Young French star Paul Seixas will target Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the spring of 2026, with his early race programme indicating that the 19-year-old super talent will go on to make his Tour de France debut in July.
Seixas is considered as a future Tour winner, with France hoping he can end the 40-year gap since Bernard Hinault last won the Tour in 1985. The Decathlon CMA CGM team have created a special project to win the Tour before 2030 but have yet to confirm that Seixas will make his Tour debut in 2026.
Team manager Dominique Serieys appears keen for Seixas to get an early taste of the pressures and intensity of the Tour, while others believe he should wait until he can be a true Tour GC contender.
Seixas' early season race programme suggests he will not ride the Giro d'Italia, making a Tour debut far more likely. However, Decathlon CMA CGM said his summer race programme will only be announced in early May.
The French WorldTour team announced that Seixas will make his 2026 season debut at Volta ao Algarve (February 18-22) and then ride the Ardèche Classic in France on February 28 before riding Strade Bianche in Italy on March 8. He will then ride Itzulia Basque Country (April 6-11) as preparation for the Ardennes classics and especially Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
According to French newspaper La Provence, Seixas will train at altitude in the Spanish Sierra Nevada in early February before his season debut.
If Seixas was to ride the Giro d'Italia, a logical race programme would include Tirreno-Adriatico in March, an altitude camp in April and then perhaps the Tour of the Alps before the Giro starts in Bulgaria on May 9.
Seixas turned professional with Decathlon in 2025 directly from the Junior ranks. He showed his potential by finishing eighth in the Critérium du Dauphiné, won the Tour de l'Avenir and was third in the European championships behind Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel.
He hopes to win at WorldTour level early in 2026.
"We have built my start to the season around races where I can really express myself and go for victory. The Ardèche Classic, Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège are races that are close to my heart and whose profiles suit me," Seixas said of his 2026 race programme.
"The idea is to build momentum in the first two races before focusing exclusively on WorldTour events, which will be key moments for me to test myself at the highest level. My goals are clear: to raise my arms in victory and confirm my progress by giving my all on the bike."
"The dream, of course, is to do the Tour de France,” Sexias told L'Equipe in October.
"It’s the biggest race for me but there’s the dream and then there’s reality. And the reality is to remain measured. When you make a race programme, it has to be intelligent, relevant. That’s why we haven’t yet decided if I’ll do the Tour in 2026."
Decathlon CMA CGM are trying to protect Seixas from the weight of expectation but he and the team have confirmed he will ride a Grand Tour in 2026.
"Paul is entering his second season in the WorldTour, and the idea is to offer him a balanced schedule while allowing him to progress against the world's best," Sébastien Joly, the Decathlon CMA CGM head of sports strategy said.
"Paul's programme has been designed to gradually lead him towards his first major goals of the season: Strade Bianche and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. The Volta ao Algarve and the Ardèche Classic will be concrete opportunities to aim for victory, while the Tour of the Basque Country will offer him high-level competition before the Ardennes Classics. The rest of his race program will be announced in early May."
