France watched open-mouthed as Paul Seixas produced unbelievable numbers
CyclingSaturday, 28 February 2026 at 20:16
Paul Seixas has made his mark on Saturday — even with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad stealing plenty of the spotlight elsewhere. The 19-year-old Frenchman of Decathlon CMA CGM wasn’t just the strongest in the Faun-Ardèche Classic; he simply demolished a strong field. The rest could only stare at a performance that, down to the decimal point, was comparable to what Tadej Pogačar produced at the European Championships in 2025.
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In our race report we jokingly called Seixas’ win “Pogačar-like” — and not without reason. The Faun-Ardèche Classic took place on the same roads that hosted the 2025 European Championships. Pogačar took that title by launching early and never letting Remco Evenepoel and the rest get back into the fight.
Seixas did the exact same on Saturday. With a little over 40 kilometres to go, the Côte de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps (6.8 km at 7.3%) was the last long climb — the moment the brakes came off. Seixas stood up on the pedals and initially took Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) with him, but the American quickly realised the pace was far too much.
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Seixas goes just as fast as Pogačar — at 19 years old
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According to the numbers shared afterwards, Seixas climbed the Côte de Saint-Romain-de-Lerps in exactly the same time as Pogačar did at the Europeans six months ago: 16 minutes 26 seconds. That equals an average speed of just over 25 km/h — and an eye-watering estimated average of 7.46 watts per kilogram.
“Unheard-of values for a 19-year-old,” was the reaction on X, where the comparisons started flying. Seixas is still only 19, and physically he’s not yet at the same stage as Pogačar was in October 2025. He also rode that European Championships, finishing third, and back then he climbed Saint-Romain-de-Lerps 35 seconds slower. That’s what a strong winter can do.
Read more below the photo
Seixas over the moon after an emphatic victory
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Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) finished second, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) third, Jorgenson was fourth, and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) rounded out the top five. Big names — but Seixas put the first three chasers at 1:48, and Skjelmose crossed the line more than two minutes down.
So what did the winner say afterwards?
“The plan was to attack at that point to create a small group. But I felt exceptionally good today and ended up alone with Jorgenson. He didn’t take turns, so at first I thought he was bluffing — but when I started riding my own pace, I saw he couldn’t follow. It was tough to ride more than 40 kilometres alone, but I kept pushing myself and held my rhythm.”
Seixas then smiled: “It was my dad’s birthday. I can’t believe it — this was a great day.”
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Latest Comments
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
- We've seen this movie before. I think Pogacar is doping.DeadBlow10-10-2025
- 👍Bea08-10-2025
- 👌🏻Bea08-10-2025
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