Talented French racer Paul Seixas was not at the presentation of the 2026 Tour de France route in Paris on Thursday but he was the talk of the town, nonetheless, with many French fans hoping he will ride the Tour for the first time next July and eventually go on to win it.
The 2026 Tour will pay homage to Bernard Hinault, with the finishes at Alpe d'Huez coming exactly 40 years after Le Blaireau took his last of 28 stage wins in the race, a time trial in St. Etienne, and Greg LeMond stopped him from winning overall for a record-breaking sixth time.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) became the first Frenchwoman to win the Tour de France Femmes this year in its revised format, but a Frenchman has not won the Tour since Hinault in 1985.
19-year-old Seixas is tipped to be France's next great Tour hope. He won the Junior time trial world title in 2024, turned professional with Decathlon-AG2R in 2025, won the Tour de l'Avenir and also impressed with eighth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné, third at the European Championships and seventh at Il Lombardia.
"The dream, of course, is to ride the Tour de France. It's the biggest race for me. It's the biggest race there is for me but there's a difference between a dream and reality," Seixas explained to L'Équipe recently.
A start at the Giro d'Italia?
Some in France think he should ride the Tour de France and Hinault suggested he first test himself at the Giro d'Italia. As for Christian Prudhomme, the Tour race director is quietly hoping to see Seixas at the start in Barcelona, but when asked, he nonetheless opted for a diplomatic approach.
“I wouldn't hold it against Paul Seixas if he didn't come to the Tour in 2026," Prudhomme told L'Équipe.
"I have the feeling that he's a real gem. The people around him, his parents, his team, know much better than I do what needs to be done. He'll be welcome whenever he wants, but I won't be disappointed if he doesn't ride next year.”
Former Decathlon-AG2R manager Vincent Lavenu has known Seixas since he was a schoolboy.
"He was obviously an exceptional talent. I don't think we've seen a rider of this calibre since Hinault," Lavenu said.
"I think the future belongs to him and I hope he will be the future winner of the Tour de France that everyone has been waiting for for over 30 years. Paul has all the qualities for that."
"I think it's up to him to decide on the Tour. He's a special, extraordinary guy. If he feels it's right, we should support him, if he doesn't think it's right, he shouldn't do it."
A poll on French website Cyclism'Actu showed that 80% of their readers are against Seixas making his debut at the 2026 Tour.
However, there is unconfirmed speculation that sponsor interests and discreet pressure from Tour organiser ASO could mean he will ride. Further arguments in favour of his doing so are that while it would likely be out of the question that he is a contender, riding the Tour in 2026 could provide vital experience for future years.
Hinault did not agree.
"I think it's better if he rides the Giro or the Vuelta, to get his Grand Tour bearings," he told Cyclism'Actu.
"They will still be a huge challenge and then he'll be able to ease off a bit if he has some problems."
For now, in any case, Seixas refuses to get caught up in the hype.
"I think it's pretty insane what has happened this year," he told Cyclingnews last week.
"At the start of the season, I'd have never believed it could end up being like this. It was more than just what I expected and so it feels so, so good.
It's going to push me to achieve some even better results. But I'm not here to prove anything, I'm just here to enjoy cycling, enjoy racing with the pros and do my best."
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