Paul Seixas confirms 2027 plans after transfer speculation

What happens beyond that remains open.

Seixas is under contract until the end of next season and Decathlon have already made clear they want to discuss a new deal. Those talks are expected to begin after his post Tour break, with the French team determined to build a squad capable of supporting his ambitions. Interest from elsewhere has not disappeared either, particularly after Seixas finished fourth overall on his Tour de France debut.

For Seixas, however, there is no uncertainty about where he will race next year.

“Next year I’ll just be riding for Decathlon CMA CGM,” he told WielerFlits at the criterium in Etten-Leur. “For me that is a certainty, because I still have a contract until the end of 2027.”

It is his clearest response yet to a transfer story that has gathered momentum in recent months.

UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Netcompany-Ineos and Visma | Lease a Bike have all been linked with Seixas, while Pinarello-Q36.5 have reportedly shown serious interest as well.

Seixas had already tried to cool the speculation in July. At the time, he said several reports about his future were inaccurate and stressed that he had not even seen the contracts being discussed publicly.

“I still have another full year with the team next season, so I have time to think about what I want for my future,” he said during the Tour. “In any case, you can see that within the team I am well supported.”

His comments in Etten-Leur now remove any doubt about 2027, but they do not settle the bigger question facing Decathlon.

Team manager Dominique Serieys said shortly after the Tour that the team planned to begin discussions with Seixas between mid August and early September. His current contract runs until the end of 2027, but Decathlon want to secure his future for longer.

The team are also working to strengthen the group around him. Serieys has said four or five new arrivals will be announced in September, while Romain Bardet is taking an important role in the sporting management of the team.

Decathlon’s message to Seixas has been straightforward.

“The conviction Paul needs to have, and that we already have, is that he will win with us,” Serieys told Le Parisien.

Seixas’ first Tour de France gave him a clearer idea of where he stands and what comes next. He finished fourth overall behind Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and Isaac Del Toro, having remained in contention for the podium until the final days.

After a short break with family and friends, the 19-year-old has returned to training with the World Championships now his next major target.

“I took some time with my family, with my friends and it’s really important for me,” Seixas said. “Now I feel ready to train again, to look forward to the next goals and I’m really motivated.”

Seixas hopes the Tour will already pay off at the Worlds.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” Seixas said. “I really like racing with the French Federation. I think we are all really motivated.” 

The Tour was his first experience of racing for three weeks and also gave him a first proper measure of Pogačar.

“Pogačar was really in a different world from the others,” Seixas said. “He’s a really impressive rider.”

For Seixas, the gap has become motivation rather than a deterrent.

“Two years ago I was watching him on TV,” he said. “To be one of his opponents this year is really good motivation for me. I look forward to getting better and better and one day maybe fighting against him.”