'I didn't expect to win by such a margin' – A time trial triumph for Paul Seixas as he carves out first WorldTour stage victory and claims leader's jersey at Itzulia Basque Country

Paul Seixas exuded a hefty dose of confidence after winning his first WorldTour stage on Monday at Itzulia Basque Country. Along with the stage 1 time trial victory, he scored all the classification jerseys on the awards podium, including his first-ever leader's jersey for a top-level stage race.

His Decathlon CMA CGM team called the time trial effort "flawless". He called the bountiful day "a wonderful surprise". Seixas said he expected to ride fast and win, but he didn't expect to win by so much on the hilly 13.8km course in Bilbao.

"I'm thrilled. This is the result I was hoping for, of course, but I didn't expect to win by such a margin," Seixas said in a team statement.

"It's a wonderful surprise. This is my first WorldTour win in a discipline I love, one that my team, my coach, and I have been working hard on since my junior days."

He's now in the driver's seat of the Itzulia Basque Country as a result, with 23 seconds over Kévin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers), a 27-second gap on Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and 28 seconds ahead of two-time winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Even more impressive were the times that need to be closed by two former race champions, with Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) 51 seconds down,and Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), 1:01 back. Then there is Tirreno-Adriatico winner Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) who is 1:16 in arrears.

This was the first time trial victory for the 19-year-old since Tour de l'Avenir a year ago, winning that 10.3km race against the clock to solidify his GC title in the Nations Cup stage race for juniors and U23 riders.

According to Seixas, the time trial is one of his favourite disciplines. He proved his prowess in the race against the clock two years ago when he won the junior title in the ITT at the World Championships in Zurich.

In 2025 he competed in the elite category at French nationals and finished third, just behind winner and Decathlon teammate Bruno Armirail and a 23-year-old Vauquelin.

It's perhaps that history that meant there was no surprise for second-placed Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers) when Seixas delivered a time that ended up being out of reach.

"There's no such thing as chance, he's just strong," Vauquelin, who has trained with Seixas, said of his compatriot at the finish in an interview with broadcaster EuroSport.

From the first time check on the course at the Alto de Santo Domingo, just 2.4 kilometres in, Seixas would post the best time. Two sections of 11% made no difference to the young Frenchman.

By the the steep final 500 metres, with a gradient of 9.2%, Seixas put an exclamation mark on his explosiveness in Bilboa. He had already passed his minute-man earlier in the stage and with 200 metres to finish he also overtook the rider who started two minutes ahead, Unai Iribar (Kern Pharma).

Still, as impressive a start to the race given the teenager has a race leader's jersey on his back to defend he isn't losing sight of the task ahead in the Spanish event from April 6-11.

"The race isn’t over yet; the Tour Basque Country is a demanding event," said Seixas. "There are five days left, with some very difficult stages, but I’m still in the running."