'The hardest part is the unknown' - Confident Seixas closes in on Tour podium

His growing confidence was clear from the moment he set his Decathlon CMA CGM teammates Tiesj Benoot and Nicolas Prodhomme to work at the foot of the climb, and their efforts deprived yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar of all his teammates bar Isaac del Toro.

Further up the ascent, Seixas had the belief to track an acceleration from Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull), and although he was distanced by Pogačar’s stage-winning acceleration 1.5km from the summit, he battled gamely to limit his losses.

Seixas joined with Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) and Del Toro on the 6km plateau to the line, where he took third place on the stage, 38 seconds behind Pogačar. The result lifts Seixas to fourth overall, 5:19 behind Pogačar but now just 15 seconds off a podium place.

“Honestly, it’s incredibly tough, let’s put it that way,” Seixas told France Télévsions after the podium ceremony. “Today’s been another really tough day, but I’m starting to get used to it on the Tour. It’s very tough, and that’s exactly what I like about it. 

“I’ve trained hard for this. The whole team has worked hard for this, and today they’ve done a brilliant job; they’ve looked after me really well over the last two weeks, so it’s a real pleasure to have this white jersey and still be in the running for a podium place.”

Seixas moves into the white jersey of best young rider for the first time after jumping ahead of Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), but he insisted that he had eyes only for the overall standings. 

“I’d say my position in the general classification is more important. But still, it’s nice to have it. It’s nice to have a jersey and I’m happy to be here,” said Seixas, who acknowledged that he gained considerable belief from his display in the Vosges.

“Yes, obviously it gives me even more confidence for what’s to come. After all, the Tour is still long, the hardest part is yet to come, so I’m staying pragmatic. There’s already plenty to do tomorrow.”

The second week of the Tour concludes with a demanding hors categorie summit finish at Plateau de Solaison, a finale that has particular relevance for Seixas. The Frenchman missed the chance to race there when a crash forced him to abandon the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on the final day, and he has also has a family connection with the area.

“It’s not far from my grandparents’ house,” Seixas said. “I’ve been there several times anyway. I know the climb well. It’s really very tough. I don’t think there’s a much tougher climb. But anyway, tomorrow is going to be a great stage, and I hope we’ll finish this week on a high.”

Before this Tour, Seixas had never raced for more than eight days consecutively, and there were understandable doubts about his ability to recover and compete across three full weeks. He has fared well on the toughest stages thus far, placing fifth at Gavarnie-Gèdre in the first week and third at Le Lioran on stage 10.

“I think it’s important to recover properly, that’s the most important thing,” Seixas said. “We’ve really worked on that with the team. We’ve done some training camps that are actually quite tough, so I do know what the effort involved is like. I’m familiar with it, and I know how to recover. That said, the hardest part is the unknown. Tomorrow is stage 15, so we’ll see how it goes.”