Good old Thomas Voeckler was the man who frustrated Evenepoel, says Seixas: "I was a bit scared"

It was already clear in the second big loop of the European Championship course that Seixas was the third best in the race. The climber was able to keep up with Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, but when they tried to work together in the third big loop, Seixas eventually dropped back. He ended up in a group with Evenepoel, along with Spaniard Juan Ayuso and Italian Christian Scaroni.

Pogacar rode 20 seconds ahead after an attack 75 kilometers from the finish line, and Evenepoel wanted to get back there quickly. However, he was hindered, he said afterward: "It was quite frustrating. If everyone worked hard to close the gap, I believe we would have made a comeback. But some riders had orders not to ride. Those are race tactics, but we have to accept that."

Seixas was undoubtedly one of the chasers who stopped riding, following instructions from national coach Thomas Voeckler, as it turned out. “I have every confidence in Thomas, with all his experience. But when I heard from the car that I wasn't allowed to ride, I was a little afraid that riders from behind would come back.”

Ayuso, who did want to ride with Evenepoel, agreed. “We could see Pogacar riding. However, initially, there was no cooperation between France and Italy. I don't know why, but they decided not to ride. It didn't matter much to me; I was trying to help Remco and was already at my limit. Remco was the strongest of the group and took off.”

“Remco was better than us, so I followed and focused entirely on the bronze medal,” Seixas said, almost apologetically, who, thanks to a few skipped turns in his group, had the legs to beat Scaroni for third place. “I couldn't feel my legs and went full throttle on that last climb to drop him. I didn't want him to come back, so I went really deep.”

It was full throttle to the finish, where an ecstatic crowd was waiting for him. “This means a lot to me. I felt really good on the bike. It was indescribable, with the crowd, my girlfriend, and everyone cheering me on. It's hard to put into words what I'm feeling right now,” he said at the press conference.

With overall victory in the Tour de l'Avenir, top results in French one-day races, and an excellent World Championship, Seixas could look back on a wonderful debut year as a neo-pro on Sunday evening. "I didn't expect a year like this. I wanted to gain experience, with its share of highs and lows. But I was immediately good at the start of this year and only got better. It has been an incredible year, with today as the icing on the cake."

The Frenchman from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale showed at the European Championships that he can compete in one-day races, but: “I believe I can do everything pretty well, but my goal is to become a GC rider. There will be some classics in my program, but not that many. We’ll see how it goes and how I organize my calendar in the coming years.”

And a grand tour? The Tour de France? 'I'm going to do a grand tour, but I don't know which one yet.'

Bram van der Ploeg ( Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email : [email protected])