Benoot doesn't care that he led out Vingegaard and Pogačar on stage 14: 'He’s exactly where he needs to be'

Tiesj Benoot and Decathlon CMA CGM made an impression on Saturday during Stage 14 of the Tour de France. The French team took the initiative on the final climb for Paul Seixas, who ultimately finished third on the day and moved up to fourth place in the general classification. This also earned him the white youth jersey (and the respect of one Tadej Pogačar).

After the race, Benoot spoke to the French media and explained why Decathlon CMA CGM dared to push the pace in the final stretch of Stage 14. “Paul had been saying for a few days that he was feeling good. He’s clearly in better shape than he was during the Tourmalet stage. Paul said this morning that he was feeling good, and he reiterated that at the foot of the final climb.”

It was the signal for his teammates to step on the gas, even before Visma | Lease a Bike took the initiative. “We wanted to set a fast pace and try to move up in the general classification.” Benoot didn’t care that Decathlon and Visma ultimately used that pace to set up a lead-out for Tadej Pogacar. “We’re here for the podium, so we did well.”

What had been the subject of months of speculation leading up to the Tour de France now seems to be becoming a reality. Seixas is in fourth place after two weeks of the Tour de France and was certainly the third-best rider in Saturday’s mountain stage. “Everything is new to him, but he’s a quick learner and adapts quickly. He’s exactly where he needs to be.”

According to Benoot, Decathlon CMA CGM can therefore hope for a podium finish in Paris, despite Seixas being only 19 years old. “His longest stage race was seven or eight days, so we don’t know how he’ll fare in the third week. But he hasn’t shown a single sign of weakness yet, and what’s more, he impresses us every day.”

"It's good for me that he's here; otherwise, I'd be dropped by UAE every day without making a splash," Benoot smiled. "I'm glad I can contribute something; it gives me the motivation to keep going. The goal is no longer the white jersey, but the podium. It’s that simple. We want to finish as high as possible—we’ve been saying that the whole Tour. We’ll see if that ends up being third, fourth, or twelfth.”