Benoot sums up feeling towards UAE at the Tour de France: 'Their guys will be sleeping very soundly tonight'

Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) was also in the mix on Monday during the third stage of the Tour de France. The Frenchman couldn’t keep up with Tadej Pogacar’s (UAE Emirates-XRG) surge on the final climb, but still managed a respectable fourth-place finish. Seixas is now in sixth place in the general classification.

Seixas had some bad luck in the final stretch on Sunday, but the next day everything went more or less according to plan for the Frenchman. “Things were already going better because we stayed out of trouble. The team did a good job of protecting me and got me into a good position for the final climb,” he said after the finish.

"On the final climb, which was fairly short, I felt good," he continues. "I just couldn't quite keep up with the top riders, but fourth place is a good result. It was a solid effort in the first real mountain stage of the Tour de France. I feel great and am happy with how everything is going so far."

Tiesj Benoot, Seixas’s teammate, spoke to Cyclism'Actu . “Nicolas Prodhome was part of the breakaway with an eye on the general classification, to help us if necessary after the final climb. If possible, we also wanted to go for the stage win. He had a nice lead, but well…”

"We knew that at the top of the final long climb, we’d have a lead of about forty seconds, and UAE was really going full throttle behind us. Visma was the first to make a move, but you could tell right away that they actually wanted to give the jersey away. Then UAE took over. Well, hats off to them, because that was an impressive display of teamwork. I think a few of their guys will be sleeping very soundly tonight,” said Benoot.

The Belgian once again put in a strong performance, staying with the pack right up to the final kilometer. “And that’s exactly how I felt. It was tough, but I hope the rest of them really struggled too! But Paul really fought his way through it. He held on admirably until the sprint began. Yes, very well done. And it’s also great to see how calm he stays; he’s only 19 years old. Fourth place is just a very respectable result—we’re definitely satisfied.”