"Paul Seixas will be the leader" - French coach Thomas Voeckler unveils his plan for Montreal World Championships
CyclingThursday, 27 August 2026 at 23:00
The 2026 World Championships have a clear favourite in Tadej Pogacar who will have to defend his back-to-back victory on a familiar course in Montreal, Canada. His biggest rival should be Remco Evenepoel, but the French don't hold back with their ambitions either. And that can only indicate one thing; Paul Seixas is heading to North America too.
The final nomination will not be revealed until later in September, but the national coach Thomas Voeckler already has a clear idea about the leader's role.
"Paul Seixas will be the leader of the French team at the World Championships," Voeckler told Le Télégramme.
Rising star at both GC and classics
Paul Seixas completed his debut Grand Tour not so long ago. At the 2026 Tour de France, the 19-year-old did not disappoint with a fourth place overall - the best French result since David Gaudu's same result in 2022. The hope is now that the Decathlon CMA CGM rider can build on this experience and, eventually, became the man to end French four-decade-long drought at home Grand Tour.
But beyond his GC ambitions, Seixas remains an excellent rider in one-day races. The Montreal World Championships are not at all his debut in the rainbow race. In 2025, Seixas completed the brutal course in Kigali in 13th position. And, just one week later, Seixas finished 3rd at the European Championships in Ardeche.
This year, Seixas took another step in his development to finish runner-up (to non other than Tadej Pogacar) at Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, whilst winning La Fleche Wallonne in the Slovenian's absence.
As for the rest of French nomination, Voeckler prefers to keep his cards close. With mutliple weeks of racing until the World Championships, Voeckler still wants to see how some options develop and might make minor tweaks to his intended 8-man selection.
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"Yes. Obviously, a lot can still happen in the coming weeks, like crashes, but I have my eight riders in mind. Some of them know this, others don't. I expect a certain mentality. I have my team, but it may change," Voeckler indicated.
We can only assume how the rest of the nomination will look like, but for example French champion Romain Grégoire shouldn't be absent from the nomination on a course that seems to suit him. Furthermore, Seixas could see some of his trade-team colleagues - Nicolas Prodhomme, Aurélien Paret-Peintre or Léo Bisiaux - make the selection. Netcompany INEOS trio Kévin Vauquelin, Axel Laurance and Dorian Godon are strong cards to consider too.
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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