'Better than yesterday' - Seixas passes first Pyrenean test at Tour

After losing ground in the opening team time trial and conceding a further three seconds to his podium rivals on stage 2, Seixas looked more comfortable here, though there was little he could do against an ominously strong Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in the final 300m.

Pogačar ripped clear to claim stage victory, but Seixas came home in fourth place on the same time as Jonas Vingegaard (Visma | Lease a Bike). He was two seconds down on Pogačar but he collected a couple of seconds on the rest of the GC men.

“It was better than yesterday, there were no issues,” Seixas told reporters after the finish. “Today, the team did a great job positioning me and setting me up perfectly. On the climb, I felt pretty good, though I was just a little short of catching the leaders. Still, fourth place is a solid result.”

It leaves Seixas in sixth place overall, 48 seconds off Pogačar, who divested Vingegaard of the yellow jersey with his win here.

“I’m happy. It was a strong effort to kick off the Tour,” Seixas said. “Right now, I’m feeling good and I’m pleased with how the day went.”

Speaking to RMC Radio, Decathlon CMA CGM directeur sportif Julien Jurdie praised the 19-year-old’s positional sense on the short, sharp final climb, but he conceded that he simply couldn’t match the ferocity of Pogačar’s winning effort.

“On the corner with 1.7km to go, he had to get on the wheel of UAE and Pogačar, and that’s exactly what he did,” Jurdie said. “After that, it came down to leg strength, let’s say, in the last 500m, and he fell just a little bit short of claiming his first podium finish in this Tour de France.”

Seixas’ Tour participation was confirmed after an astonishing spring campaign that saw him win Flèche Wallonne and Itzulia Basque Country before pushing Pogačar close at Liège-Bastogne-Liège. 

Despite his tender years, Seixas set out from Barcelona with the aim of a high overall finish, and he came through the first passage of the Pyrenees smoothly. He will face a stiffer examination on stage 6 to Gavarnie-Gèdre, which brings the race over the mighty Col du Tourmalet, while the soaring temperatures will also pose a challenge. 

“It wasn’t necessarily a true mountain stage, but it helps us ease into the mountains little by little,” Jurdie said. “We know the real test will be the Tourmalet in a few days, so this boosts our confidence, and that’s important. 

“It was a really hot day for the riders, and the stage was long too, with nearly 200km including the neutralised section, so these are things we really need to master. We’re at the start of the Tour, and we know it’s surely going to stay hot for many more days to come. It’s really important in terms of hydration and cooling down the body to be at 100% in that area.”