Alongside Seixas, Decathlon’s rising star Léo Bisiaux explains team’s talent strategy

Bisiaux progressed through the ranks step by step. In 2022 and 2023, he rode for the junior team, before moving up to the development squad in 2024. Like Seixas, the Frenchman made his WorldTour debut in 2025 — and he did so with immediate impact. The rider from Fontainebleau showed himself to be competitive right away at the highest level.

Where Seixas impressed mainly through consistency rather than results, Bisiaux already took a notable victory. In the third stage of the Vuelta a Burgos, he surprised riders such as Giulio Ciccone, Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari in the finale, taking the stage win. He would later go on to finish third overall in the Spanish stage race.

The fact that several riders are already reaching the WorldTour at such a young age is no coincidence, according to Bisiaux. “It’s great that so many riders join the project as juniors and then move up to the development team before reaching the WorldTour,” he explains in conversation with Bici.

In addition to Seixas and Bisiaux, riders such as Jordan Labrosse and Noa Isidore have also come through the team’s youth structure. According to Bisiaux, data plays a major role in the scouting process. “The team already has all of our data, so the selection of riders happens through those tools.”

“When the team selected me, they already had all the information about me and had seen me race many times,” Bisiaux continues. “I don’t know exactly how they work now, because cycling has changed a lot over the past two years, but I think the principles are still the same.”

According to Bisiaux, developing together also plays a key role in the success of Decathlon’s talent pathway. “By spending time together, talking about things and sharing the same journey, we’ve grown closer and formed a real group,” he explains.

“That was already important when we moved to the development team, and it’s even more so now in the WorldTour,” Bisiaux adds.

Cycling has changed rapidly in recent years, he says, and young riders now have access to far more advanced tools than before. Talents like Seixas — and riders such as Albert Withen Philipsen — are proof of how quickly juniors can now make the jump to the very top.

“We are facing a new era in cycling,” Bisiaux concludes. “I don’t know where it will lead, but there are many young riders who are already ready.” “I only rode one season as an under-23 before moving up to the WorldTour,” he continues.

Although many of the riders in the programme are French, nationality is not a determining factor, Bisiaux stresses. “The junior selection isn’t made up of only French riders. There are many different nationalities involved.” “For me and for other riders, both cyclo-cross and road racing are important. For now, we continue like this — although the focus is mainly on the road.”