Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale's rising star Paul Seixas finished the biggest race of his career to date, last week's Critérium du Dauphiné, with an eighth-place overall finish, beating the likes of Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ), and Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the final standings.
However, unlike many of the riders surrounding the Frenchman at the top of the general classification, Seixas won't be heading to the Tour de France next month.
Instead, his team are taking it slower and steadier with the 18-year-old neo-pro, who won't take part in a Grand Tour this season. Seixas stepped up from the junior ranks this season and has taken on 22 days of racing so far, including three major stage races at the UAE Tour, the Tour of the Alps, and the Dauphiné.
Speaking to L'Equipe at the summit finish of stage 7 last Saturday, Seixas said that it doesn't make sense to take on the Tour this season.
"Of course, it's a dream to do the Tour, but I don't think it makes sense to do it now. Regardless of the result at the finish of the Dauphiné, I won't do the Tour," he said.
But why? Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale performance director Jean-Baptiste Quiclet explained the team's thought process to L'Equipe, with worries of 'too much, too soon' being their top priority with the rider.
"Last year, in the junior category, he was racing 100-120km. In terms of workload and intensity, there are definitely prior issues that need to be resolved before starting a Grand Tour," Quiclet said.
"The Tour is the most intense and toughest race of the year, and if he participated in it, he might have a 15-20% increase in workload over a month. That's where, physiologically, there could be a blocking point.
"Since he's talented, he could get through it without a hitch. But you could also get into a pattern of overwork or overtraining, and experience difficulty handling it, and that could perhaps disrupt his upwards progression."
Quiclet said that building up to a Tour de France debut is a "stage-by-stage process", with the Dauphiné one step on the way to the biggest race of the year.
He cited the case of Lennard Kämna, who raced the Vuelta a España during his neo-pro season aged 20, with the German then taking a six-month break from racing afterwards to reflect on his future.
Ex-pro and French national coach Thomas Voeckler told L'Equipe that the Tour is a big step up, both mentally and in intensity, from other races on the calendar. He agreed that it's "logical" for Seixas not to race the Tour at such an early stage in his career.
"If a rider is ready, has the mental capacity to handle all that, then you shouldn't set limits," Voeckler said. "Afterwards, you have to realise that the Tour is a very different beast.
"The pace is more intense than at the Giro or the Vuelta, and I'm not even talking about the race itself: it's thankless. At his age, you need to dream.
"So, I would find it logical not to send him to the Tour; I don't see the point, when this Dauphiné is already a big milestone after his first preparation at altitude."
Seixas may not be racing the Tour this year, but he will be staying in France for the foreseeable future.
At the end of the month, he'll head to the Vendée to race the National Championships (June 26-29) before taking a break and then heading to an Alpine altitude training camp in Les Arcs. His next stage racing appointment is set to come at the Tour de l'Ain (August 6-8), while his season end has yet to be confirmed.
The Tour de Luxembourg and Tour of Guangxi are possibilities, as is the Road World Championships in Rwanda. Seixas is reigning junior time trial champion but could race the U23 or even elite races come September, with Voeckler saying, "For me, he's a selectable rider, I don't care about his age. The idea is to do what's best for him and for the interests of the French team without necessarily thinking in the short term."
Whatever Seixas does next, teammate Aurélien Paret-Peintre thinks that his young teammate has the right mentality to cope with the pressures of being France's next big thing.
"When he finishes the Dauphiné in eighth place at 18 years old, people will expect him to confirm elsewhere, and if he finishes 12th next time, they will think he has regressed," he said.
"It's hard to protect a rider like him, with the magnitude it has taken this week.
"But he's someone who has his head on his shoulders and knows where he wants to go, so it will be fine."
