Eurosport commentator pushes back: 'Send Seixas to the Vuelta, not the Tour'

Nineteen years old and already this good. It is not something cycling has ever seen before. But Paul Seixas is operating at a new level — as he proved at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. After his performance, the debate about the Tour de France is reigniting on the podcast Kop over Kop, the Eurosport cycling show. But there is another question too: should he have been doing so much work after the Côte de la Redoute?

Seixas matched Pogačar over the race's decisive climb, but was eventually dropped on the Roche-aux-Faucons. Cycling commentator Bobbie Traksel believes he has every reason to be satisfied. "Paul Seixas won today, whether he finished first, second or third. Coming over La Redoute alongside Pogačar — that was the victory."

Jeroen Vanbelleghem was equally wide-eyed at the nineteen-year-old's performance, but was frustrated by the amount of pace-setting he did after La Redoute. "As Tom Boonen said: there's a lack of tactics. I'd have hoped for a bit more tactical nous, because someone can follow. But no — we just ride along with the best in the world."

Traksel understands the point, but pushes back. "I wouldn't have done every single turn at the front. But I would have taken some, to show the intention of wanting to help. They're going to face each other very often, and by doing that, Pogačar will give Seixas more in the coming months than he would have done if Seixas had just sat on his wheel and played it like Vingegaard would."

Jan Hermsen agrees with the Dutch ex-pro and points to Pogačar's dominance in the final kilometres. In the last 15 kilometres, Pogačar put almost a minute into his young rival. "Seixas knows he has no chance on the Roche-aux-Faucons anyway. So isn't it better to contribute? They're not getting caught. And they're small turns."

The hype around Seixas can barely be called a hype any more — because he backs his words with results. The sky is the limit, that much is clear. After Liège, the analysts are once again asking whether he should ride the Tour de France. Tour director Christian Prudhomme is hopeful, and Vanbelleghem agrees: "Everyone wants to see him at the Tour de France now, don't they?" The rest murmur in agreement — everyone except Traksel. He has other ideas.

Because Seixas is not going to win the Tour this year. And that, according to the Dutchman, has to be the starting point. "Champions like this should only race when they are one hundred per cent at their best and can genuinely race for the win. Winning is very important to me — but Seixas at the Tour... Why not do his first Grand Tour at the Vuelta instead?"

For Traksel, it is a simple calculation. "By then, Pogačar will be slightly cooked — if he even goes, which isn't certain. Vingegaard is doing the Giro and the Tour. Maybe it's the easier route, but I believe in it more than burning him out at the Tour. But he — and France — can barely avoid the Tour de France now. The pressure on that boy is going to be enormous."