"Paul Seixas will like this route if he chooses the Giro" - French star faces 2027 Grand Tour dilemma after Tour de France breakthrough
Cycling
Paul Seixas has emerged as one of the riders who could benefit from the mountainous 2027 Giro d'Italia route, with Eurosport commentator Jeroen Vanbelleghem backing the Frenchman to relish the challenge if he makes his debut in Italy. After finishing fourth on his first Tour de France appearance and becoming the youngest winner of Il Lombardia, the 20-year-old has already raised the possibility of targeting Giro victory next season.
"Seixas will also really like this route if he decides to ride the Giro," Vanbelleghem told Eurosport following Tuesday's presentation in Rome. "The question is which of the top riders will choose which Grand Tour."
Seixas's fourth place at the 2026 Tour came at just 19, before he added a World Championship time trial bronze medal and a historic Il Lombardia victory in October. Earlier in the season, he had also won La Fleche Wallonne and the general classification at Itzulia Basque Country.
The Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider has since acknowledged that targeting overall victory at the 2027 Giro is an option, although he remains attracted by another appearance at the Tour. His programme is expected to be settled during the team's December training camp.
Could Paul Seixas target a Giro d'Italia debut in 2027?
A Giro debut or a return to the Tour de France?
Vanbelleghem highlighted the eight uphill finishes at the Giro, including the climbing time trial to Campo di Giove, compared with three summit finishes on the 2027 Tour route. "The Giro is very much a route for climbers, although the puncheurs will be happy too," he explained.
The final week features two ascents of the Mortirolo with the Passo di Gavia between them, followed by Madonna di Campiglio and a penultimate-stage summit finish on Monte Zoncolan. There are also 56.9 kilometres of individual time trialling, including a 37.3-kilometre test between Monza and Milan.
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Seixas's World Championship bronze against the clock suggests the time trials would hold little fear for him. Equally, the 71 kilometres of individual time trialling at the Tour need not be a disadvantage, while his fourth place this summer leaves him within striking distance of a first podium in France.
The World Championships in Haute-Savoie will also be a major consideration. Seixas has identified the mountainous road race as one of his principal objectives for 2027, with the Giro in May and Tour in July offering different preparation schedules.
There is a personal attraction to the Tour too. Its 2027 route passes through Haute-Savoie, close to where his grandparents live, something Seixas has already highlighted when discussing his options. The region will also host the World Championships in late August, adding another home-road opportunity to a season in which he could be challenging for his first Grand Tour victory.
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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- 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
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
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