"There are things I know, but I can't reveal them..." - Decathlon might have made decision on Paul Seixas' Tour de France debut, according to Luke Rowe
Cycling
Paul Seixas' future is one of the most interesting current plotlines in pro cycling, with the Frenchman delivering incredible results this season as an 18 and 19-year old. His potential is immense, he is France's best hope when it comes to winning the Tour de France in the next few years and his potential is already through the roof. But will he race the Tour already in 2026? The decision may have been taken.
"It's still up in the air. We have a training camp with the staff very soon, and this is one of the questions we'll have to think about and try to answer," team DS Rowe, formerly of INEOS Grenadiers, told Eurosport France. "There are things I know, but I can't reveal them. I think the team will publish Seixas's schedule when it's ready."
"There aren't many riders representing France who, according to observers, can win the Tour de France, so people are naturally going to put pressure on him, but I'm sure he'll be able to handle it."
Could this mean that Seixas will race the Tour already next season? It would, in traditional sense, come as a shock as its been widely argued that he does not need to take on the Grand Boucle at such a young age, and that it is a more natural step to instead aim for the Vuelta a España first, or even the Giro d'Italia.
Not the same sport as when Rowe started out
"You know, it's not the same sport it was 10 years ago. Before, you took it slow, you did two or three years, you raced the Giro, the Vuelta, and then you moved on to the big race, the Tour de France. Now, it's more ruthless," the Welshman argued. "It's like being thrown into the deep end and being told 'swim or sink'."
This comes as a potential argument to justify Seixas' selection towards next year's Tour debut, and this also comes in the context that a decision has been made already, whilst the only route announced thus far is that of the Tour.
However if this was to happen it also might not come as a negative thing for the Frenchman, who would from early on begin to gain experience in his ultimate goal - whilst the team may also want this, taking into consideration he is currently only signed until 2027 and if he does not race it this year, he could potentially make his debut in his departure year.
He has given enough evidence already that he is capable of racing amongst the top riders, winning the Tour de l'Avenir this fall, finishing eighth at the Criterium du Dauphiné, seventh at Il Lombardia and third behind Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel at the European Championships.
Seixas at the 2025 European Championships. @Sirotti
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- JV is really slighting himself with not doing the 1 dayers.. 🤷
leedorney02-11-2026 - Watch the interview on youtube. I don't speak French. I do speak English and Spanish and you can hear it in his voice. Years ago LeMond had real personal problems I imagine in no small part because of Armstrong. then Armstrong goes round "full blast" re: LeMond having drinking and drug problems. The same way Andreu was expelled from mainstream cycling so was LeMond. On the positive side the clips of the ride and chatting with old teammates and was good. To seemed like a fun day and experience and good reason brush up his French.atom02-11-2026
- and another no-news article around the ‚2 tokyo jogging rounds‘ headline, this time spiced with some days old ‚news‘ that the LA and japan vacation trips come during or after the tdf route release. i am getting more and more annoyed by this time-stealing no-news crap. but who am i to complain? nobody forces me to come back for more ‚news‘ day after day …Ketterechts02-11-2026
- It would likely be a very steep section of 4.1 km, not changing the average gradient considerably, with the climb remaining 10.1 km at 11.8%. It would reach 20% on the gravel. It would start 1.6 km in, and finish with 4.2 km left to climb (before the short final descent)
Rafionain-Glas02-11-2026 - Welcome to the off-season.
santiagobenites02-11-2026 - guillaume martin in this list is quite a surprise as a gc rider.Ketterechts02-11-2026
- Who cares what Bruyneel thinks. He and his best mate Lance, the biggest fraud in the history of sport, have no place commenting on anything but how to lie and cheat!whit2pet02-11-2026
- Eeesh!Lozza02-11-2026
- bravo! a rider likes jonas needs motivation and he needs to believe in being able to reach goals. he - like anybody else in the world - doesn't believe that he can win the tdf with pogi present. and what's it worth for when pogi is not there? second class victory only. he has checked all three grand tours, so what is left if not retire? the classics! go for it, jonas!Ketterechts02-11-2026
- i am sure that under the pretext of medical examination a lot worse has happened when they were under.abstractengineer02-11-2026
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