‘Everything is fine’ - Paul Seixas dismisses fitness fears before Tour de France debut

Paul Seixas has dismissed concerns over his fitness ahead of his first Tour de France, insisting he is ready to lead Decathlon CMA CGM after recovering from the crash that disrupted his final preparations.

The 19-year-old will start the Tour in Barcelona on Saturday as one of the most closely watched riders in the race. After an impressive first half of the season, Seixas is no longer viewed simply as a promising young talent. He arrives at cycling’s biggest event carrying general classification ambitions, growing expectations in France and the uncertainty of competing for three weeks for the first time.

Speaking to French newspaper L’Équipe before travelling to Barcelona, Seixas discussed his recovery, the pressure of making his Tour debut and the competitive side of his personality that emerges when he gets on the bike.

“Rest assured, everything is fine,” Seixas said. “I am in really good shape and I feel very good.”

His preparations had been thrown into doubt after a crash at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in June. Seixas suffered several wounds and swelling in his knee, forcing him to spend longer away from the bike than initially expected.

The fall itself did not immediately make him fear for his Tour participation.

“That was not the moment when I was most worried,” he said. “I could immediately see that the wounds were superficial, so I did not think beyond the crash.

“Afterwards, though, I was more concerned about my knee. An MRI quickly reassured me. There was significant swelling, but nothing was broken.”

The recovery proved more difficult than he had anticipated.

“In the days afterwards, when I looked at the wounds, I thought they would clear up in two or three days, but it took longer,” he said.

“It was difficult not being able to get back on the bike the following week. That was a small disappointment and I became a little worried at that point. There was treatment every day and it was not always easy to deal with.”

Questions about his condition increased when a press conference and several interviews were cancelled and Decathlon CMA CGM delayed announcing its final Tour selection.

Seixas has since completed his final training block and insists the interruption has not changed his ambitions.

The Tour will present Seixas with a challenge he has never faced before.

He has not yet ridden a Grand Tour and does not know how his body will respond to three weeks of racing, accumulating fatigue and the daily pressure of competing for the general classification.

He is not setting a public target in terms of a specific finishing position, but nor is he travelling to Barcelona simply to gain experience.

“The ambition is still just as important,” he said. “The objective is to finish as high as possible, to learn and to see where I stand as the days go by.

“Above all, I want to see how I feel over three weeks.”

Decathlon CMA CGM will pursue two different objectives during the race. Olav Kooij will target the sprint stages, while Seixas leads the team’s general classification challenge.

Rather than seeing Kooij’s presence as a complication, Seixas believes the shared focus could reduce some of the pressure surrounding his debut.

“The fact that Olav is here and that there is a sprint element within the team gives us an interesting double objective,” he said. “It also takes a little pressure away from me.

“Olav is a good guy. He is motivated by the general classification project as well and he will help me when it is possible, when it works for him alongside his sprint objectives. The two ambitions complement each other.”

Pressure will nevertheless follow Seixas throughout the race. His age, his results and his status as one of France’s leading hopes mean that each performance will be closely examined.

His rapid rise has also revived a familiar question in French cycling. Could Seixas eventually become the rider who succeeds Bernard Hinault, the last Frenchman to win the Tour de France in 1985?

Seixas remains cautious about the labels already being placed on him.

“I am not a champion yet because I have not won the races that champions have on their records,” he said. “I could hardly have imagined all of this, even though I dreamed about it. Everything has happened very quickly.”

That rise has included seven victories this season, among them La Flèche Wallonne, as well as second place behind Tadej Pogačar at Liège Bastogne Liège.

Winning has taken on a different meaning since Seixas stepped up to the professional ranks.

As a junior, he was often strong enough to dominate races. In the WorldTour, opportunities are scarcer and the strength of the opposition means that even the best riders cannot expect to win regularly.

“As soon as I became a professional, I accepted that it would be very difficult to keep winning everything,” he said. “But at the same time, I told myself that every victory would mean a great deal.”

The difficulty of winning at the highest level has made every success more valuable.

“Winning as a professional is so difficult,” he said. “When you manage it, the feeling cannot be the same as it was as a junior.

“When you are clearly stronger than everyone else, the other riders sometimes cannot do anything about it. It is not like that in the WorldTour. The level of the races is so high that it makes victory really special.”

His seven wins have surpassed even his own expectations.

“I have won seven times this season and I think that is exceptional,” he said. “It is just crazy. I would never have imagined it at the beginning of the year.”

Away from the bike, Seixas appears calm and thoughtful. In competition, another side of his personality emerges.

“Maybe there are two different people,” he said.

“Off the bike, I am much like I am in this interview: calm, composed and thoughtful. On the bike, that calm is still there, but something else comes out of me.

“It is not aggression, because that word is too strong, but I feel this desire to do well. There is an urge to win that is always there. Naturally, that makes me different.”

Seixas says he has experienced the same mixture of pressure and excitement since his earliest races.

“I have always felt the same impatience before every new race,” he said. “Even before a regional championship, there was a kind of pressure mixed with excitement.

“That is part of an athlete’s life, regardless of your level or objective. You try to put the pressure to one side. It usually comes back for a few seconds on the start line.”

Most of that pressure comes from within.

“I already put enough pressure on myself,” he said. “I do not take on other people’s pressure. It is my own.

“I am ambitious and I have my own ideas about what I want to do and how I want to do it. That is already more than enough.”

Behind that ambition is a childhood fascination with the Tour.

Seixas’s first clear memories date back to 2013, when he watched Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana on Mont Ventoux. A year later, he followed almost the entire race as Vincenzo Nibali won and French riders Jean Christophe Péraud and Thibaut Pinot finished on the podium.

“The strength in depth among the French riders was incredible,” he said.

As a child, Seixas often discussed the Tour with his best friend Cyprien.

“We would say that it must be crazy to take part in it,” he said. “Now I am the one who is going to start the race.

“It is an incredible opportunity and I fully realise how fortunate I am. I am extremely motivated and happy to fulfil this childhood dream.”

Seixas also understands the wider significance of his participation in France. Supporters will want him to attack and offer a glimpse of what his future might hold, but he knows he must balance instinct with restraint.

“I have to find a balance between giving people something to enjoy and managing my effort,” he said. “At some point, though, I will have to give everything.

“I know how important the Tour is to the French public. They want to see the best riders from their country at the start, and I think I am one of them today. I hope I can excite them this summer.”

Seixas arrives in Barcelona with his fitness restored and his ambition intact. The uncertainty of the next three weeks appears to excite him more than it frightens him.

“Everything starts now,” he said. “I cannot wait.”