distance, but by the final lap cramps had ended his medal challenge and Seixas eventually faded to 16th.
Afterwards he was brutal on himself, admitting he believed poor nutrition or hydration had caused a problem he had never previously experienced on the bike. Pineau, the former French professional and later manager of B&B Hotels-KTM, saw it differently.
“Paul Seixas paid for the failure of some of his teammates in the French team,” he said on RMC’s Super Moscato Show. “We shouldn’t hide behind the strategy. The strategy was good. But it was only good if your riders could withstand the pressure and were in good form.”
Armirail was one of the only French riders to play a big role in the 2026 Men's Elite World Championship Road Race
France committed heavily once the race reached the Mont-Royal circuit, with Bruno Armirail taking on a huge amount of the early work. The break still held close to eight or nine minutes when France began chasing in earnest, but by the time Armirail finally swung off, that advantage had been cut to around 20 seconds.
Armirail had initially been asked to ride two or three laps flat out, only to keep going for roughly 50 to 60 kilometres because he still had something left. “Thomas knows me, he knows I’ll give everything,” Armirail said after stepping off. “It’s not because the plan says to do two or three laps full gas that, if I can do more, I’m going to stop.”
He also admitted: “I didn’t have much help today.”
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“There was nobody left around Paul”
“Yesterday, France lacked collective strength,” Pineau said. “After the magnificent work from Bruno Armirail, the French team exploded and popped like popcorn. There was nobody left around Paul with 70 kilometres to go.”
“For me, Paul had cramps because with 70 kilometres to go, he was the one who had to go back for his bottles, close gaps, ride on the flat,” Pineau continued. “You can be 20 years old and the biggest star, but that is too much.”
Pineau specifically named Pavel Sivakov and Nicolas Prodhomme. “There were plenty of moments when a Sivakov or a Prodhomme should have been there to tell him: ‘Have a drink’, ‘I’ll get you a bottle’. They weren’t there anymore. With two hours of racing still to go, Paul Seixas was alone. For a major nation, that is not normal.”
Seixas offered no criticism of his teammates afterwards. He described his mistake as “a disgrace” and a “childish error”, insisting he had everything required to fight for the title but had managed his nutrition and hydration badly. “I had everything I needed to do it, but I think I managed my nutrition and hydration badly,” he said. “I’ve never cramped on a bike before and it happened today.”
Whether or not Seixas could have contested for a medal and avoided the late cramp with better earlier support is something we will never know. As it was, the prodigious talent eventually crossed the line 16th, 3:09 behind new world champion Brandon McNulty.
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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