“But where does this one come from? » It’s been a few months now that cycling France – and not only that – has remained speechless at the performance of a little prodigy who it is very difficult not to regard as the Chosen One. Paul Seixas, 19, hit the professional peloton like a bullet. He did nothing to avoid getting carried away last year, and even then, it was only a warm-up before this year 2026 which must be the year of the real takeoff of the rocket.
The first tests carried out by the Decathlon-CMA CGM operational center went perfectly, since the Lyonnais crushed the competition on the Tour of the Basque Country at the beginning of April, signing the first French victory in a World Tour stage race in 19 years. So, before he shows up this Wednesday at the start of Flèche Wallonne, we repeat the question: “but where does this one come from?” »
“Phenomenon in its versatility”
To find out better, we talked to those who saw him racing in his younger years, from the side of the road to the heart of the peloton. Paul Seixas was a resident of the Lyon Sprint Evolution from the age of 9 to 14, then of the Vélo Club Villefranche Beaujolais (VCVB for short) for two years, before joining the Decathlon-AG2R structure, which made him turn pro directly after leaving the Juniors (U19). “We have known each other since we were 13-14 years old. In all the young categories, we talked about him, he was always very good,” says Camille Charret, who is part of the same generation.
The current Cofidis rider, after being his opponent, joined Seixas at the VCVB. He describes “a phenomenon by its versatility”. “He was really strong on all types of terrain. Whether in a time trial, in the mountains, downhill, whatever the weather, he had no shortcomings, he continues. Even tactically. It’s crazy, he was discovering the races and it looked like he had already done them five or six times. We still find all of this today. »
Charret remembers the feeling of power that animated their team at the start of the races. “When we had him with us, we knew there would be a result in the end,” he asserts. And he doesn’t necessarily mean those of Seixas. Because the “natural road captain” of the troop was not a ruthless voracious person. He had his goals, but also knew how to put in the work for his friends.
Anyone who has just competed in his first Paris-Roubaix among the pros is well placed to talk about it. Crowned French junior champion in 2024, he benefited from the work of Seixas, who “disgusted all those who tried to enter” in the final to allow his friend from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes committee to win.
« If he had wanted, he could have come back on me and won the title, Charret realizes. He put his ego aside, favoring the collective side. He has enormous respect for his teammates. It shows in the interviews he gives after the races, he always thanks his team. In the youth categories, it was already that. »
Another example, the same year, on the Tour du Pays de Vaud, an important event which is part of the Junior Nations Cup. Camille Charret was in the yellow jersey on the morning of the 3rd and penultimate stage, the one which would decide the final victory. “I knew very well that it was going to be hard for me,” recalls the latter. Paul was our best bet, but he still came to me and asked if he could go. Because if I wanted to try to keep the jersey, he was ready to sacrifice himself. That describes what a boy he is. » In the evening, Seixas had relegated the competition to more than 1’30 before winning the event the next day.
Genetics and time ahead
Hearing Paul Seixas talk, that’s it. Discover a runner with extraordinary abilities, who often wins but who doesn’t need to do so all the time, and above all who unites without pushing. Rather discreet, with his air of not touching it but the determination that drives the greatest. He never claimed to be a leader, he just became one, naturally.
This “excellent state of mind” also marked Bernard Catel, a true memory of the Trophée Center Morbihan, one of the two French Nations Cup events with Paris-Roubaix juniors. During the last stage, Seixas was on hand to dispossess the Belgian Jasper Schoofs of the yellow jersey and make his friend from the French team, Axel Bouquet, triumph. “Great art,” remembers someone who has followed the race since its beginnings in 1983.
If Seixas had not “crushed the competition as Evenepoel (winner with a 3-minute lead in 2018) had done”, he had caught Bernard’s eye with “his big engine”. And his sense of the collective, therefore. “It didn’t surprise me when he let Nicolas Prodhomme win last year (on the Tour des Alpes in April), adds our witness. He’s someone who thinks of others, and these human qualities are also what make him go far, I think. »
The magic happened straight away. From his first race when he was 9 years old to his last year in juniors, the Lyonnais was always a cut above. In 2024, the last stop before the big leap to the pros, Seixas raced 31 days, winning nine of the 17 races in which he participated, including the world championship time trial, a great first for a Frenchman. But learning has always been more important than winning.
Because in all of this, there is a good part of genetics, but also of hard work. As a teenager, the Lyonnais already calculated everything, was meticulous in his preparation and lived his passion to the fullest, without needing to wonder how far it would take him. Just with the desire to do the best possible, which for him translated into total commitment. Not for nothing that Alexandre Chenivesse, his manager at AG2R in U19, nicknamed him “Texas Instrument”, as reported by our colleagues at The Team in their podcast “Echappés” dedicated to the phenomenon.
Axel Bouquet, who was his opponent and teammate from the U13 level, confirms:
« From a very young age, he already knew how to read the races. We felt that he already knew the job very well. He’s pretty much been pro since he was 15, in fact. Compared to a guy like me, he was three or four years ahead. The Seixas project has been written for several years. »
And as he has a team spirit, he never hesitated to share. “He gave advice easily. I learned a lot while riding with him,” appreciates Bouquet, who perceives Seixas as “a source of inspiration” for this entire 2006 generation. Anyone who discovers the pro peloton this year under the colors of the Continentale Saint-Michel-Auber 93 is still amazed by the debut in the big world of the Lyonnais, who according to him is already part of “the top 5 in the world”. And looking back, he has fewer regrets about all those races where he was let down on the pedals. At the Fernand Durel Grand Prix, for example.
In this federal-level junior race held around Gavray (Normandy), Seixas won the time trial in the morning by beating the event record, then won alone in the road race in the afternoon after dropping Bouquet down the biggest ramp on the circuit.
“A powerful Bernard Hinault”
“Paul took off at a fast pace, he unloaded it and we didn’t have the impression that it was an effort for him, even though it was a real wall,” whispers Florent Lenouvel, in the front row that day, on the bike following the leading men. It was as if Axel had slowed down, even though he hadn’t at all. This is typically the kind of scene that we can see with Pogacar, who suddenly on a climb puts on three pedal strokes and takes off while sitting on his saddle. »
Commissaire on junior races for seven years, Lenouvel “has seen runners pass”. He assures him, “young people who stand out like that, it’s rare and impressive”. The organizer of the race, Philippe Durel, goes further. For this former pro, who took part in three Grandes Boucles at the end of the 70s, Seixas makes the same impression on a bike as one of his illustrious contemporaries.
“We have a champion. Like Bernard Hinault. I knew him, I know what I’m talking about, enthuses the sixty-year-old, who speaks under the control of his wife Dany. It’s not the same character, but they are made of the same wood. We have been looking for him for a long time, and I am convinced that he has the potential to win any race. »
Our file on Paul Seixas
Today, Philippe only dreams of one thing. Well, rather two: “May he win us the Tour de France one day.” We are waiting for it so much! Can you imagine a Tour winner who passed through here? Honestly, I would give up my house for him to come back and see us. » You’d swear he was serious when he said that. Fortunately, Dany is watching. “Maybe not anyway… We’ll see if there’s another solution,” we hear him react behind. It’s hard to resist the madness of grandeur with the Paul Seixas phenomenon.
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