Paul Seixas has had many firsts in his second neo-pro season in the WorldTour, but landing on the podium in his first elite time trial in the UCI Road World Championships against a stacked field added a new dimension to the Frenchman's talents.
The 19-year-old, who will turn 20 before Sunday's elite men's road race, finished third Sunday, 1:13 behind four-time world champion Remco Evenepoel (Belgium) and just 16 seconds slower than silver medalist Filippo Ganna (Italy).
If his fourth place in both the Tour de France overall and the stage 16 time trial was a hint that he could be a time trial specialist, Sunday's event in Montréal, Canada was confirmation that he already is.
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"I think now it's definitive proof that I'm one of the specialists. The two guys ahead of me have both been World Champions multiple times, and they are two of the greatest riders in the discipline," Seixas said in the post-race press conference where he spoke a mix of French and English.
"Finishing third at the World TT Championships definitely puts me among the specialists, especially on a course today that was very, very flat. I'm happy with my performance and to validate what I've built this season.
"Today, Remco is the best specialist in the world in time trials, and today the proof is clear. Maybe in the future, if I progress physically and on my position, I can bridge part of that gap. But you have to give credit to Remco: he is arguably the most aero guy in the peloton and one of the greatest TT specialists of all time.
"For now, I won't claim I can rival Remco in a TT one day. He is a great champion, and I respect that. I'm going to work toward hopefully rivalling him one day, but right now the step is big. I will work, and if one day I can rival him, that will be awesome."
As a French rider with a sizeable talent in Grand Tours, it's no surprise that he framed his results in the time trial as a stepping stone to a general classification podium or victory.
"It's really important because in the GC, it's really important to be good in the TT. Today, being just beaten by two big specialist riders of this discipline on a flat course and a long TT, it's really nice to be at this level," Seixas said.
"It gives me real confidence about my TT training. I'm really happy with my performance, but also with what the French team did and what my trainer did. They played a big role in this medal today, and I want to thank them.
"[The route] was very flat. Obviously, many turns made the course quite technical. For me, they were pretty tight, so I didn't want to take the risk of crashing before upcoming targets. But I knew my lines very well, I knew the course very well, so I made sure to go through pretty fast without leaning too hard to avoid falling.
"The credit goes to [French national coach] Thomas Voeckler, who was following me and guided me very well throughout the TT, as well as my coach, who set a great pacing strategy and gave me confidence in myself. I'm happy to have achieved this performance; they played a big part in helping me get this medal."
The course was bookended by a technical section with tight turns, and his caution showed in the first time check, where he was fourth. Ganna was even more careful, coming through that first section in 10th.
They hit the same part at the end of the 39.2km course, and the rider who was second at the first check and just 10 seconds behind Evenepoel, Jakob Søderqvist (Sweden), crashed in a turn and ended up finishing fifth.
"I didn't take too many risks in the turns, so naturally at the first split I lost a few precious seconds compared to pure specialists - even though I consider myself a real specialist - compared to guys who were putting everything on the TT and maybe a bit less on the upcoming races," Seixas said.
"They might have taken a few more risks, which makes sense. I lost a bit of time at the first split, even though I was on the same pacing as the rest.
"On the straight sections, I really put down the power, which allowed me to gradually gain time back. By the end, the pacing was really good because I managed to dig deep again and finish super strong. The few seconds lost in corners aren't a big deal; it allowed me to make sure I stayed upright for what's next while securing a very nice medal. It was perfect execution, I think."
Seixas is expected to be a contender in Sunday's elite men's road race, too, after he finished a close second to Isaac del Toro in the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montreal last week, but he refused to be direct about his chances of another medal or even a rainbow jersey.
"I think it confirms the good feelings from last week. This week I felt good again, and during the time trial I felt really super good," Seixas said. "I don't think it's comparable to last week's efforts, which were shorter and repeated over a long distance.
"The road race has nothing to do with the time trial, but it shows that I've progressed well in the TT this season - that was the main goal. Obviously, I'm in good shape right now, which bodes well for what's next. That said, it doesn't guarantee anything for next week; it's a different kind of effort, we'll see next week."
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