Cycling’s rising star Paul Seixas will compete at the in July, becoming one of the youngest riders ever to take part in the sport’s showpiece race.
An entire nation will be hoping he can end a four-decade drought for French male cyclists.
The 19-year-old Frenchman, widely regarded as a potential great and France鈥檚 best hope for a future Tour de France winner, announced his participation at cycling’s showpiece race in a video released by his CMA CGM Decathlon team.
Seixa’s precocity is rare. He has been in an impressive form this season, finishing runner-up to four-time Tour de France winner Tadej Poga膷ar at the Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He also became the youngest winner of the Fl猫che Wallonne.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a childhood dream of mine, something I鈥檝e often imagined, and now it鈥檚 very close to becoming reality,鈥� said Seixas, a versatile rider with excellent climbing and time trialing skills. 鈥淚鈥檓 only 19, but as I鈥檝e already said, age is neither a barrier nor an excuse.鈥�
It has been nearly 41 years since a Frenchman last won the Tour de France, when Bernard Hinault claimed the last of his five titles back in 1985. won the women鈥檚 Tour at her first attempt last year.
Over the past four decades, France has produced talented riders such as Thibaut Pinot, Romain Bardet, Warren Barguil or Julian Alaphilippe. All raised hopes but ultimately fell short, often facing rivals backed by stronger and better-funded teams.
Remarkable precocity
That could change following Seixas’ announcement, who has a strong team. Decathlon, a global sporting goods company, has joined forces with CMA CGM, one of the world鈥檚 largest shipping firms, to invest in a French team with Tour-winning ambitions. The team said last year it aims to win the Tour de France within the next five years.
鈥淲e needed to take the time to carefully analyze all the data and also talk with Paul and those around him,鈥� said Dominique Serieys, the team’s CEO. 鈥淗e has had a remarkable start to the season and is already among the best riders in the world. And the best are meant to line up at the biggest race on the calendar: the Tour de France. With great humility and in a learning mindset, Paul will start in Barcelona with genuine ambitions to achieve the best possible result in the general classification.鈥�
This season, Seixas also became the youngest winner of a WorldTour stage race at the Tour of the Basque Country. Seixas will take part in his first Tour who was 21 when he first appeared at the three-week race and went on to win. Hinault was also older, first lining up at 23.
鈥淢y results since the start of the season have given me a lot of confidence; I feel ready and I will have ambitious goals,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my mindset or my view of cycling to line up at the Tour de France with the sole aim of discovering it. I will aim for the best possible overall classification.鈥�
If he lines up at the start of the Tour, Seixas will be 19 years, 9 months and 10 days old, making him the youngest participant in nearly 90 years. Even younger was fellow Frenchman Adrien Cento, who set off from Paris in the 1937 Tour at the age of 19 years, 3 months and 26 days, L’Equipe newspaper reported. Tour organizers Amaury Sport Organisation is a subsidiary of the Amaury Group, media and sport group that owns L鈥橢quipe.
As part of his preparations for the Tour, Seixas will also compete at the Tour Auvergne-Rh么ne-Alpes in June. Following the Tour, he plans to ride in Canada before the world championships and the Tour of Lombardy.
The Tour de France from Barcelona, Spain. The route is challenging, including two stage finishes at the Alpe d鈥橦uez and a return to Paris鈥� picturesque Montmartre district on the final stage. Covering 3,333-kilometers (2,071-miles), the Tour will visit France鈥檚 five mountain ranges 鈥� the Pyrenees, Massif Central, Jura, Vosges and the Alps, featuring eight mountain stages including five summit finishes.
Poga膷ar, the best rider of his generation, could become only the fifth rider to win the sport鈥檚 most prestigious race five times after Belgian Eddy Merckx, Spaniard Miguel Indur谩in and Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil and Hinault.
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