Paul Seixas became the first Frenchman to win the junior time trial World Championship title, stunning his bigger, more powerful rivals, who were expecting him to win a rainbow jersey Zurich, but in Friday's hilly road race not in Monday's flat 24.9km race against the clock.
"The best performance of my life in a time trial, I don't know how I did that, being World Champion is a fucking dream," Seixas said, showing his young talents also include knowing how to swear profusely in English.
Seixas is considered a generational talent like Remco Evenepoel or Tadej Pogacar and even a future French Tour de France winner. He stunned the time trial specialists like Jasper Schoofs of Belgium and Australia's Wil Holmes to win the junior men's world time trial title.
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"Paul is a very complete rider with great abilities in the mountains and in time trials," his coach Alexandre Pacot at Decathlon-AG2R explained to L'Equipe, who dedicated a page of Tuesday's newspaper to his success.
Seixas recently won the Giro della Lunigiana stage race in Italy that, like the Tour de L'Avenir for Under 23 riders, is always an indication of future success. He also won the junior Liège-Bastogne-Liège and the French national cyclocross and time trial titles this year.
One French cycling expert described Seixas as France's next Bernhard Hinault, such are his talents, character and desire to win.
"He can put together days of racing while still recovering very well, he's a good all-rounder who's not afraid to make an effort," Seixas' former club directeur sportif Yann Berny said.
"He attacks, attacks again, gets in the right breakaway and then gets a result, even on courses where we don't expect him like in the European Championships."
Seixas finished third in the European Championships, after going on the attack on the flat course in Belgium with Felix Ørn-Kristoff of Norway and Héctor Álvarez of Spain. They beat him in the three-rider sprint but he was not afraid to take them on and lead out.
Seixas turned 18 on Tuesday, the day after his time trial world title and two days before targeting the road race crown in Zurich. He is still a teenager but is wise and talented beyond his years.
Not surprisingly Seixas' results have captured the attention of the biggest WorldTour teams in the sport, including UAE Team Emirates. However, he has opted to stay with the Decathlon-AG2R set-up after developing via their junior squad. He is from Lyon, just 90 minutes from the team's base in the French Alps.
Decathlon-AG2R recently confirmed Seixas will step directly up to WorldTour level in 2025 with a three-year contract. He is part of a new block of young talents that includes fellow development team riders Léo Bisiaux, who was the 2023 world junior cyclo-cross champion 2023 and recently fourth overall at the Tour de l'Avenir, 2023 Junior world time trial champion Oscar Chamberlain of New Zealand, French U23 national champion Noa Isidore and 2024 Danish national Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen.
"Decathlon-AG2R has always trusted me and coached me. I know them well and I know that they will listen to me, that's what made the difference." Seixas explained to L'Equipe.
Seixas will not ride a Grand Tour during his early years at WorldTour level but is ambitious.
"Even in my first year, I want to test myself, see my limits. I'm going to take a beating but that's what I want," he said.
Before his WorldTour debut in 2025 comes a final junior race in Zurich and a shot at a second world title.
Seixas will be closely marked and faces some strong rivals in the 127 km race but could achieve a junior time trial and road race double that has been achieved only once before in recent years, by a certain Remco Evenepoel.
Seixas is six years younger than the Belgian but is also a special talent in a hurry to affirm his talents.
