'I'm under no obligation to win': Seixas calm and curious ahead of his Flèche Wallonne debut

With La Flèche Wallonne approaching and Liège–Bastogne–Liège to follow on Sunday, all French eyes are on their star talent Paul Seixas. The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider is even being touted as the outright favourite for the race to the Mur de Huy. Speaking to L'Équipe the day before the race, Seixas is reluctant to accept that label himself.

The French prodigy makes his elite debut in the Ardennes classics on Wednesday, having won Liège–Bastogne–Liège as a junior two years ago. The Mur de Huy, however, was entirely new territory for the Decathlon CMA CGM rider. "The state of the road surprised me — it was worse than I'd expected. Actually riding it yourself is really quite different from watching it on TV," he laughs.

Seixas also admits he has no idea yet what to expect of himself on such an effort. "I've never done this against other very good punchers, but I know I can be pretty good at it." The youngest rider on the start list hopes above all to gauge his level in this kind of effort, having trained specifically for it around the Basque Country.

Despite only climbing the Mur de Huy for the first time on Tuesday, Seixas has spent days being labelled the outright favourite. He disagrees. "I'm not. My goal is to test myself. I want to do everything I can to get the best possible result, but I haven't put any obligation on myself to win."

To win, the young Frenchman would be hoping for an early attack on the final climb. "That would be best for me, but we'll have to see how it unfolds. I'm also inexperienced, which is why I'm not immediately focused on winning the race," he explains. "I'm not yet familiar with these kinds of efforts or with positioning. It will be a good learning experience."

The bigger goal lies on Sunday, when the Frenchman will ride his first Monument. "Even though La Flèche Wallonne is a beautiful race, it's not a Monument. If I had to choose, I'd rather perform well in Liège. I also think that suits me better, because it's harder and more tiring." In Liège, Seixas will have to contend with big names like Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel — riders who are both absent from Wednesday's La Flèche Wallonne.