Paul Seixas raises the stakes before Worlds: ‘Anything but the title would be a disappointment’

Paul Seixas is making no attempt to play down his ambitions for Sunday’s World Championship road race. Fresh from taking bronze in the individual time trial and finishing second at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal, the Frenchman will start as the clear leader of Thomas Voeckler’s squad, Seixas maintains France are heading into the race with only one result in mind.

“The goal is to win on Sunday,” Seixas said at the team's press conference, according to L’Équipe. “With the form I have and with the ambition of the team, anything other than the title would inevitably be a disappointment.”

It is a remarkably confident declaration ahead of a race in which Seixas will carry the full backing of the French team. His teammates have made little secret of the hierarchy, publicly identifying Seixas as their sole leader and promising to commit themselves to his chances. 

“It is obviously flattering,” he said. “I know physically that I have the ability to stay with the best. The team knows that too, and that is also why we are going to race more around my profile.

“Is there pressure? Of course, a little, but that is normal. I am happy to be the leader of this team. I am ready to give everything and race in the best possible way. It motivates me enormously. We want to do something very special together.”

Seixas arrived at the French media day in Bromont with another World Championship medal already in his luggage, but he said his bronze in the time trial has had little impact on his approach to Sunday.

“By Sunday evening I had already moved on,” he said. “The time trial was finished and I switched to the road race. It was an important objective too, and I performed well, but now it is behind me. It shows that I am in good shape and that I have maintained my form. It gives me some confidence, but it does not change much.”

The road race presents an entirely different challenge. While the Montréal circuit offered a useful reference point, the World Championship route includes a long opening section before the riders reach the finishing circuit. They will then complete 12 laps rather than the 16 raced at the Grand Prix de Montréal.

“It is quite an open course,” he explained. “Depending on the scenario, it can become a race for punchy climbers or for riders who are more like punchy sprinters. For it to suit me better, we obviously need to make the race hard.”

The tactical briefing with national coach Thomas Voeckler was still to come when he spoke to the media, and Seixas suggested he expects something less than predictable from the former Tour de France yellow jersey wearer.

“Thomas Voeckler always has ideas in the back of his mind,” he said. “I am waiting to see what he is going to tell us.”

A hard race would appear to increase Seixas’ chances of distancing faster finishers, but the Frenchman does not believe he needs to arrive alone to win the rainbow jersey, despite losing out to Isaac del Toro in a two-up sprint at the GP de Montréal.

“Of course every rider would prefer to arrive alone because that is the easiest situation,” Seixas said. “But arriving with one or several riders can suit me too. I am not slow in a sprint. I work on it around once a week because it allows me to keep that explosiveness, which can be important at the end of a race.

“After 270km, it is never the same. The finish is hard as well, and we will also have to see what the wind does.”

Second in Montréal. Third in the World Championship time trial. For Seixas, however, another place on the podium is no longer the target.

“Our ambition is to win this title,” he said. “It is crazy when you think about it. That motivates me even more. It is everything I could have dreamed of.”