“We’ve never seen anything like it,” Decathlon beams after extraordinary Seixas chase
CyclingSunday, 14 June 2026 at 09:28
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Follow us on GoogleThe opening phase of stage 7 at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes has already produced plenty of chaos. Even before live pictures had started, the riders had been hit by several crashes and a neutralization of the race. Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) went down hard and became one of the major talking points for the rest of the day.
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Even before the race director had waved the flag, plenty had already happened. No fewer than thirteen riders — many of them ill — did not start, including Jørgen Nordhagen and Per Strand Hagenes of Visma | Lease a Bike, Ben Healy of EF Education-EasyPost and Oscar Onley of Netcompany INEOS, who had crashed the previous day.
During the neutralized section, before the stage had officially begun, Daniel Felipe Martínez of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Alex Díaz of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and Gal Glivar of Alpecin-Premier Tech all hit the tarmac. Glivar did not get back on his bike, while Martínez — an important Tour de France support rider for Remco Evenepoel — also required medical assistance.
Read more below the photo!
Daniel Felipe Martinez was among the riders to crash.
Neutralization and Seixas crash
Once the stage had finally been given the green light, the drama was not over. After an extremely fast opening phase, a crash was reported involving mountains jersey wearer Clément Braz Afonso of Groupama-FDJ. He had already collected some mountain points and was eventually able to continue without too much trouble. The next incident, however, was not long in coming.
After the race had temporarily been neutralized because of a dangerous descent from the Côte de Saint-Maurice-de-Rotherens — “This section could become dangerous because of loose gravel on the road. The race organization has decided that the riders will complete this part in convoy and at low speed” — things went wrong again shortly after the restart.
This time, Seixas was the biggest victim. The white jersey wearer from Decathlon CMA CGM was waited for by teammates and checked by the race doctor, but was able to continue not long afterwards. By then, he had already lost at least several minutes. Despite help from teammates such as Stefan Bissegger and Daan Hoole, that deficit continued to grow toward four minutes.
Seixas and Decathlon CMA CGM close down minutes
At that point, it was not yet clear what injuries or pain Seixas may have been dealing with. Photos from within the peloton showed abrasions across much of his body: his left knee and arm had been hit, as had the entire right side of his body. Still, the Frenchman was able to put power through the pedals and, with help from teammate Aurélien Paret-Peintre, managed to reduce the gap to the peloton to around two and a half minutes.
In the bunch, no GC team really took full control and pushed on relentlessly, although there was still a fierce fight to establish the breakaway. Only once that battle had been settled over the top of the Lacets du Grand Colombier could Seixas really start to close the gap. With 50 kilometers to go, he was still around one minute behind the peloton. Heading toward the final 30 kilometers — and thanks to a brilliant effort from Léo Bisiaux — the gap was finally closed.
Seixas and Decathlon CMA CGM leave a huge impression
After making it back, Seixas still had just over 20 kilometers to refuel and recover slightly from both his crash and a 70-kilometer chase. That was badly needed, because with 8.4 kilometers to go, the riders began the Grand Colombier, the brutal final climb averaging 10.4 percent. There, Seixas paid for his earlier efforts, although he still finished a remarkably strong seventh, just over a minute behind the stage winner.
After the stage, Seixas and his team were widely praised for the effort. Decathlon CMA CGM sports director Julien Jurdie told France 3: “I have to congratulate the whole team. They closed four minutes without help from anyone and without panicking. Paul stayed very calm, with help from Luke Rowe in the car. We’ve never seen anything like it.”
On X, cycling followers went even further. Seixas’ 70-kilometer chase and his performance on the final climb earned the French wonderkid the word “AURA” in capital letters. One post read: “AURA. If Seixas wins today, it will be more impressive than Pogacar’s Strade Bianche last year. But normally, he will pay for his effort on the final climb. I’m just happy he doesn’t look badly injured.”
That comparison with Pogačar’s heroics did not quite become reality this time.
David Bavin-HobbsChief Editor
David has been working in the sports & cycling industry for 16 years. Covering racing, business and technology, he has worked in communications for cycling companies, teams, and as a journalist. His proudest achievement is winning the first bike race he ever entered. He hasn't won a race since.
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Latest Comments
- I'll give Evenepoel his due, he won a high mountain finish, something that he hadn't seemed capable of doing, based upon his history of failures in that environment. And he did it in the biggest race of all, and against a pair of UAE teammates, including the 'invincible' Tadej Pogacar. His victory in today's climbing win was so unexpected, that even he seemed startled by his achievement. But in watching the last 2K unfold, and especially the last few undred yards, I couldn't help thinking that Tadej wasn't put forth his maximum effort. Either that, or he didn't have the legs to mount a challenge, which seems at least somewhat unlikely. For whatever reason, however, Tadej just sat on his bike, refusing (or unable) to stand on his pedals and stomp up the final incline. But it shouldn't be overlooked that Remco also, and very handidly, out-raced ALL the other GC contenders, all of whom have been considered better climbers than him. PS Remco ought to stop bashing his critics, at least the ones, like me, who never criticized him for not being an elite climber, but merely commented on his limitation in that area, just as I praised him for the skillshat he had often demonstrated, , including his speed and persistent and dogged persrverance.rjb20-07-2026
- Remco masterclass, UAE got tactically stitched up. Also, comparing knocking on Messi’s door at 2am is a fair point—cycling keeps shooting itself in the foot with PR like this. Qué pena, le vélo mérite mieux.julien19-07-2026
- Not sure I buy the straight line from lost sleep to Vingo’s crash. Correlation doesn’t equal causation—he’s an elite pro, and crashes happen in sketchy finales. Still, the optics are awful. Fix the protocol.davidm19-07-2026
- Armstrong’s right on the timing, even if he’s the worst messenger. You can support anti-doping and still say 2am is unacceptable during the race. Do it after dinner, not after midnight.sprocketspiny19-07-2026
- Is there an actual UCI rule that allows controls at any hour? And do they consider rider recovery data when scheduling? Genuinely curious how that works.velodromevirtuoso119-07-2026
- Brilliant stage and kudos to Remco for outfoxing UAE on the climb. But waking Pogi and Jonas at 2 a.m. during a Grand Tour is bonkers. Fatigue management is part of performance—sleep disruption like that isn’t a small thing.jeremya19-07-2026
- - Wait, are night tests actually random? Or do they pick top riders the night before mountain stages on purpose? Seems harsh and a bit, idk, vampire-ish. Why not test right after stages instead?davidm19-07-2026
- - Dumoulin is spot on about the roundabout. Those lane-splitters with a skinny median should be neutralised or flagged 500m/300m/100m with a marshal and whistle. At 50 kph in a GC bunch, one missed cue = carnage. Organisers can’t hide behind “it’s on the roadbook.”bikebuffj19-07-2026
- - Love the piece, but the Paul Seixas angle feels a bit conspiratorial. ADAMS whereabouts make targeting normal, yet leaving a home favourite “asleep” while GC rivals get poked at night looks mauvais goût at best.gearguru3319-07-2026
- - Can someone explain why Pogacar at 5 a.m. was “okay” but Vingegaard at 2 a.m. is being framed as decisive? Is three hours really that different for performance the same day?jennifer1919-07-2026
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