“You should simply leave him alone”: Adrie van der Poel calls for Paul Seixas to be protected from a growing media frenzy at the Tour
CyclingMonday, 20 July 2026 at 09:00
Paul Seixas continues to exceed expectations in his debut Tour de France, with the 19-year-old emerging as one of the biggest revelations of the race. While his performances have reignited hopes of a future French Tour winner, Adrie van der Poel believes the growing media frenzy surrounding the teenage star risks putting too much pressure on him too soon.
Van der Poel impressed by Seixas' performance
Mathieu van der Poel's dad was particularly impressed by Seixas' ride on stage 14 to Le Markstein, where the Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider finished third and climbed to fourth overall.
“When you see what Seixas did... He closed the gap, then immediately took his turns at the front and still managed to finish third,” Van der Poel told Wielerrevue.
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The 19-year-old has quickly become one of the biggest talking points of this year's Tour, but Van der Poel believes it is important to keep expectations in check.
“Still, we have to be careful. He’s 19 years old. What he has shown in this Tour is already fantastic. There is still so much to come.”
The Dutchman was also struck by Seixas' confidence despite the demanding mountain stages still ahead. “When you hear him speak, he seems completely confident, even looking ahead to the weekend with the double ascent of Alpe d’Huez.”
Paul Seixas on stage 8 of the 2026 Tour de France
Concern over growing media attention
While France is understandably excited about the emergence of a rider capable of ending the country's four-decade wait for another Tour winner, Van der Poel believes Seixas should be protected from excessive media obligations.
“He is already being put on a pedestal, especially if you listen to all the commentators,” he said. “What he is doing is obviously fantastic. But if you really care about a talent like him, you don’t send him to television programmes after every stage.”
Instead, Van der Poel feels the priority should be allowing Seixas to recover properly after racing. “You should simply leave him alone so that, after doing his interviews with journalists, he can go straight back to the hotel.”
At the same time, he understands why French fans and media have become so captivated by the teenager. “It has been a long time since they had a rider like this. Naturally, they want to know everything about him.”
Félix SernaCycling Journalist
Félix Serna is a writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2025. He covers professional cycling across both the men’s and women’s calendars, with a focus on UCI rankings, race developments, and rider performance. His work includes interview-based reports, liveblogs, and tournament coverage designed to provide clear, accurate context throughout the season.
In his reporting, Félix regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical reference. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. He holds a bachelor’s degree in International Studies.
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- True. If you going to test for doping though, between two tough mountain stages is the right time to test beacuse that is when they might need it most.
Andrew21-07-2026 - cycling has been dirty forever, really not sure why no one is giving the testers the benefit of the doubtwhkman21-07-2026
- None of us really know what goes on behind closed doors but it is very suspicious to wake these riders up the day before a big mountain stage while they are still recovering from the mountain stage the day before. I have to go to bed, it's almost 2am lolawp21-07-2026
- And you’re free to believe that as I am free not to believe it regardless of who my neighbours or work colleagues support.Andrew21-07-2026
- And you know that how? Did Pog call you, message you?Andrew21-07-2026
- being reported that as many as 8 teams were tested at late hours and from Benjamin Cohen, head of ITA in April: “I don’t think you would want to do mass testing at the Tour de France, for example, and wake up all the athletes at 3am — that doesn’t make sense. I think you would need to have very concrete suspicions (about an athlete) and use that in a very cautious manner. “I wouldn’t advocate for mass night testing, but certainly for some flexibility if you believe that there is an issue.” so really doesn't seem like he's crazy about testing and thinks they should need evidence for late night testing. and here we are, they went to a judge and got the ok so I think they have credible evidencewhkman21-07-2026
- "a bit much" is an understatement.whkman21-07-2026
- UAE will suffocate Remco in the big mountains !frieders321-07-2026
- the ita obviously only had evidence on the riders that were tested and took it to the judge and the judge ok'd the 2am and 5am tests. maybe seixas is doped up who knows? but they didn't have any evidence on him to bring to a judge. anyone who thinks the French are biased has forgotten Festina.whkman21-07-2026
- Remco won, Pogi second ! Your worst nightmare ! Ad Acta Clown !frieders320-07-2026
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