"What did he learn? He now knows Pogacar's backside very well" - Guimard claims Paul Seixas wasted time by racing Tour
Cycling
Regardless of whether you have been a fan of the idea or not; Paul Seixas made his Grand Tour debut at the 2026 Tour de France. And objectively speaking even though it's not the desired podium, the 19-year-old did not disappoint with a fourth place overall.
So, was it a good idea or not for Seixas to make his debut already as a second-year professional? Former French national coach Cyrille Guimard voiced his disagreement prior to the race start and, after three weeks of racing, his opinion remains the same.
"No, I haven't changed my mind. I'll say it again: you don't waste time when you're patient," he replies to Cyclism'Actu when asked whether it was worth it for Decathlon CMA CGM to risk by throwing Seixas into the deep end.
Waste of time
In Guimard's eyes, the outcome of the race ended up precisely as we could've anticipated. No miracle happened. Pogacar dominated the race and two other riders proved to be a little bit better than Seixas at the moment. And that's with Jonas Vingegaard and Florian Lipowitz both thrown out of the race by crashes while in contention for top-5 result.
"He's going to a Tour where we know there's one rider who's going to dominate, and two or three others who are at least at his level, if not better."
Paul Seixas at the 2026 Tour de France
So, besides the feeling of racing all-out for three weeks, Seixas will have learnt nothing he didn't know prior to this experience. And that annoys Guimard:
"What did he learn on this Tour? I'll tell you what he learned. It's extraordinary: he knows Pogacar's backside and Del Toro's backside very well. He spent the entire Tour in their slipstream. He knows them inside and out. He knows their pedal strokes by heart. And then what? He learned that it's hard. You don't need to ride the Tour to learn that it's hard..."
Finally, Guimard hopes that this served as a lesson to leaders at Decathlon who should be more picky with where Seixas competes from now on. Perhaps try to win the Giro or Vuelta first, in absence of Tadej Pogacar. And then, when he's ready, Seixas should come back to win - not to participate.
"Let him wait until he's ready to come and try to win the Tour. For me, I haven't changed my mind. He could have waited. And I'll repeat what I've already said: we'll take stock in ten years. I might not even be here anymore..."
Not to end like Ayuso
The worst thing which could happen according to Guimard is for Seixas' talent to extinguish in the shadow of Pogacar and others. He draws a parallel to another "super-talent" Juan Ayuso who shocked the world with Vuelta a Espana podium at the age of 19, but has never taken a step forward and only finished 7th at this year's Tour de France - far behind Paul Seixas.
"Take Juan Ayuso. At the same age, he finished third in La Vuelta in 2022. And today, he's dropped in all the major mountain stages," Guimard concludes.
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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