Talented French racer Paul Seixas was not at the presentation of the 2026 Tour de France route in Paris on Thursday but he was the talk of the town, nonetheless, with many French fans hoping he will ride the Tour for the first time next July and eventually go on to win it.
The 2026 Tour will pay homage to Bernard Hinault, with the finishes at Alpe d’Huez coming exactly 40 years after Le Blaireau took his last of 28 stage wins in the race, a time trial in St. Etienne, and Greg LeMond stopped him from winning overall for a record-breaking sixth time.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) became the first Frenchwoman to win the Tour de France Femmes this year in its revised format, but a Frenchman has not won the Tour since Hinault in 1985.
19-year-old Seixas is tipped to be France’s next great Tour hope. He won the Junior time trial world title in 2024, turned professional with Decathlon-AG2R in 2025, won the Tour de l’Avenir and also impressed with eighth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné, third at the European Championships and seventh at Il Lombardia.
“The dream, of course, is to ride the Tour de France. It’s the biggest race for me. It’s the biggest race there is for me but there’s a difference between a dream and reality,” Seixas explained to L’Équipe recently.
A start at the Giro d’Italia?
Some in France think he should ride the Tour de France and Hinault suggested he first test himself at the Giro d’Italia. As for Christian Prudhomme, the Tour race director is quietly hoping to see Seixas at the start in Barcelona, but when asked, he nonetheless opted for a diplomatic approach.
“I wouldn’t hold it…
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