Paul Siexas is still only 19 and will make his Tour de France debut this July, but such is his talent and determination that UAE Team Emirates-XRG sports manager Joxean Fernandez Matxin considers him a threat to Tadej Pogačar winning a fifth yellow jersey.
Matxin saw Seixas up close at the recent Tour Auvergne-Rhône Alpes as he guided Isaac del Toro to eventual overall victory. Seixas crashed hard on stage 6, bravely chased with his teammates to close a four-minute gap, but then was forced out of the race due to his injuries.
Seixas was unable to show his potential in the final mountain stages but impressed Matxin with his character.
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"Despite his crashes, or perhaps even because of them, we saw a super Seixas, who was really strong, even more than we expected. I'm not talking about his final result but about his character," Matxin told BiciPro, in an apparent mix of respect and pre-Tour mind games.
Seixas is the new kid on the block of Tour de France contenders, with Decathlon CMA CGM deciding to back him as team leader. He is expected to rival Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease Bike), Remco Evenepoel and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and perhaps Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) for the places on the final Tour de France podium.
"I think he's one of Tadej's biggest rivals for his poker of five wins," Matxin said. "His crash showed he's strong physically and mentally. He doesn't give up, otherwise he would have chased back and closed a four-minute gap.
"Seixas has to be considered a contender, even if he's never ridden a Grand Tour. When you show certain things, there's no need to be afraid of a three-week race. I put him up there alongside Jonas Vingegaard and what he showed at the Giro. We can't underestimate anyone."
Visma Lease a Bike sports director Gaëtan Pons was reciprocal in his praise of Pogačar at the Tour de Suisse and predicted another GC battle on the roads of France.
“He showed he’s in great shape, and it’s a good sign for us ahead of the Tour de France," Pons said of Pogačar to L'Equipe.
"Jonas showed he was very strong too at the Giro; there’s going to be a real battle this year."
Visma Lease a Bike and Decathlon CMA CGM have a single leader strategy at the Tour, but Matxin is confident that UAE have Isac del Toro as a possible Plan B, especially after his victory at the Tour Auvergne-Rhone Alpes.
"We also sent out a clear message; we showed how good Del Toro is for the Tour," Matxin said.
"I like the fact that he never lost hope, he never lost sight of the final goal, despite the break gaining time in the early stages.
"His qualities mean he can aim for anything. I've never liked the word captain even if it's clear that there has to be a hierarchy in a big team like ours.
"I'm more interested in that Isaac gets his chance to break through. That means that we can ride the Tour with a Plan B. He knows that he can win a Grand Tour and that's important."
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