Paul Seixas: Tour de France Winner 2031

[AmRacer]

I'm curious how Seixas performs i.e. how close he will be to the top3, to guys like Del Toro and Pidcock.

Seixas and Del Toro are the new Tadej and Jonas.

 

[AlfaLum]

I'm curious how Seixas performs i.e. how close he will be to the top3, to guys like Del Toro and Pidcock.

Yes will definitely be interesting to see how close he is. No idea if the sterrati suit him well, but I guess they think it will if he starts here.

Also interested how he will compare to his junior rival Withen Philipsen here, as this might be about the best suited race for Albert on the calendar.

 

[Alexandre B.]

There will be no Vuelta according to L’Équipe.

He will race the Canadians before the Worlds.

 

[tobydawq]

There will be no Vuelta according to L’Équipe.

He will race the Canadians before the Worlds.

Tour + Vuelta would be pushing it a bit for a teenager.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Tour + Vuelta would be pushing it a bit for a teenager.

Obviously it would. Last year they weren't even sure he should ride the Tour in 2026 but I suppose they are more certain now.

 

[canina82]

There will be no Vuelta according to L’Équipe.

He will race the Canadians before the Worlds.

Big mistake IMO. Why not race the Vuelta and fight ftw? Now, it's almost a sure bet he will race the TdF.

 

[Berniece]

Big mistake IMO. Why not race the Vuelta and fight ftw? Now, it's almost a sure bet he will race the TdF.

I agree, I wouldn't put him through that amount of pressure at this age, and ride the TDF as his first GT. French talent riding French GT is asking for trouble.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'"

Marc Madiot hopes Seixas is the messiah of cycling, who will stop the Alien from the East.

"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'" - Marc Madiot after another resounding victory by his 19-year-old prodigy

France has been searching since 1985 for an heir to succeed “The Badger” Bernard Hinault. It is a 41-year void without a Tour de France victory that now seems to be illuminated by new hope. After year...

cyclinguptodate.com

 

[Rackham]

Big mistake IMO. Why not race the Vuelta and fight ftw? Now, it's almost a sure bet he will race the TdF.

On the contrary I believe sending him to the Tour makes the most sense - especially as soon as possible. He'll ride without pressure and learn. There's zero downsides.

It's all well and good saying ride the Vuelta and win it but A/that's not guaranteed (it's still a 3 week GT and his recovery is unknown) & B/imagine the best case scenario and he does win it? Next year in the TdF the pressure would be absolutely ginormous.

So since he's French and knowing how the hype cycle works, it's much better to pop the cherry and just do the Tour, come what may.

 

[Berniece]

On the contrary I believe sending him to the Tour makes the most sense - especially as soon as possible. He'll ride without pressure and learn. There's zero downsides.

It's all well and good saying ride the Vuelta and win it but A/that's not guaranteed (it's still a 3 week GT and his recovery is unknown) & B/imagine the best case scenario and he does win it? Next year in the TdF the pressure would be absolutely ginormous.

So since he's French and knowing how the hype cycle works, it's much better to pop the cherry and just do the Tour, come what may.

Why would he ride without pressure? When he's being called the Messiah already

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Why would he ride without pressure? When he's being called the Messiah already

It's true. His team would try to lower the pressure, perhaps giving him some freedom (without forcing the GC) but the media and fans would put tons of pressure on him.

 

[Rackham]

Why would he ride without pressure? When he's being called the Messiah already

Because he's a kid and Pog exists.

It's true. His team would try to lower the pressure, perhaps giving him some freedom (without forcing the GC) but the media and fans would put tons of pressure on him.

I think the overarching sentiment towards him will be one of patience, support and understanding when things don't go well. We've seen it all before with Pinot, i.e. when fans have hope that a French rider will eventually come good and maybe win it in the future, they cut him massive slack.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Because he's a kid and Pog exists.



I think the overarching sentiment towards him will be one of patience, support and understanding when things don't go well. We've seen it all before with Pinot, i.e. when fans have hope that a French rider will eventually come good and maybe win it in the future, they cut him massive slack.

The presence of the ultimate alpha, Pogacar, should lower the pressure as well but the hype is still big.

 

[Rackham]

The presence of the ultimate alpha, Pogacar, should lower the pressure as well but the hype is still big.

I don't know. I live here and I don't see the hype being outrageous tbh.

He's also got the advantage of the fact the football world cup takes place this summer and 'les bleus' monopolize almost every news outlet.

 

[Pozzovivo]

My bet is that if he performs on the trajectory of the last few months, the external expectations put on him (what people often call pressure but pressure is more the internal perception of this) will increase more than his growth of maturity from age 19 to 20. He should thus ride the TDF now.

Doing the TDF with explicit communucation of riding for stages this year is basically easing into it. If he comes top 5-10 it's a bonus.

Edit: Pogacar rode the vuelta and finished third in his neopro year. Didn't hurt him much. Given the professionalization of youth cycling, Seixas is probably longer down the road in his maturity as a rider than Pogacar was then. Even considering the one year difference. People are overly traditional.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Why would he ride without pressure? When he's being called the Messiah already

Jesus was called the Messiah, too, yet not that much is known about what he did before his late twenties. Maybe it will be the same case for Paul the Apostle.

 

[Tim Cahill]

The French cannot help it, he will be going toe to toe with with Santiago Buitrago and Ciccone for 8th by week 2.

 

[Netserk]

"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'"

Marc Madiot hopes Seixas is the messiah of cycling, who will stop the Alien from the East.

"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'" - Marc Madiot after another resounding victory by his 19-year-old prodigy

France has been searching since 1985 for an heir to succeed “The Badger” Bernard Hinault. It is a 41-year void without a Tour de France victory that now seems to be illuminated by new hope. After year...

cyclinguptodate.com

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are
correct. This every sister of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin your study of
the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you first place him in his time: born
in the 57th year of the Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV. And take the most special
care that you locate Muad'Dib in his place: the planet Arrakis. Do not be
deceived by the fact that he was born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen
years there. Arrakis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his place.
-from "Manual of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

With the Lady Jessica and Arrakis, the Bene Gesserit system of sowing implant-
legends through the Missionaria Protectiva came to its full fruition. The wisdom
of seeding the known universe with a prophecy pattern for the protection of B.G.
personnel has long been appreciated, but never have we seen a condition-ut-
extremis with more ideal mating of person and preparation. The prophetic legends
had taken on Arrakis even to the extent of adopted labels (including Reverend
Mother, canto and respondu, and most of the Shari-a panoplia propheticus). And
it is generally accepted now that the Lady Jessica's latent abilities were
grossly underestimated.
-from "Analysis: The Arrakeen Crisis" by the Princess Irulan [Private
circulation: B.G. file number AR-81088587]

On that first day when Muad'Dib rode through the streets of Arrakeen with his
family, some of the people along the way recalled the legends and the prophecy
and they ventured to shout: "Mahdi!" But their shout was more a question than a
statement, for as yet they could only hope he was the one foretold as the Lisan
al-Gaib, the Voice from the Outer World. Their attention was focused, too, on
the mother, because they had heard she was a Bene Gesserit and it was obvious to
them that she was like the other Lisan al-Gaib.
-from "Manual of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times and oppression
to develop psychic muscles.
-from "Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

He was warrior and mystic, ogre and saint, the fox and the innocent, chivalrous,
ruthless, less than a god, more than a man. There is no measuring Muad'Dib's
motives by ordinary standards. In the moment of his triumph, he saw the death
prepared for him, yet he accepted the treachery. Can you say he did this out of
a sense of justice? Whose justice, then? Remember, we speak now of the Muad'Dib
who ordered battle drums made from his enemies' skins, the Muad'Dib who denied
the conventions of his ducal past with a wave of the hand, saying merely: "I am
the Kwisatz Haderach. That is reason enough. "
-from "Arrakis Awakening" by the Princess Irulan

 

[dobrien]

A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are
correct. This every sister of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin your study of
the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you first place him in his time: born
in the 57th year of the Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV. And take the most special
care that you locate Muad'Dib in his place: the planet Arrakis. Do not be
deceived by the fact that he was born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen
years there. Arrakis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his place.
-from "Manual of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

With the Lady Jessica and Arrakis, the Bene Gesserit system of sowing implant-
legends through the Missionaria Protectiva came to its full fruition. The wisdom
of seeding the known universe with a prophecy pattern for the protection of B.G.
personnel has long been appreciated, but never have we seen a condition-ut-
extremis with more ideal mating of person and preparation. The prophetic legends
had taken on Arrakis even to the extent of adopted labels (including Reverend
Mother, canto and respondu, and most of the Shari-a panoplia propheticus). And
it is generally accepted now that the Lady Jessica's latent abilities were
grossly underestimated.
-from "Analysis: The Arrakeen Crisis" by the Princess Irulan [Private
circulation: B.G. file number AR-81088587]

On that first day when Muad'Dib rode through the streets of Arrakeen with his
family, some of the people along the way recalled the legends and the prophecy
and they ventured to shout: "Mahdi!" But their shout was more a question than a
statement, for as yet they could only hope he was the one foretold as the Lisan
al-Gaib, the Voice from the Outer World. Their attention was focused, too, on
the mother, because they had heard she was a Bene Gesserit and it was obvious to
them that she was like the other Lisan al-Gaib.
-from "Manual of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

There should be a science of discontent. People need hard times and oppression
to develop psychic muscles.
-from "Collected Sayings of Muad'Dib" by the Princess Irulan

He was warrior and mystic, ogre and saint, the fox and the innocent, chivalrous,
ruthless, less than a god, more than a man. There is no measuring Muad'Dib's
motives by ordinary standards. In the moment of his triumph, he saw the death
prepared for him, yet he accepted the treachery. Can you say he did this out of
a sense of justice? Whose justice, then? Remember, we speak now of the Muad'Dib
who ordered battle drums made from his enemies' skins, the Muad'Dib who denied
the conventions of his ducal past with a wave of the hand, saying merely: "I am
the Kwisatz Haderach. That is reason enough. "
-from "Arrakis Awakening" by the Princess Irulan

Genius! Unfortunately it feels like we're not all that far away from this; I think it's just flat out stupid for Madiot to be speaking of him in those terms. This poor kid better be made of some very stern stuff.

 

[Netserk]

ah , but at least he will dethrone pogi one day , its not like it can get any worse

He remained silent, thinking like the seed he was, thinking with the race
consciousness he had first experienced as terrible purpose. He found that he no
longer could hate the Bene Gesserit or the Emperor or even the Harkonnens. They
were all caught up in the need of their race to renew its scattered inheritance,
to cross and mingle and infuse their bloodlines in a great new pooling of genes.
And the race knew only one sure way for this--the ancient way, the tried and
certain way that rolled over everything in its path: jihad.
Surely, I cannot choose that way, he thought.
But he saw again in his mind's eye the shrine of his father's skull and the
violence with the green and black banner waving in its midst.
Jessica cleared her throat, worried by his silence. "Then . . . the Fremen
will give us sanctuary?"
He looked up, staring across the green-lighted tent at the inbred, patrician
lines of her face. "Yes," he said. "That's one of the ways." He nodded. "Yes.
They'll call me . . . Muad'Dib, 'The One Who Points the Way.' Yes . . . that's
what they'll call me."

 

[theyoungest]

"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'"

Marc Madiot hopes Seixas is the messiah of cycling, who will stop the Alien from the East.

"Pogacar is an alien, but Seixas is the Messiah. He is the one who is 'expected'" - Marc Madiot after another resounding victory by his 19-year-old prodigy

France has been searching since 1985 for an heir to succeed “The Badger” Bernard Hinault. It is a 41-year void without a Tour de France victory that now seems to be illuminated by new hope. After year...

cyclinguptodate.com

Oh Jesus Christ. Way to keep the pressure low, monsieur Madiot.

Seixas is certainly really good. Better than Pogacar was at that age. Much, much better than Vingegaard was. But everyone has their own trajectory. We know Madiot isn't exactly known for his balanced, well thought-out statements, but he of all people should know this.

 

[YellowSocks]

Oh Jesus Christ. Way to keep the pressure low, monsieur Madiot.

Seixas is certainly really good. Better than Pogacar was at that age. Much, much better than Vingegaard was. But everyone has their own trajectory. We know Madiot isn't exactly known for his balanced, well thought-out statements, but he of all people should know this.

Who cares about what Madiot says? Everybody knows he's a drama queen.

 

[YavorD]

I agree, I wouldn't put him through that amount of pressure at this age, and ride the TDF as his first GT. French talent riding French GT is asking for trouble.

On the other hand, if he goes to the Vuelta and he wins it, something not totally unlikely at this point, next year the pressure and expectations will be much higher and he'll be just 20.
I think it's better to deal with it when the expectations are perhaps slightly lower.

 

[Berniece]

On the other hand, if he goes to the Vuelta and he wins it, something not totally unlikely at this point, next year the pressure and expectations will be much higher and he'll be just 20.
I think it's better to deal with it when the expectations are perhaps slightly lower.

I don't understand why everyone thinks he can already win the Vuelta. He hasn't shown he's able to perform for 3 weeks straight and not have a dip. And on top of that, I still expect Pogacar to ride the Vuelta, because what else was his reason to have such a "weak" spring season... That's because you might want to add another GT to it so the season isn't too heavy.

 

[canina82]

I also think Pogacar will race the Vuelta and for that reason Seixas should ride the Vuelta. Pressure will be low with Pogacar racing.