"The most marketable star in cycling" - Bruyneel and Martin on Seixas' '8 million a year' potential deal; UAE battle and Pogacar-Van Aert Roubaix battle

This week only the Brabantse Pijl marked the world of cycling racing-wise, however the less active days provided the opportunity to debrief on the week of Paris-Roubaix; and also Itzulia Basque Country which showcased cycling's new star Paul Seixas, 'the most marketable star' in the sport according to Johan Bruyneel and Spencer Martin.

"He was already the most popular rider but this has brought him to another level. He's the king of Belgium right now, Wout Van Aert," Bruyneel said on The Move podcast. "I think well-deserved, you know, we were all waiting for this. Again, I think he was very strong. I could say Pogacar was maybe stronger but Van Aert was playing it really smart".

The race saw Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel suffer meaningful mechanicals early on far from the finish. Whilst Van Aert did too, he was able to recover in less time, and ultimately had the legs to attack the group in the Orchies sector and then withstand Pogacar's rhythm throughout the final hour of racing in the 'Hell of the North'.

"I think personally, I still believe that, you know, that Mathieu van der Poel was the strongest rider in the race. But you know, Paris-Roubaix is what it is. And it's put him all of a sudden in a position where you know, when you have two minutes of delay, after the Arenberg Forest, that should be game over... It was game over but he came really close".

In the final kilometers van der Poel managed to latch on to the chasing group, but came up just short of the Pogacar-Van Aert duo which was leading the race already by that time. Van Aert's win provided a breath of fresh air into a monument/World Championships scene that has been dominated by the same three riders over the past years.

"I'm also a Pogacar fan, but I know that somebody who's dominant and then doesn't win, that kind of gets to everybody. Okay, finally somebody beats him. That's also exciting". Spencer Martin was on the other side of the spectrum, hoping for a Pogacar win. Such a victory would not only complete his set of monuments but also open up the path for a likely conquest of all five monuments in one season, something previously never achieved - whilst he was the first rider in history to finish on the podium of all in one season, back in 2025.

"Almost like from a perverted perspective, I was like 'I just wanna see, can Pogacar win every race he starts in 2026?' I want to see how ridiculous can this get? But you're right, it's nice that he didn't win".

Over at Izulia Basque Country, the six-stage mountainous race could've seen, under the right circumstances, Paul Seixas - the youngest in the race - take wins everyday. Despite the strong competition, the Frenchman was simply unmatched in the key days of the race.

After the opening time trial, in which he immediately carved a meaningful gap over his rivals, "everybody knew 'okay this is the winner'. On stage two, everybody in the peloton, all his rivals knew: 'We already know who's winning the Basque Country'," Bruyneel states. "No matter what happens in the stages, he was just on another level".

After the Ardennes, negotiations regarding his future will resume, although it can't be argued that they have stopped fully. Not only are Decathlon and UAE in a heated battle for his future contract (his current runs until the end of 2027), but also Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and INEOS Grenadiers have reportedly gotten involved already.

Wherever he races however, with the talent and potential he is displaying, the cost will be tremendously high. According to the duo who have insight on Seixas' agent and the behind the scenes talk that has been ongoing, the reported value that they are looking at matches Tadej Pogacar's salary: €8 million a year.

"I think with the country he's from and how good he is, he might be the most, at least his future potential, the most marketable star in cycling," Martin argues. "But it's 8 million euros a year. So let's say five years, that's a 40 million euro investment". Is it worth at this point in time to pay such a salary to a rider who hasn't yet ridden a Grand Tour?

"It's too much. I mean, that's what Pogacar makes. That's ridiculous, it's too much. If Pogacar makes 8 million in salary, how can you justify a salary of 8 million for Paul Seixas?" Martin argued: "Well, this is not this year. It would be for two years from now".

However there is nuance to it, as the top teams nowadays struggle to sign new stars, who are almost fully under long-term contracts. Whoever is able to sign Seixas is likely keeping him for a very long period of time and, if he performs according to his potential, it may be an invaluable asset to any team.

Only this winter the price tag for contract buyouts for riders such as Remco Evenepoel (now Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe), Juan Ayuso (now Lidl-Trek) and Oscar Onley (INEOS Grenadiers) have been in the multiple millions - excluding their salaries. The numbers game is higher than ever in cycling, and perhaps that is a value several teams, including Decathlon which is growing and might even have the support of French president Emanuel Macron, are willing to pay.

But there are obvious risks: "We've seen so many young riders... Some of them have won one Tour de France when they were young. 'Oh, you know, now he's gonna win three or four or five'. Never won it again. Not saying this is the case for Seixas, but I think it's really, really early days to talk about that kind of contract".

Soon more will be known, and although he has year and a half remaining in his current contract, there is no doubt that a deal will be made before. "if you're Decathlon, you can't afford to miss out on this," Martin argues, calling it the opportunity of a lifetime for a team that was nowhere close the big teams up until recently.

"Like let's say you cheap out, you say eight million's too much. He goes to UAE and he wins five Tours. You look like an idiot, right?" Only the future will tell what Paul Seixas will mean to the sport of cycling, and with which team.