Paul Seixas said to be offered 'millions more' than Tadej Pogačar in blockbuster transfer

Pinarello-Q36.5 has joined the long line of teams interested in Paul Seixas. The 19-year-old Frenchman from Decathlon CMA CGM still has a one-year contract with his current team and is being offered very large sums of money from all sides.

Seixas is without a doubt the most sought-after cycling talent of the moment. The climber came up through the Decathlon CMA CGM youth academy and made the jump to the WorldTour team last year. He immediately made a big impression in several races and even won the Tour de l'Avenir in the U23 category.

In 2026, Seixas took a huge step forward. Although he was still beaten by Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) in the Tour of the Algarve, he went on to win the Faun-Ardèche Classic, finished second in Strade Bianche, and dominated the Tour of the Basque Country and the Flèche Wallonne in April.

Although Tadej Pogacar outperformed Seixas in Strade Bianche and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the Frenchman is already seen as a major threat to the Slovenian rider from UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Decathlon CMA CGM is already planning to have Seixas make his debut in the Tour de France in 2026.

According to many, Decathlon has no choice but to let Seixas make his debut in a Grand Tour, because the entire peloton is vying for his signature. His contract, which runs through the end of 2027, essentially guarantees the French team another season with this top talent, but what happens after that?

The major teams in the peloton have already been linked to Seixas, including Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates. But Pinarello-Q36.5 could still be considered a surprising addition to the long list. According to cycling journalist Daniel Benson, the Pro Continental team has deep pockets.

The team, which currently revolves entirely around Tom Pidcock, falls short of its competitors in terms of its WorldTour license, but it hopes to make up for that with a massive salary. Benson mentions an annual salary of 13 million euros, which would be millions more than Pogacar’s salary at UAE.

It remains to be seen whether Seixas is interested in such a salary. UAE, Visma | Lease a Bike, Netcompany, INEOS, and Lidl-Trek might be able to offer him a much better deal from a sporting perspective, and Decathlon CMA CGM also has ambitions and a large budget to potentially retain Seixas.

Seixas’s agent has confirmed Pinarello-Q36.5’s interest to Benson, but also emphasized that no decision has yet been made regarding his client’s future. So we don’t yet know whether Seixas might soon become the highest-paid rider in the peloton.

Pinarello-Q36.5 is funded by Ivan Glasenberg, who, according to Benson, has a net worth of 13 to 14 billion. This already partly explained Pidcock’s move to the Swiss cycling team in 2025. So the British all-rounder might just be getting a big-name teammate...