🎥 Decathlon Tour de France squad in good spirits as Seixas reassures fans after crash and trains with the team
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Follow us on GoogleOn Thursday morning, two days before the start of the 2026 Tour de France, L'Equipe went all out with Paul Seixas on the front page. “The French are on the edge of their seats this summer,” reads the caption beneath a portrait of the 19-year-old Frenchman in the sports newspaper. In the interview, Seixas cheerfully goes along with the hype.
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Seixas is excited about his first Grand Tour and his first Tour de France. The top talent has bounced back well from his crash in the Tour Auvergne-RhĂ´ne-Alpes and hopes to build on his excellent 2026 season so far at the Tour de France.
This season he has won the Faun-Ardèche Classic, the Tour of the Basque Country, and the Flèche Wallonne. He finished second in the Tour of the Algarve, Strade Bianche, and the Liége-Bastogne-Liége, and if he hadn’t crashed on the penultimate day of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, he would have been in contention for the win there as well.
Seixas arrived in Barcelona on Tuesday, where the Tour de France will kick off on July 4 with a team time trial. “Rest assured, everything is fine. I’m in top form,” Seixas told French cycling fans. “My latest training block has put my mind at ease.”
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Seixas is pleased to have Kooij as a sprinter in the Tour de France
Seixas is clearly not shying away from the enormous pressure on his shoulders. He and Decathlon CMA CGM are even taking it in stride, not shying away from questions about a possible overall victory in Paris. The French team genuinely believes Seixas has a shot at a top result.
The presence of Olav Kooij as a sprinter on the team can therefore be seen in both a positive and a negative light. On the climbs, Seixas loses some extra support because of the Dutchman, but: “The fact that he’s here with a small sprint train gives us an extra goal. It also takes some of the pressure off.”
With his lead-out riders Daan Hoole and Cees Bol, Kooij can go for a stage win, allowing Seixas to focus on the general classification. “Olav is a great guy. He’s motivated by the project and will help me whenever possible on days when there isn’t a sprint. We complement each other well.”
Watch the video of Paul Seixas and Decathlon teammates on a pre-Tour de France training ride
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- - I’m still learning how cyclocross works: when he says he messed up the start at the Europeans, can a bad start really make that much difference?patriciaw14-11-2026
- - Love that he’s honest about the pressure. Hopefully he can carry this form through the winter.lindae14-11-2026
- - Beating different competition is the key now. Nys is already in the mix, and Van der Poel could make the next step a much tougher one.jennifer1914-11-2026
- - About time—Mason’s been knocking on the door for years. That Niel win could really open things up for him.cadencekingm14-11-2026
- I’m still learning how cyclocross works—does leading the Superprestige mean Mason is top of that race series, rather than the World Cup? Either way, winning in Belgium sounds like a massive result.cadencekingm13-11-2026
- Calling Onley a contender for an overall Tour win already feels a bit premature, especially after the injury setbacks. Still, the depth of talent is exciting.robert6513-11-2026
- Great to see Dickson’s route from triathlon to the WorldTour getting recognition. Scottish cycling has plenty to be proud of, and the 2027 Grand Départ could give the next generation a real lift.patriciaw13-11-2026
- The article makes a good case for clubs and small teams doing the groundwork, rather than one big development pipeline. Thornley’s Vuelta time trials were seriously impressive too; missing a stage win by two seconds is brutal.davidm13-11-2026
- Mason winning in Niel is huge—beating that kind of Belgian field in the mud takes serious class. The Kelvingrove World Cup could be an unforgettable homecoming.breakawaybikerd13-11-2026
- I’m not sure how WorldTour licences work—could these reports affect whether the team gets one next year, or is that decision based on other criteria?velodromevirtuoso113-11-2026
