Everyone is raving about Tour de France sensation Seixas, but Patrick Lefevere has doubts: 'Can’t skip any steps'

We almost forgot about it amid Tadej Pogacar’s fifth overall victory and Mathieu van der Poel’s remarkable stage win, but a 19-year-old French kid also did quite well in Paris on Sunday. Many believed Paul Seixas should never have ridden the Tour de France at such a young age, but with a fourth-place finish in the overall standings, he confirmed his status as a rising star.

Seixas burst onto the scene in 2025, when he was promoted from the development team to the WorldTour at Decathlon CMA CGM as an 18-year-old top prospect. He won the Tour de l'Avenir, finished third at the European Championships, and was already proving himself as a stage racer. In 2026, he took a major step forward, winning the Tour of the Basque Country and the Flèche Wallonne.

He also finished second in the Algarve (with a stage win), came in second behind Pogacar in Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Strade Bianche, and let’s not forget his victory in the Faun-Ardèche Classic. Still, a Tour de France debut seemed a step too far, as Seixas had never ridden a Grand Tour before. Decathlon CMA CGM took a chance, however, and it paid off.

Tiesj Benoot was the veteran who had Seixas under his wing for three weeks during the Tour de France. The Belgian saw an impressive team leader at work. “He’s only 19, you know. Paul still watches South Park every day. He’s still in a different phase of his life,” he said Sunday on Sporza. “I do think he can hold onto the hope of winning the Tour.”

Benoot doubts whether that will be during the Tadej Pogacar era. “But I also don’t think Pogacar will be racing at this level for another ten years. The atmosphere in the team was really good. We were able to contend for a result every day. In the sprints, Olav (Kooij, ed.) finished in the top 3 very often, and in the other stages we had Paul.”

Patrick Lefevere also enjoyed the Tour de France, particularly the performance of his former protégé Remco Evenepoel, who finished second riding for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. “Despite everything, Tadej is only human. Remco is two years younger; he needs to keep moving forward and persevere,” Lefevere told Cyclism’Actu regarding Evenepoel’s chances in the Tour.

Seixas will need to have the same mindset, although Lefevere thinks the Frenchman needs more time. “I’m impressed, though I wouldn’t have let him ride the Tour just yet. He started to falter a bit in the third week, which is completely normal. He’ll become a great rider, but we mustn’t rush things. We can’t skip any steps.”

"Finishing fourth in the Tour de France at age 19 is exceptional," said PatLef. "Isaac del Toro is probably a bit stronger, but Pogacar also helped him a lot as a teammate. Without him, Del Toro probably would never have made it onto the podium and likely wouldn’t have won the second stage in Barcelona."