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.
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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.
Seixas expects to be proud of his Tour de France debut soon
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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.”
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
🇫🇷 @LeTour
On s’est battus jusqu’au bout. @seixas_paul a tout donné pour viser le podium sur l’étape la plus dure du @LeTour 10ᵉ de l’étape, 4ᵉ au général, une performance phénoménale
We fought until the very end. @seixas_paul emptied the tank chasing the podium on the