‘He’s the Messiah’ and ‘not seen since Hinault’: France is already buckling under Seixas-mania

Marc Madiot is already putting Seixas among the very best riders in the world. “For me, he’s already in the top five or six in the world,” he told RMC Sport. “We have Tadej Pogačar, Isaac Del Toro, Jonas Vingegaard, Paul Seixas, Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel. In the peloton, we have the ability to sense the balance of power — and he has already shown that balance of power.”

According to the former Groupama–FDJ boss, the young Frenchman can already be compared with the very greatest — not only in cycling. “Seixas has something that others don’t have, or that only a few have, like Pogačar. Messi also had something others didn’t have when he started playing football. For now, we’re not seeing any weaknesses in Seixas. He has everything.”

Madiot is not holding back. “I think he’s the chosen one. He’s the rider France expects to win the Tour. And also the rider of ‘old Europe’. Pogačar is Slovenian — in a way, he’s an alien from another world. In cycling, we’re rooted in history: the Italians, the Belgians, the Spaniards… In that sense, Seixas is the Messiah. That’s what is expected of him.”

Former pro Jérôme Pineau also cannot stop talking about Seixas. In his view, comparisons with Pogačar are fully justified. “He attacked like Tadej Pogačar. He explained his strategy perfectly; it was crystal clear. He wanted to do it — and he did it. The others didn’t stand a chance; they were left behind. All of them, one by one.”

This winter, stories were already swirling around Seixas: rumours of extremely long training days, and a rider who locked himself away to prepare as well as possible for the new season. “You can feel it — mentally he’s in a great place, he has a rock-solid team around him, he knows exactly what he wants, and he handles pressure really well. It just slides off him. Well, it will be what it will be: one of the very best riders of his generation, behind a few giants.”

Pineau even believes the expectations could be pushed higher still. “We very quickly expect Paul Seixas to be a podium contender — and then a contender to win the Tour de France. That’s only natural. If he were Spanish or Italian, I think we’d make even more of it, because we tend to be very cautious,” the Frenchman concluded.