“We will have regrets about those seconds lost” – Marc Madiot fears Paul Seixas is already on the back foot despite strong first Tour de France impression
CyclingSunday, 05 July 2026 at 15:00
Paul Seixas has already reached the awkward part of his Tour de France debut: he is being judged like a 19-year-old riding his first Grand Tour, and like a rider whose level may soon make every lost second matter.
The Decathlon CMA CGM Team talent began the race with a strong visual impression in Barcelona, finishing the opening team time trial 10th overall after pushing on alone towards the Olympic Stadium. On paper, he starts the road stages 39 seconds behind Jonas Vingegaard. In the fight around the next layer of GC contenders, he is 23 seconds behind Juan Ayuso, 20 behind Remco Evenepoel, 13 behind Isaac del Toro and four behind Florian Lipowitz.
Asked on RMC’s Les Grandes Gueules du Sport whether Seixas’ first stage had been positive, Marc Madiot did not take the easy route.
“No,” replied the Groupama - FDJ United boss.
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Seixas already caught between promise and expectation
Madiot was not dismissing Seixas’ performance. His concern was that the French teenager may be good enough for those early gaps to become relevant later in the race.
“I have the highest regard for Seixas’ qualities and I hope for him and for us that in a few days we will regret the small delay he took on Saturday,” Madiot explained. “That would mean he is at the top of the pyramid, that he is playing with the very best.”
Seixas starts the road stages 23 seconds behind Ayuso, 20 behind Evenepoel, 13 behind Isaac del Toro and four behind Florian Lipowitz. Those are small gaps on paper, but Madiot suggested their importance depends on how quickly the Frenchman confirms his level in the mountains and on the punchier stages still to come.
“I hope that, in the analysis, we will have regrets about those few seconds lost,” Madiot continued. “If unfortunately he falls back into the soft underbelly, it will obviously have no consequence or importance.”
Madiot has been the long-term face of the Groupama-FDJ United team
Coppel sees strength, not warning signs
Jerome Coppel, the former French time trial champion and now an RMC consultant, took the opposite view from the same ride. “It’s his first day on the Tour,” Coppel said. “On paper, for a team time trial like that, Decathlon CMA CGM did not have a super team. They limited the damage well.”
The strongest part of Seixas’ day came at the end, where he still looked capable of driving himself to the line after the team effort had broken up around him.
“Beyond the result and the seconds, it is the visual impression and the feelings that you have to look at, and Paul Seixas looked really, really strong,” Coppel added. “Physically, he looks good.”
Coppel also pushed back against measuring Seixas directly against Pogacar and Vingegaard at this point of his career, even after a season that has rapidly lifted expectations around the French teenager.
“I don’t expect Paul Seixas to fight with Pogacar and Vingegaard,” he said. “For all that Paul Seixas is, he is not yet in that bracket.”
Seixas begins the road stages inside the early top 10, 39 seconds off yellow and 23 seconds behind Ayuso in the young rider standings. His first Tour de France impression was strong; the next question is whether the gaps from Barcelona stay small enough to ignore.
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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