Van der Poel Snr criticises Decathlon's treatment of Seixas: 'It’s up to the team to handle this'

After two weeks, prodigy Paul Seixas is still very much in the running for a podium finish. The 19-year-old Frenchman from Decathlon CMA CGM is impressing in the mountains, but finds himself in the spotlight every day, thanks to the French media. Adrie van der Poel, Mathieu's dad, criticises all the fuss, placing most of the blame on his own team, which he says isn’t protecting him enough.

Ninth, fourth, fifth, third, third, and fourth: his results at Seixas in this Tour speak for themselves. The super-talented rider from Lyon is holding his own among the general classification contenders and, following Jonas Vingegaard’s withdrawal, can dream more than ever of a podium finish. His year couldn’t be better, especially after the spring, when he won the Tour of the Basque Country and the Flèche Wallonne, among other races.

Van der Poel finds it impressive, but surprised? He certainly isn’t. “No, it doesn’t surprise me, because he’s already achieved amazing things,” Mathieu van der Poel’s father explains to Cyclism’Actu. “In the recap I put together every evening for social media in the Netherlands, I mentioned that many French people claim they don’t want to put pressure on him, but that’s exactly what they’re doing.”

Every day, hordes of French media swarm around the climber, who is still only nineteen. “What I don’t understand—and it’s up to the team to handle this—is why they’re having him appear on TV shows right after the Tour. Leave him alone; do a proper feature story after the Tour. He’s 19 years old; he’s already under a lot of pressure. He’s a great talent, but even great talents need rest.”

Van der Poel hopes the media pressure won’t ultimately become too much for him. “If I were a sports director or manager, I’d say no. You can do whatever you want with him after the Tour. Right now, it’s all about the race; interviews are secondary, but not on a special set. That’s my opinion. He’s very promising; we just need to leave him alone.”

After fifteen stages, Seixas is in fourth place in the general classification. He trails Tadej Pogačar, the yellow jersey holder, by 6.23 minutes, but he needs to make up just 25 seconds on third-place Isaac Del Toro. His dream of a podium finish in Paris is very much alive: he would then be the youngest rider ever to achieve that feat.

Van der Poel looks ahead. "For me, there is still one very, very tough stage left: Saturday. Friday should be manageable with the Col d'Ornon and Alpe d'Huez, which we know well. But I think the podium will be decided on Saturday, not before. That's when huge differences can emerge." With that, the Dutchman is referring to stage twenty, with no less than 5,600 meters of elevation gain: the most of the entire Tour de France.

With passages over the Col du Galibier and the Col de la Croix de Fer, it will be a hellish ride. "At the end of the third week, with the persistent heat, it takes its toll. In the team buses, some riders are still relatively fresh, but others are struggling. The final weekend will be crucial for the general classification," concludes Van der Poel.