“What were you doing at nineteen? Getting drunk and acting tough” – Lance Armstrong rethinks Paul Seixas criticism after historic Tour de France fourth
Cycling
Lance Armstrong admitted a question from Sir Bradley Wiggins forced him to reconsider his criticism of Paul Seixas on the final mountain stage of the 2026 Tour de France. The Frenchman missed out on the podium at Alpe d’Huez but is set to finish fourth overall at only 19 years of age.
“He’s the youngest rider in the Tour since 1937 and finished fourth,” Armstrong said on The Move. “I was a bit critical of Seixas today, but Bradley asked me, ‘What were you doing at nineteen?’ The answer: getting drunk and acting tough.”
Seixas had started stage 20 only 20 seconds behind Isaac Del Toro in the fight for third overall. Decathlon CMA CGM Team wanted to put its young leader on the final podium, but Seixas was distanced as Tadej Pogacar set the pace for Del Toro on the Col de Sarenne.
The Frenchman finished 1:50 behind the UAE pair, increasing his deficit to Del Toro to 2:14. Seixas later admitted he had reached his limit and was disappointed that he could not sustain his podium challenge.
Youngest Tour rider for 89 years
This is Seixas’s first Grand Tour and he had never previously raced for longer than eight days. He started in Barcelona aged 19 years, nine months and ten days, making him the youngest Tour de France participant for 89 years.
Adrien Cento was younger when he entered the 1937 edition, while Danny van Poppel had previously held the post-war record after starting the 2013 Tour at 19 years and 11 months.
“Pogacar became the best ever in his early twenties,” Armstrong added as he considered what Seixas’s debut could mean for the coming years.
The 19-year-old had already established himself as one of cycling’s outstanding young talents before arriving at the Tour. He won the 2025 Tour de l’Avenir before becoming the youngest winner of both the Tour of the Basque Country and Fleche Wallonne in 2026. He also finished second behind Pogacar at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Paul Seixas at the 2026 Tour de France
“A future winner of the Tour de France”
Former US road champion George Hincapie was even more emphatic about Seixas’s long-term potential.
“I know the team wanted him on the podium, but he’s shown that he can handle three weeks of racing,” Hincapie said. “He’s shown that he’s a future winner of the Tour de France.”
France’s wait for a home winner of the men’s Tour stretches back to Bernard Hinault’s fifth victory in 1985. Seixas has reached the brink of the podium on his debut more than a year before his 21st birthday.
He enters the shortened final stage in Paris 11:56 behind Pogacar and 1:06 ahead of Lenny Martinez in fifth. Completing the Montmartre circuit will confirm fourth place in his first Tour de France.
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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- i dont think he is ready ot win against the top 2 or the 2nd rung of evenepoel, del toro , Almeida. In the third week in the TDF he was very very defensive, no attacks. i think he was exhausted. right now he needs time not the brutal Giro or the intense TDF.abstractengineer04-11-2026
- Rota is an excellent rider to get in a break with because he always does his turnchapmanesque04-11-2026
- That 3000 extra that the Tour de France is built up in the flat stages
Rafionain-Glas04-11-2026 - maybe this is something else they can protest in the streets of France.mij04-11-2026
- his Roubaix win was amazing. not to take anything away from him - arguably one of MVDP's wins was at the expense of a WVA flat - but so many things need to line up to get one of these. He had a perfect race with fewer bike issues on an attritional course. And crazy strong as usual. Glad he got this done.mij04-11-2026
- Orts was a super smart signing with the new rules regarding cross and UCI pointsmij04-11-2026
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- 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
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