Since Christophe Moreau in 2007 on the Dauphiné, French cycling has been chasing a coronation in a World Tour stage race. With the brilliant performances of Paul Seixas on the Tour of the Basque Country, cycling France is dreaming again.

Published on: 04/10/2026 - 1:39 p.m. Modified on: 04/10/2026 - 6:22 p.m.

Race day after race day, Paul Seixas confirms all the good things that the cycling world thinks of him. The French prodigy, 19 years old, not even over, is on the verge of winning the Tour of the Basque Country, after winning the first two stages as well as the queen stage in Eibar.

On the eve of the final finish, he has a comfortable mattress which places him in the ideal position to become on Saturday evening the first Frenchman to win a World Tour stage race (1st division) since Christophe Moreau at the Dauphiné in 2007... an eternity for France, a historic cycling nation.

So the end of the curse? France 24 presents five reasons to believe in it when the yellow jersey suits him so well.

Also read: Can Paul Seixas, French cycling prodigy, become the new Pogacar?

Because he's a complete runner

For the moment, the Tour of the Basque Country is a recital on the part of Paul Seixas who demonstrates at each stage a new facet of his talent.

In the inaugural time trial, the Lyon prodigy crushed the pedals. We knew he was comfortable with the exercise, he ultimately dominated it. In front of his compatriot Kevin Vauquelin, he became the first Frenchman since 2021 to win a time trial at World Tour level.

The demonstration continued on the second stage. While the Spanish event pits some of the best climbers on the planet against each other, none of them was able to keep up with the Rhodanian when he attacked six kilometers from the summit of the San Miguel de Aralar pass. A solitary 26 km raid which relegated his competition to almost two minutes.

On the fourth stage, it was downhill that Paul Seixas showed that he was comfortable. Attacked by his opponents, he responded in the final descent with a balancing act, gleaning another 20 seconds for the general classification. He once again widened the gap on the eve of the final finish, winning in the sprint in the main stage of the competition after a two-man breakaway.

Roller, climber, descender… Paul Seixas knows how to do it all.

Because the competition is decimated

If the sacred monsters Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard are not present on the Tour of the Basque Country, a hell of a challenge presented itself in front of Paul Seixas with Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Primoz Roglic and Florian Lipowitz.

The first two gave up. The Mexican prodigy suffered a fall in the 3rd stage and preferred to abandon. The second, victim of gastric problems, did the same the next day. The last two, co-leaders of the Red Bull - Bora team, are still on the podium but already far away: 2 min 19 for Primoz Roglic and 2 min 28 for Florian Lipowitz.

Because the Decathlon team knows what it is doing

Paul Seixas' team has become in recent years one of the most powerful teams in the peloton with a budget exceeding 40 million euros thanks in particular to the arrival of the shipowner CMA CGM as a partner in 2026.

The French structure, which has become strongly internationalized in recent months with the recruitment of numerous foreign riders and coaches, was first called Chazal, then Casino, AG2R Prévoyance, AG2R-La Mondiale and AG2R Citroën.

From now on, she is building around her prodigy and the Tour of the Basque Country shows that she knows what she is doing. On the third stage, she managed the tempo of the peloton like a boss, letting the breakaways, harmless for the general classification of her yellow jersey, win. On the fourth stage, his close guard, Matthew Riccitello and Léo Bisiaux, responded to defend him against the blows of Primoz Roglic and Florian Lipowitz.

Because it is impervious to pressure

"Honestly, I've been asked this question for a long time. Personally, I don't care a bit about the pressure. It's easy to say but there you go, when I know that I have the legs, pressure or not, that's not the question on the bike. You just have to do what you have to do to win and when you want to win, as some have said, it's just a game for us", philosophized Paul Seixas at the finish of the 3rd step.

It must be said that his demonstration on the 2nd stage made an impression. Not satisfied with his victory the day before, he announced: "The best defense is attack. I have checked this stage which I have the ambition to win." And he did it.

Because he is “the chosen one”

Since the start of the season, Paul Seixas has had a string of convincing performances: second place at the Tour of the Algarve behind Ayuso and a victorious Pogacar-style solo raid in the Faun Ardèche Classic. On the Strade Bianche, he was the only one who was able to follow the Slovenian's wheel for a while.

Now with a question: is he the long-awaited successor to Bernard Hinault, the last French winner of the Tour de France, in 1985? “He’s the chosen one,” said Marc Madiot, manager of the Groupama-FDJ team.

And the other question that goes with it: should he go to the Tour de France this summer? The debate quickly ignited the microcosm, between those, often the veterans, who believe that it is too early and that the young man would be better advised to first go and gain experience in a Vuelta or a Giro, far from the all-consuming pressure of the media and the general public, before attending the big mass in July.

But for well-born souls, value does not wait for the number of years. From there to imagine Paul Seixas winning this summer to become the youngest winner of the Tour. Records are made to be broken.

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