I think he is going to be on the podium: Paul Seixass participation in the Tour de France delights amateur cyclists

Paul Seixas, the prodigy of French cycling, announced on Monday that he will participate in the Tour de France this summer. At 19 years old, he will be the youngest rider to start in 89 years.

Published on May 4, 2026 at 19:23, reading time: 2 min

It’s official: Paul Seixas will be at the starting line of the next Tour de France on July 4. He announced it on Monday, May 4, in a video on social media. This 19-year-old prodigy, who won the overall classification of the Flèche Wallonne on April 22, will participate with the Decathlon-CMA-CGM team.

His participation in the Tour de France brings hope to cyclists in the alleys of the Bois de Vincennes, like Clément. Clad in gray jersey and black shorts, he just finished his daily training on the wet road. He has been following Paul Seixas’ performances for months and is delighted to learn that he is participating in the Tour de France for the first time: “It’s very cool for him! It’s nice to have a French rider who can perform well, especially with the Decathlon team, so it’s nice to have potential results for a French team and a French rider.”

Hope and pride also come to Thomas’ mind when he thinks of Paul Seixas. “It’s impressive, and it’s nice, he’s French,” he acknowledges. However, he expresses a slight reservation: “I think he will do great things, but he may not beat Pogacar yet. He may not be ready at 100% but I think he will be on the podium.”

Whether he wins the yellow jersey in 2026 or not, it doesn’t matter to 18-year-old Paul. For him, Paul Seixas is “extremely strong,” and “at only 19 years old, it’s still impressive.” “The only thing is that as a French person, we value when they perform very young and we put a lot of pressure, like with Mbappé, Arthur Fils recently, and Wembanyama,” he points out. “Let him do his Tour de France, perform, and not put too much pressure on him.”

This first Tour de France should allow the Lyon rider to become known to the general public, as well as to some regular cyclists. Samy admits, “I’ve only heard about him recently, but I don’t know anything about this guy. I don’t know any riders anymore, I believe.” While he used to follow the Tour de France when he was younger, he hasn’t followed the competition in a long time. “I don’t have as much free time anymore,” he explains, but he says that with Paul Seixas’ participation, he will watch the next summer race again.