Along with the national football team at the World Cup, this month, the sporting ambitions of the French nation lie with teenage phenomenon Paul Seixas, tackling the Tour de France for the first time.
Though the greatest difficulties of the race lie in the 11 stages to come, the 19-year-old has admirably risen to meet the challenges of his first nine days on Tour. Ahead of a tough, sawtooth-profiled test through the Massif Central on stage 10, he lies sixth overall, 28 seconds off a podium spot.
Lying beyond stage 10 are a 26km time trial and five mountain stages, including a visit to the fabled peaks of the Col du Galibier and L'Alpe d'Huez.
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Speaking to Cyclism'Actu on Monday's rest day, his directeur sportif at Decathlon CMA CGM, Julien Jurdie, described Seixas' run so far as "extremely positive", while Olav Kooij's sprint stage win in Pau also helped relieve some of the pressure.
"Winning a stage in the first week takes a huge amount of pressure off. Not many teams have won a stage so far, so it's a real relief," Jurdie said after stage 9.
"We've performed well practically every day, whether with Olav or with Paul on the important stages for the general classification. It's been a very good first week.
"[On stage 9], we suffered a lot, and the pace was very high. We didn't really understand why UAE was riding so hard behind the breakaway, but it suited us rather well, since Johannessen and Pidcock were up front. In the end, it's been a great first week."
Jurdie said that Seixas is coping well, thus far. It's the first time he's raced as much as nine days in a row in his life, so every stage beyond the rest day is another boundary broken and a voyage into the unknown.
"It's the first time in his young career that he's ridden nine stages in a row. Honestly, on the radio, he said he felt good and never seemed to struggle. This shows he's recovered well during this first part of the Tour," he said.
"Everything is looking good. The rest day comes at the right time. It will also allow the staff to recover, as they too are being put to the test by this heat.
"We'll recover calmly and focus on a second week that promises to be very important, especially with Tuesday's stage finishing at Le Lioran and the weather conditions expected to remain difficult. It will be another day where anything can happen."
In addition to the big block of racing, the rest days are a new experience for Seixas, too. Monday was carefully managed ahead of another challenging day in the saddle to Le Lioran.
Stage 10 will see the peloton face seven major climbs and 3,800 ascent metres across the 166.6km slog through the still-blazing heat of central France.
"Rest days are always tricky, especially when an important race is immediately following. We can't afford to be complacent, as they say in cycling. We'll analyse the data and decide on the best program," Jurdie said.
"There's no pressure [on Matthew Riccitello, either]. We'll let him recover at his own pace. If he's back to his best during the third week, it will be a real bonus.
"I saw him finish the Vuelta last year in excellent form during a very difficult third week. If he's there at that point, especially in the fight for the white jersey and a top-five finish, he'll be a very important asset alongside Paul."
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