"Why not ride Vuelta instead?": Dutch pundit believes Seixas should postpone Tour debut and "try" for a win elsewhere

The cycling world has been dancing in the palm of Tadej Pogacar's hand for a few seasons now and, until very recently, the situation seemed hopeless for the Slovenian's opponents. But as these things tend to go - a new challenger arose. Paul Seixas achieved what was perhaps unthinkable for many - parried Pogacar's decisive move on La Redoute during Sunday's Liege-Bastogne-Liege, forcing the world champion to dig deeper into his reservoir than he might've planned beforehand.

"Paul Seixas won today, whether he finished first, second or third. Coming over La Redoute alongside Pogačar - that was the victory," commented Bobbie Traksel on the Kop Over Kop podcast.

Jeroen Vanbelleghem was likewise impressed by Seixas' effort on Redoute where others like Mattias Skjelmose lost over 20 seconds riding full throttle. However he disliked how Seixas didn't hesitate to take pulls with Pogacar - as if he wasn't trying to win the race. "As Tom Boonen said: there's a lack of tactics. I'd have hoped for a bit more tactical nous, because someone can follow. But no - we just ride along with the best in the world."

Traksel understands the point, but pushes back. "I wouldn't have done every single turn at the front. But I would have taken some, to show the intention of wanting to help. They're going to face each other very often, and by doing that, Pogacar will give Seixas more in the coming months than he would have done if Seixas had just sat on his wheel and played it like Vingegaard would."

Jan Hermsen agrees with the Dutch ex-pro and points to Pogacar's convincing ride in the final phase of the race. After dropping Seixas on the last ascent of the day, Pogacar continued as if he had ridden maintenance until then and puts almost a minute into Seixas over 15 kilometers. "Seixas knows he has no chance on the Roche-aux-Faucons anyway. So isn't it better to contribute? They're not getting caught. And they're small turns."

Regardless of the outcome on Sunday, the French fans are in awe. After four-decade-long wait, they seem to have found Bernard Hinault's successor in quest for Tour de France victory. Vanbelleghem echoes the voices requesting for Seixas to debut at Grand Boucle already this year: "Everyone wants to see him at the Tour de France now, don't they?" The rest of gentlemen agree - except Traksel.

Because, according to him, riding for anything but overall victory is unacceptable for a rider of Seixas' qualities: "Champions like this should only race when they are one hundred per cent at their best and can genuinely race for the win. Winning is very important to me - but Seixas at the Tour... Why not do his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta instead?"

For Traksel, it is a simple calculation. "By then, Pogacar will be slightly cooked - if he even goes, which isn't certain. Vingegaard is doing the Giro and the Tour. Maybe it's the easier route, but I believe in it more than burning him out at the Tour. But he - and France - can barely avoid the Tour de France now. The pressure on that boy is going to be enormous," he concludes.