'It's shameful' - Seixas makes brutal self-assessment after cramping at Worlds

Paul Seixas issued a withering assessment of his performance at the elite men’s road race at the World Championships, where he had to settle for 15th place after cramping on the final lap in Montreal.

By that point, the rainbow jersey was already out of reach, with Brandon McNulty (USA) claiming the title after a 33km solo effort, but Seixas expressed dismay that he had been unable to follow through after France had dictated the terms of engagement earlier in the race

A brutal sequence of pace-making from Bruno Armirail on the opening four laps of the finishing circuit whittled down the peloton and set the tone for a tumultuous edition of the Worlds, and Seixas was always prominent in the group of favourites.

When a break featuring dangerman Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands) was reeled in with three laps to go, Seixas was still firmly in contention for the rainbow jersey. Like everyone else, he was caught out by McNulty’s long-range attempt, however, and he was distanced from the chasing group on the final lap after suffering from cramps.

“It’s a huge disappointment,” Seixas said, according to L’Équipe. “My teammates gave their all to help me achieve the best possible result, and it’s ended in failure. Everything was going really well, my legs felt incredible and, honestly, I don’t want to talk about it. 

“It’s shameful what I did today, cramping up like that. It’s a rookie mistake. I’ve never cramped up on a bike in my life. I’m disappointed in myself, but I deserve it. My teammates did an incredible job. They deserved better than a leader like me. It must be my hydration – I don’t know – I really don’t want to talk about it.”

The disappointed Seixas came home 2:45 down on McNulty, and his 15th place was short of his impressive 13th in Kigali a year ago. Although Seixas only turned 20 on Friday and although his Canadian expedition already yielded bronze in the time trial, he was unsparing in his verdict.

“When I started getting cramps, I knew it was going to be tough, but I thought of my teammates, everything they’d done, and I hung on for dear life,” Seixas said. 

“It’s a real shame to have fought so hard for that. It’s my fault, and I’m extremely disappointed with what I’ve done. You could say I wasn’t far off, but I missed out by a lot today. It’s hard to find consolation right now. It’s not easy to move on, it’s going to take me some time.”

Seixas will skip next week’s European Championships, where he took bronze a year ago, but he is set to finish his season at Il Lombardia on October 10. The Frenchman’s remarkable 2026 season saw him place fourth overall on his Tour de France debut as well as victories at Flèche Wallonne and Itzulia Basque Country. 

“Paul said that anything other than a victory would be a failure, so he considers it a failure, but I’m not blaming him,” said French national coach Thomas Voeckler, who defended his decision to try to make the race as demanding as possible.

“We did what we had to do with Bruno, but it wasn’t overly zealous. We had to make the race hard, and then it’s true that it got a little out of our control because the race was of a crazy intensity.”