Teenage French Prodigy Paul Seixas To Become Youngest Tour De France Cyclist For 89 Years

The cycling prodigy Paul Seixas will make his Tour de France debut this year, raising hopes of France’s first antheral homegrown victor since 1985.

The 19-year-old Decathlon-CMA CGM rider has prompted aggravated statement successful France aft a dazzling commencement to 2026 pinch his squad weighing nan benefits of early vulnerability to nan Tour against nan consequence of overburdening a rider still successful his first play arsenic a professional.

Seixas made nan announcement connected his team’s societal media connected Monday. “I’ve travel present to denote to you thing special, I person a title successful July,” he tells his grandparents, earlier they conjecture that he is talking astir nan Tour. He will beryllium nan youngest rider to commencement a Tour successful 89 years erstwhile nan Grand Boucle originates successful Barcelona connected 4 July.

He won nan Tour of nan Basque Country successful April, becoming nan first Frenchman since Christophe Moreau astatine nan 2007 Criterium du Dauphine to declare a WorldTour stage-race title.

The Lyon-born rider, who has said his biggest dream is to triumph nan Tour de France, is already being seen arsenic a imaginable reply to France’s agelong hold for a first location victor since Bernard Hinault successful 1985.

In 2025, Pauline Ferrand-Prévot became nan first French rider to triumph nan Tour de France Femmes, 36 years aft her compatriot Jeannie Longo won nan Tour de France Féminin.

Team guidance had indicated that Seixas’ programme would beryllium assessed aft nan Ardennes classics, wherever he won nan Fleche Wallonne earlier being beaten only by world champion Tadej Pogacar successful nan Liege-Bastogne-Liege race. It will beryllium Seixas’s first expansive circuit and nan only clip he has tackled a title longer than 8 days.

The 2026 Tour de France starts successful Barcelona and finishes successful Paris connected 26 July.