'The descent was like an ice rink' - Seixas stays calm to keep Tour podium dream alive
Paul Seixas had never raced for more than a week at a time before this Tour de France, but his first step into the unknown went smoothly on stage 10 to Lioran. Tadej Pogacar, inevitably, was in a league of his own, but Seixas was among the best of the rest, sprinting to third place, 34 seconds down on the world champion.
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When Pogačar ripped clear of the GC group on the Col du Pertus with a little under 16km to go, Seixas found himself in an elite chasing group that included Jonas Vingegaard and Juan Ayuso.
They leaned on Vingegaard’s pace-making on the final haul up the Col de Font de Cère before Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Seixas sprinted clear within sight of the line. It was Seixas’ highest finish on the Tour to date, and it moves him up to fifth place overall as the race reaches its midpoint.
“To secure third place on one of the toughest stages of the Tour is super,” Seixas said afterwards, according to RMC Radio.
“The Tourmalet stage was really a climbers’ stage. Today was a stage for strong riders, with shorter, more chaotic bursts of effort. Managing to be in contention on both types of terrain is a great achievement.”
Although Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad dictated terms for most of the Bastille Day stage, it was striking that Seixas’ Decathlon CMA CGM squad came to the fore towards the top of the Puy Mary.
“It was more about positioning,” Seixas explained. “We could see the descent was very dangerous. I think the tarmac was melting, which meant I lost my bearings on the descent. At the first bend, I felt my rear wheel slip out, so after that, I took the descent fairly calmly and again felt my front wheel slip out without understanding why.
“I really think the tarmac was melting. The descent was like an ice rink, so it was lucky we were at the front at that point. We didn’t try to take any risks on the descent.”
The GC shake-up came on the Col du Pertus, where Pogačar’s vicious acceleration shattered the yellow jersey group. Pogačar’s UAE teammate Isaac del Toro was surprisingly distanced, but Seixas fared well in the company of Vingegaard, Ayuso and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull) to ensure he would be in the chasing group over the other side.
Del Toro dropped from third overall to seventh after losing 1:31 in the finale, and he also lost the white jersey as a result of his travails. Seixas is now second in the young rider classification, just 13 seconds behind Ayuso. In the overall standings, Seixas is 4:35 behind Pogačar but just 29 seconds off a podium place.
“The Col du Pertus was really, really tough,” Seixas said. “The pace was incredibly fast right from the foot of the climb. I felt it was too fast and I managed my effort. The group broke up straight away.”
Despite his inexperience, the 19-year-old showed a considerable degree of savvy in the finale, allowing Vingegaard to take responsibility for marshalling the chase.
“When Pogačar accelerated on the second half of the climb, it was full throttle all the way to the top,” Seixas said. “After that, we tried to work together. It was tricky because a lot of riders hadn’t thought about pacing themselves on the climb and went flat out right from the foot of the climb. As a result, it created chaos in the group.
“We let Jonas take the lead because he was perhaps the second strongest rider behind Pogačar and because he was the one with the most to lose. He led us right to the finish, and then we battled it out for the placings.”
Result: Tour de France stage 10
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