Paul Seixas hunts down World Champion Brandon McNulty to claim Tour de France Saitama Criterium

The final lap of the Tour de France Saitama Criterium provided an exciting spectacle for the spectators lining the streets as Paul Seixas hunted down Brandon McNulty in Japan on Sunday.

The annual criterium, organised by Tour de France organisers ASO, is an end-of-season exhibition event that often draws out some of the biggest stars, including Jonas Vingegaard, who won last year despite suffering an early crash. 

This year, Seixas and world champion Brandon McNulty were among the stars to make the trip to Japan, and both would serve as central figures in the finale.

The 20-year-old Frenchman caught McNulty on the final 3.7km lap, before countering the world champion to solo to the finish. 

McNulty had made his move one lap prior, going clear of Seixas, Torstein Træen and Oscar Onley. In the end, the world champion crossed the finish line second while Træen was third.

“Brandon attacked; it was really strong. I tried to follow and quickly saw I was alone in the pursuit,” Seixas said after the event. 

“I started to come back. I tried and tried, and with one lap to go, I found a moment that I think I was a bit stronger, and I counter-attacked, and then it was the right move. I finished it in the TT way, as I like.”

Seixas was also one of the main stars to feature at the EFGH Singapore Criterium last Sunday, where he crossed the finish line second behind Isaac del Toro.

The criterium follows Seixas' season-ending victory at Il Lombardia, where he became the youngest ever winner of the Italian Monument.

Looking ahead to 2027, he was asked about his ambitions to win a real stage of the Tour, with his Grand Tour plans still uncertain.

"Yeah, of course it's not the same. The Tour de France is the Tour de France. Here it's quite like the Tour, but we are less riders, so it's different. I guess we will see next year or in the future.