Richard Plugge wants to bring Paul Seixas to Visma Lease a Bike: 'We’re also ready to fight'
CyclingTuesday, 07 July 2026 at 14:57
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Follow us on GoogleVisma | Lease a Bike has joined the long list of teams interested in Paul Seixas. The 19-year-old Frenchman rides for Decathlon CMA CGM and is under contract through the end of 2027. Nevertheless, there is a battle to secure his signature, either after 2027 or perhaps even after this season. Richard Plugge, CEO of Visma | Lease a Bike, confirmed the interest to IDL Pro Cycling on Tuesday.
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The news that the Dutch team had reportedly shown interest in Seixas a year ago came from Wielerflits on Tuesday morning. Plugge and Visma | Lease a Bike usually steer clear of rumors, but the team’s top executive did want to comment this time. “Everyone wants to talk to Seixas; everyone wants him,” he said.
"Of course, we have Jonas Vingegaard as the team's main leader, but we also need to look to the future. We're always developing riders and helping them improve—for example, Jonas is currently busy coaching Davide Piganzoli. We’re always on the lookout for riders—whether from our own development team or someone like Seixas, the rising star.”
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Paul Seixas currently rides for Decathlon CMA CGM
'Seixas is the best fit for Visma | Lease a Bike,' said Richard Plugge
"He’d be a great fit for us," Plugge said with a stoic expression. The Dutchman did indeed speak with the top talent a year ago at the Tour de l’Avenir. “He’s with Decathlon and has a contract there. He has to honor that, and we abide by the rules, so we’re not actively pursuing anything at this point. But if he decides to leave, we’re the best team to win Grand Tours.”
An open recruitment drive for Seixas, who is also being courted by many other teams. UAE Emirates-XRG is reportedly interested, as are Lidl-Trek and Netcompany INEOS, and Pinarello-Q36.5 is said to be offering a salary of as much as 13 million euros. “We’ll see if we can compete with that,” said Plugge. “He’s very level-headed and very smart. He’ll make the choice that will allow him to achieve the best results.”
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Richard Plugge
Visma | Lease a Bike awaits Seixas' decision
So Plugge thinks that’s the case with Visma | Lease a Bike, even if the pay were slightly lower there. “We’ve won Grand Tours with various riders and have also won the most Grand Tours of any current team in the peloton. He has the best chance of doing that with us, but he has to be willing to train to reach Jonas’s level.”
Plugge did not want to mention any figures; he wants to focus primarily on Seixas’s wishes. “We’re taking a wait-and-see approach, because he still has a contract. But we’re also ready to fight,” he said defiantly. “I’m assuming he’ll ride for Decathlon for another year and a half, but if he decides something sooner… That’s where it starts.”
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Jonas Vingegaard
Seixas should succeed Vingegaard, not replace him
According to Plugge, Seixas should not be seen primarily as Vingegaard’s direct successor, but rather as someone who could become one in the long run. “Jonas is our leader, without a doubt. But the two can work well together. Jonas, in turn, has learned a lot from Primoz Roglic, and that partnership worked very well for a number of years. And Jonas doesn’t have another ten years left in him.”
"That's why he's working so closely with someone like Piganzoli—to train him to perhaps succeed him one day. We all know that a rider’s time at the top doesn’t last very long,” said Plugge, who didn’t want to sound arrogant but spoke with confidence: “Almost everyone in the peloton wants to join us, especially young riders. They see the development that talented riders go through with us and how we train our riders.”
"That's why most riders tell their agents that if Visma | Lease a Bike comes calling, they definitely want to talk to them." And that includes Seixas, who, according to Plugge, has become a sensation that everyone has come to adore. “We’d already had our eye on him a year and a half ago. It wasn’t for nothing that I was at the Tour de l’Avenir, but he did what he did there, and so everyone jumped on the bandwagon.”
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
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'.
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Latest Comments
- - How many times has Pog actually worn yellow now? The article hints he’s lost count—anyone got the exact stat?robert6506-07-2026
- - Unreal start to the Tour: two punches in three days. If he’s taking yellow this early, the real game is load management before the first true summit finish.davidm06-07-2026
- - Grandissimo Tadej! Maillot jaune meritato, squadra perfetta oggi.sprocketspiny06-07-2026
- - Not sure I buy the “nothing really tough” description. 3,850m of climbing in that heat is brutal, even if the gradients aren’t HC. Felt a bit dismissive.cadencekingm06-07-2026
- - Pogacar’s humour about the gels was gold. Also, nice to see him credit Del Toro. That Barcelona gesture coming back today was a proper team arc.michael5406-07-2026
- - Quick question: when they say “break got a free pass” by Visma, does that mean Visma just stopped chasing completely? Or is it more like they eased but still controlled the gap?velodromevirtuoso106-07-2026
- - Sorry, but the piece glosses over how Vermeersch shredded the gap. That was the hinge of the stage. Give him more credit than a single line.raceready706-07-2026
- - Two seconds on a 200m kick says it all. Vingegaard looked glued, but not enough punch yet. Heat management + gels every 30 minutes clearly dialed.andrewf06-07-2026
- - What a statement from Pog! Del Toro’s launch was textbook. You could see UAE-XRG had zero interest in gifting the break any hope today.jennifer1906-07-2026
- - ¿Habrá abanicos con ese viento noroeste? Si se parte el pelotón en los llanos antes de Quillan, adiós a muchos sprinters.patriciaw06-07-2026
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