Sierra Nevada (Spain) (AFP) – “Obviously when you follow these guys once, it gives you a lot of confidence”: training in the Sierra Nevada, in Andalusia, French cycling prodigy Paul Seixas is preparing for his second season in the elite with the ambition to compete with the biggest.

Published on: 06/02/2026 - 15:19

Outside, it's a storm. A freezing blizzard paralyzes the Spanish ski resort, located at an altitude of more than 2,300 m, and makes the roads almost impassable.

Warm - or at least dry - in the facilities of the high performance center of the Spanish Higher Sports Council, Paul Seixas has to make do with a home trainer session, just over ten days before the Tour of the Algarve (February 18-22), his back-to-school race.

"Every other day, we have to train indoors. It's not easy, and there's no real feeling of cycling," slips the 19-year-old runner, new leader of the Decathlon CMA-CGM team, his hair still damp in his hotel room.

“It’s been two months since I’ve seen my parents or my girlfriend. But we know why we do it: it’s sacrifices to make for performance,” he believes. “When you come back down, you really feel the difference.”

Increased endurance, ability to repeat efforts, better recovery: so many assets which allowed him to reach a milestone “between the Tour des Alpes and the Dauphiné” last year.

Catch up with the big names?

For his second season among the pros, the Lyonnais is hoping for "a little boost at the start of the season" to win his first elite race. The logical continuation of a lightning rise, which notably led him to a bronze medal at the European Championships last fall, behind the monsters Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel.

"Obviously when you follow these guys once, even if it's only once, it gives a lot of confidence. Being much younger than them, I tell myself that if last year at the end of the season, I managed to follow them, that means that if I progress further, I will be able to close this gap", hopes Seixas.

Difficult, “but not impossible”. “We see the startlists for the next races, there are only very strong guys, but I will give everything to be able to raise my arms as soon as possible, whether in the Algarve or in Ardèche,” he promises.

Earn? “Not an obsession,” says Seixas, “but a very strong desire.” “I have confidence in myself, I feel that I am progressing,” he continues.

“The Tour de France a dream, not a goal”

Until participating in his first Tour de France this summer? “It would definitely be a dream, but it’s not my goal this year,” even if the junior time trial world champion doesn’t “really set a limit” and doesn’t “close any doors.”

“Afterwards, when I was young... like one or two years ago, I loved racing on the cobblestones,” he jokes, aware that he would surely not participate in Paris-Roubaix this year due to his new status, but hoping to do so in the future.

So far, the praise of observers and his competitors has not made him deviate from his path. "What I like is winning races. But even if I manage to realize my dreams, that's not what will stop me. When I was little, my dream was to become champion of France, I was (in cadets, Editor's note). It just makes me want to surpass myself in training to succeed in racing," he explains.

“And winning a race is still an indescribable feeling, which is priceless,” assures Seixas, who says he gets this passion from his grandfather.

Until spending entire days on the roads. “It’s true that I like doing long sessions,” assures the man who surprised followers by posting at the end of October on the Strava application a 323 km outing with 8,500 m of elevation gain.

“I have always been a very enduring person, so it’s almost like a little trip, sometimes you go for seven, eight hours, you see the landscape. And if you are passionate you realize the pleasure it is, and the joy of accomplishing the effort,” he assures.

Simple pleasures, which push him every morning to go ever further, ever higher.

© 2026 AFP

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