Paul Seixas has continued his meticulous build-up to his much-anticipated 2026 Tour de France debut, recently tackling sections of the race route in the Pyrenees and posting eye-catching climbing performances on the Col du Tourmalet, a key ascent on stage six.
The French prodigy travelled to the mountains after completing a demanding 16-day altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada, where he covered nearly 2,000km and accumulated around 50,000 metres of climbing.
Before lining up at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné, Seixas reconnoitred the major climbs featured on stage six of the Tour de France, which runs from Pau to Gavarnie-Gèdre. The route includes the Col d’Aspin and the legendary Col du Tourmalet.
Over the weekend, the 19-year-old completed rides of 137km and 90km, with Sunday’s outing producing several Strava KOMs. Most notably, he set a new fastest time on a 10.1km segment from Luz-Saint-Sauveur to Super Barèges, climbing the side of the Tourmalet that riders will descend during the race. Seixas bettered the previous mark held by Lenny Martinez by 35 seconds, averaging 23.9kph on gradients of nearly 7%.
While training efforts cannot be directly compared with race conditions and many riders do not upload their data his performance offers another glimpse of the exceptional form and talent that have made him one of cycling’s brightest prospects.
Seixas’ prospects for July will become clearer at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where he is expected to be among the leading contenders. Since joining Decathlon CMA CGM’s WorldTour team in 2025, he has developed rapidly, claiming overall victory at Itzulia Basque Country and winning La Flèche Wallonne this season. He also finished runner-up to Tadej Pogačar at both Strade Bianche and Liège–Bastogne–Liège.
With France still searching for its first men’s Tour de France champion in more than four decades, expectations surrounding Seixas are enormous. The upcoming Dauphiné-style race will serve as his final major test before the Grand Départ in Barcelona on July 4.
Unlike Seixas, Pogačar will use the Tour de Suisse as his final preparation race, while Jonas Vingegaard is returning to altitude training after his dominant Giro d’Italia triumph, and Remco Evenepoel is focusing solely on training.
Seixas will still face strong opposition from riders such as Isaac del Toro, João Almeida and Juan Ayuso, the latter having defeated him earlier this season at the Volta ao Algarve.
After finishing eighth overall in the race as an 18-year-old debutant last year, Seixas now has his sights set on overall victory. Success would make him the first French winner since Christophe Moreau in 2007.
His Tour de France debut promises little room for easing into the race. A team time trial opens the event, followed by a punchy second stage and early mountain challenges in the Pyrenees on stages three and six. Should Seixas triumph at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the spotlight and the pressure will only intensify ahead of cycling’s biggest race.
Be the first to comment