Paul Seixas: Tour de France Winner 2031

[Krzysztof_O]

For LBL my bet is he will follow Pogi on la redoute but crack a bit later

It could be so. His response to Pogs attack may initially be better than Remco's.

"I don’t have the level to beat him" - Paul Seixas does not want to be put side-by-side with Tadej Pogacar at Liège

At 19 years of age, the potential and excitement for the development of Paul Seixas is something that has rarely ever been seen in pro cycling. But where can the line be drawn as of April 2026? The Fr...

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Good comment by Seixas. Its better to lower the pressure and expectations before the race when French pundits call him Messiah and Superhuman already. If he succeeds its great, if not then no tragedy. He still has time to win and to learn.

 

[KZD]

First WT classic in the bag!

Also 7 wins in 14 race days in 2026, mindblowing stats.

 

[canina82]

He will be better than Pogacar. Never expected to see a young guy like him. Sooner than later, he will start to compete in RVV and PR. Mark my words!

 

[Unchained]

I can't assess the globe for sports recognition. I might be able to assess sports awareness in the USA.
American soccer fans know Henry and Mbappe and probably a few more.
But the average sports fans in the US? maybe not.
How many times in a row would Seixas have to win the le Tour before an American sports would hear is name on a sports channel?

Probably 10 wins would get Paul Seixas some honorable mention in American sports journalism. It's not the athletes or the sport simply the lack of promotion and decades of a decaying reputation of bike racing that nobody has the energy to defend, display or rebuild. There is no product available in the US market. All major sports are sucking up all the oxygen in the room. If you start dividing the sports pie, football, baseball, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis, car racing, and fringe coverage of motocross, surfing which are often bought from 3rd party producers and aired on ESPN, other networks as fill or air in the middle of the night.. Enter pickleball, marathons, track and field... Where would a consistent Paul Seixas status report fit? What would it sound like?" Hey America there is a French teenager who is racing great, he looks like the next big thing ,ect,ect" ....and in anything about bike racing in the US.. Only 2_things always come up.. Greg Lemond and Lance Armstrong.. There is no media appetite to rebuild Armstrong, there is no motivation for any widespread forgiveness of Lance shame and crimes.. ESPN and the rest don't ( won't) revisit bike racing for obvious reasons.
Unless there is measurable amounts of money to be made from bike racing products, pickleball and bowling will still be ahead of them.. When more Americans watch dog shows than bike racing it's better not to lose sleep over it. If the UCI doesn't put any effort, no time or money towards promoting bike racing in the US, poor Paul Seixas is not going to get any attention.
On a positive Paul promotion note, he might get some press in Mexico and Spanish speaking markets for the rivalry with Isaac Del Toro..

 

[Didinho]

He will be better to follow Pogi’s attack, he can go deep for a longer time than Remco.

Strong win today. It looked like he was suffering but it was just timing his effort. Impressive with the lack of experience here. Just the strongest.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Congrats on a big win. So what are expectations and hopes in France ? Light of hope that the long awaited Messiah will beat the Dark Lord soon?

@Rackham

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Congrats on a big win. So what are the expectations and hopes in France ? Light of hope that the long awaited Messiah will beat the Dark Lord soon?

@Rackham

Macron supposedly started an intervention to keep him away from UAE and keep him in France. So it seems like it's national emergency level.

 

[Red Rick]

Macron supposedly started an intervention to keep him away from UAE and keep him in France. So it seems like it's national emergency level.

Good to know he'll win the Tour very very soon then.

 

[Netserk]

He will be berrer than Pogacar. Never expected to see a young guy like him. Sooner than later, he will start to compete in RVV and PR. Mark my words!

depends how long this era lasts

the excessive level of dominance is a product of structure , not agents

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Good to know he'll win the Tour very very soon then.

I have hopes for longer TTs again.
Will be very interesting how well he regenerates over 3 weeks. I think from a riders developement perspective they should let him ride a GT before his first Tour, but I guess we'll find out in July.

 

[Coppi-Bartali]

French journalists themselves are saying that Sivakov has been signed to be Seixas's domestique... This is a strategy, like in football; it's a rumor to increase his salary. He never intended to leave the team.

And perhaps it's in cahoots with Decathlon to justify their move to Switzerland. No one from Decathlon has denied the Sivakov rumor, and they don't seem bothered by the rumors about Seixas either 😂

 

[Extinction]

I have hopes for longer TTs again.
Will be very interesting how well he regenerates over 3 weeks. I think from a riders developement perspective they should let him ride a GT before his first Tour, but I guess we'll find out in July.

Being French, the Tour is like the sirens tempting Odysseus' crew (the team management), plus rumor has it that Paul already calls the shots at Decathlon. So he should go to the Tour to learn, without pressure, but fight like hell.

 

[YavorD]

I have hopes for longer TTs again.
Will be very interesting how well he regenerates over 3 weeks. I think from a riders developement perspective they should let him ride a GT before his first Tour, but I guess we'll find out in July.

He is destroying everyone on the climbs as well, they don't need to bring TT's for him.
Although it would be interesting if he is a bit weaker on the climbs during GT's, but a dominant TT rider

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

He is destroying everyone on the climbs as well, they don't need to bring TT's for him.
Although it would be interesting if he is a bit weaker on the climbs during GT's, but a dominant TT rider

Or if someone is similarly strong on the climbs, but relatively weaker in the TTs than him.

 

[No Excuses]

It's a common misconception but Xavi Simons did live in the Netherlands during his early childhood.

Xavi is on his way to his biggest coup this season

 

[fenns]

Atreides!

 

[MJR]

Great win today. The pressure is gonna be ridiculous from now on.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Being French, the Tour is like the sirens tempting Odysseus' crew (the team management), plus rumor has it that Paul already calls the shots at Decathlon. So he should go to the Tour to learn, without pressure, but fight like hell.

The pressure will be big already this July. But if he waits for another year it could be even bigger next year. He should start this year: the best riders should ride the Tour.

 

[BubbaChuck]

Paul ''Guillotine'' Seixas.

 

[fenns]

after Sunday guess it will be Dauphine then the Tour

 

[AlfaLum]

I think the pressure has not increased after today.

I think that already after Strade he has expected from himself that he can beat everybody besides Pogacar, Vingegaard and maybe on some races Evenepoel.

That probably hasnt changed much. Maybe he has hopes of challenging Vingegaard but I think in reality he will probably aim for a Tour podium. And I think even The French people would generally be happy with that.

 

[GdL]

He will be better to follow Pogi’s attack, he can go deep for a longer time than Remco.

Strong win today. It looked like he was suffering but it was just timing his effort. Impressive with the lack of experience here. Just the strongest.

It’s definitely too early to call. Putting that much pressure on a young rider this soon is risky. Remember, Remco was the 'next big thing' supposed to eclipse Pogačar, yet Pogačar himself didn't truly hit this god-tier level of dominance until the 2024 season.

You just never know; age is often just a number. Some athletes mature faster: we see it in football all the time. But in sport at the highest level, the head is what really makes the difference, not just the body. Plenty of riders have the talent, but not everyone has the mental grit to persevere or the tactical 'smart cells' to maximize their physical gifts.

I’d love to see Seixas give Pogačar a real run for his money at the Tour, and we can dream of it happening this year, but it’s really not fair to heap all this expectation on him yet.
.

 

[canina82]

Pressure is the privilege of champions.

 

[Extinction]

The pressure will be big already this July. But if he waits for another year it could be even bigger next year. He should start this year: the best riders should ride the Tour.

I agree, but at least this year he has the "excuse" to enter with a care-free mindset, as much as that is possible. Because, as you say, next year he won't have that luxury, even at 20. He's that good.

 

[Didinho]

It’s definitely too early to call. Putting that much pressure on a young rider this soon is risky. Remember, Remco was the 'next big thing' supposed to eclipse Pogačar, yet Pogačar himself didn't truly hit this god-tier level of dominance until the 2024 season.

You just never know; age is often just a number. Some athletes mature faster: we see it in football all the time. But in sport at the highest level, the head is what really makes the difference, not just the body. Plenty of riders have the talent, but not everyone has the mental grit to persevere or the tactical 'smart cells' to maximize their physical gifts.

I’d love to see Seixas give Pogačar a real run for his money at the Tour, and we can dream of it happening this year, but it’s really not fair to heap all this expectation on him yet.
.

The only thing he would end up 3rd is because of the distance. But what I saw in Strade is that he can hold that power for longer than I’ve ever seen Remco do it. Maybe he’ll run out of energy because of this and the long race. But in those 4’ efforts he looks stronger than Remco already in my opinion. Not putting pressure on anyone, just an observation he goes all out in that situation while Remco will be more reserved to have more left for the parts in between where he’s probably stronger than anyone else.