In a battle of top talents, Seixas comes out on top in the Tour de l’Avenir prologue

Most eyes were, of course, on the Vuelta a España, where Jasper Philipsen took the first red jersey. But the Tour de l’Avenir should not be underestimated! It promised to be a fantastic week of racing with some great names on the start list. Jarno Widar (Belgium) was the top favorite, but he would face heavy competition from riders like Jørgen Nordhagen (Norway), Paul Seixas (France), Jakob Omrzel (Slovenia), and Luke Tuckwell (Australia).

The race started with a bang, as the prologue to Tignes was brutally tough. It resembled the opening time trial of the women’s Tour de Romandie: short, but steep. It was immediately a chance for the GC favorites to show where they stood. Some started early, like Nordhagen. The Norwegian from Visma | Lease a Bike immediately set a razor-sharp time!

Tuckwell, runner-up in the Giro Next Gen, fell ten seconds short of dethroning his rival. Omrzel, who had snatched the pink jersey from the Australian in the final stage in Italy, lost 20 seconds. A good sign for the 20-year-old climber, but many contenders still had to start. Pablo Torres, runner-up last year, also put in a strong ride but still missed out by five seconds. Irishman Liam O’Brien matched his performance.

It was a matter of waiting for Widar, Seixas, and Lorenzo Finn. Before they got underway, Mateo Ramírez (Ecuador) and Marco Schrettl (Austria) both surprisingly went under Nordhagen’s time. But that mark didn’t last long: Widar came next, and surprisingly, he couldn’t beat it. He slotted in two seconds behind Nordhagen, ultimately finishing sixth.

Finn was six seconds faster than Schrettl and seemed to have taken a commanding step toward victory. Right? No! Seixas, with a final, all-out effort, dove less than a second under the Italian’s time, seizing the win and the first leader’s jersey.