France can look back on an outstanding Tour de France, but a podium finish was no longer on the cards for Stage 20.
Paul Seixas did his very best with his Decathlon team, but the 19-year-old rookie
was simply spent. His reaction after the race made it clear that this prodigy, in the midst of his first Grand Tour, has enormous ambitions.
According to many,
Paul Seixas really shouldn’t have been riding the Tour de France at age 19. But he will, barring disaster, cross the finish line on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Sunday in fourth place and as the best placed French rider. France’s prodigy saw his energy wane somewhat in the third week, though he never completely faltered, even in Stage 20. Amid
great interest from the French public, he reached the summit of Alpe d’Huez on Saturday.
Decathlon CMA CGM briefly challenged
Isaac del Toro for third place, but the Mexican rider from UAE Emirates-XRG had Tadej Pogacar as his top domestique and was thus virtually unbeatable. “I felt really good at the start of the Galibier, but I ran out of steam in the final stretch. That’s just how it is—it’s part of cycling,” Seixas said at the summit of Alpe d’Huez.
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Seixas expects to be proud of his Tour de France debut soon
He couldn't care less that he'd lost more time to Del Toro. Seixas was most disappointed that he ultimately missed the podium, his main goal in his first Grand Tour and first Tour de France. “Fourth place is good, but of course I’m disappointed that I wasn’t really able to fight for the podium. We’ll just have to settle for this.”
Seixas’s team went all-in nonetheless, with Nicolas Prodhomme and Matthew Riccitello going full throttle on the Col de Sarenne. “I was pushing my limits, though, and I cracked. I tried to be stronger than usual, but I ran out of steam. That’s what we’d agreed on with the team, because we had nothing to lose. Del Toro was stronger than me. I’m sure I’ll be proud of a fourth-place finish soon.”