Paul Seixas becomes youngest ever WorldTour stage race winner, ends 19 year French drought

Paul Seixas became the youngest ever winner of a WorldTour stage race on Saturday, at just 19 years of age. The Frenchman from Decathlon CMA CGM saw his lead in the Tour of the Basque Country hold firm in a rain-soaked final stage.

"It was an epic stage, in terrible weather conditions," Seixas said. "I chose to attack on the climb so I could take the descent alone and not have to take any risks."

He attacked uphill, then, but was reeled back in. "I thought the other leaders would close the gap quickly, but that wasn't the case. I had to push hard, but I felt good."

"To finish this week with three stage wins and the overall victory is incredible. I've achieved one of my goals for this season," said Seixas, who with his Basque Country triumph ends a long drought for French riders in WorldTour stage race overall victories — one stretching back to Christophe Moreau's Critérium du Dauphiné win in 2007.

"I know it's been 19 years since a Frenchman achieved this, but I was barely a year old at the time. I'm very proud of it, although others like Romain Bardet or Thibaut Pinot came close."

"I also realised this week that you need a rock-solid team to win, and I was lucky to have men by my side who gave everything. A staff that had prepared everything down to the last detail. This victory belongs to them too," concluded the Frenchman. The final stage went the to fellow young talent AJ August from INEOS Grenadiers.

"It's very special to win here," said the American in his flash interview. "I got a boost after my first professional victory at the Volta a Valencia earlier this year. Things are just going really well," said the 20-year-old, who was the strongest in the breakaway.

"It was warm all week, but today we had to deal with typical Basque weather. 10 degrees and rain. Everyone was freezing. I raced well at the front and managed to hold my own in the cold, then made the difference on the final climb."