Seixas 'saw everything go blurry' after Pogačar's blistering acceleration on La Redoute

French sensation Paul Seixas finished second on his Liège-Bastogne-Liège debut — the only rider able to follow Tadej Pogačar on La Redoute. The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider hung on through one of the great explosive efforts in recent Monument history, but the world champion ultimately proved too strong on le Roche-aux-Faucons.

"Today I was so close," Seixas said in his flash interview. "It was my first Liège. I wanted to give absolutely everything, and I did." Staying with Pogačar's surge on the Redoute took everything Seixas had — and he already knew at that point that the win was beyond him. "Tadej was stronger in the end. I was already at my limit at the top of the Redoute," he admitted.

The 19-year-old was quick to credit his team. "My team positioned me perfectly all day. They did a fantastic job. The proof of that is that I was right behind Tadej at the foot of the Redoute. I think that's what allowed me to hold on to the top."

Shortly after cresting the Redoute, Seixas took his turn at the front alongside Pogačar — though he needed a moment to recover first. "Everything was going blurry at that point," he said. Despite that, the teenager showed real maturity in his approach, refusing to sit back and let Pogačar do all the work.

"I was riding with him thinking: we'll see how the race plays out." On the Roche-aux-Faucons, Pogačar made the power dynamics brutally clear. "I just fell short in the end," Seixas said. "I finished as well as I could and secured second place."

What made the performance even more remarkable was the pace at which the race was ridden — Seixas and his team had in fact welcomed it. "It actually worked in our favour," he said. "I liked that it made positioning easier. The peloton thinned out quickly. That allowed us to race more relaxed."