French prodigy Paul Seixas announced Monday his participation in the Tour de France in July. At 19, he will be the youngest cyclist to start the Grande Boucle in 89 years.
Published on: 04/05/2026 - 10:19 Modified on: 04/05/2026 - 11:29
Paul Seixas, the French cycling prodigy, announced Monday that he would participate in the Tour de France this summer to become, at 19, the youngest rider to start the competition in 89 years.
The runner confirmed that he would start the Grande Boucle on July 4 in Barcelona in a clip posted on social networks by his Decathlon CMA CGM team.
Also read: Can Paul Seixas, French cycling prodigy, become the new Pogacar?
Filmed at his grandparents' home in Haute-Savoie, Paul Seixas explains that he came to "announce something special to them, which is that, next July, I will still have a race".
“The Tour de France?” his grandmother then asks him. “Yeah,” replies the young Lyonnais, set to once again mark the history of his sport with his precocity.
When the Tour de France starts from Barcelona on July 4, he will be 19 years, nine months and ten days old and will thus become the youngest participant in the Grande Boucle since 1937 and the Frenchman Adrien Cento, who started at the age of 19 years, three months and 26 days.
Seven victories already in 2026
The decision was eagerly awaited after the exceptional start to the season for the French phenomenon, winner seven times already in 2026 in only his second year among professionals.
Winner of a stage at the Tour of the Algarve (second overall), he followed up with a victorious solo raid at the Classic Ardèche and a second place at the Strade Bianche behind Tadej Pogacar. Before bursting into the spotlight with his success at the Tour du Pays Basque, crowned with three stage victories, then at the Flèche Wallonne and, finally, a second place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 26, where he was the only one able to follow, for a time, Pogacar.
His team had given itself until the end of the spring classics to decide on its participation in the Tour. The sensational results of the gifted man quickly argued in favor of an incursion this summer.
However, starting the three-week races directly with the Tour de France, where media pressure is maximum, is anything but trivial in a sport where we tend to improve with age, especially in terms of endurance.
The rule is rather to cut your teeth on the other Grand Tours, the Giro d'Italia or the Vuelta d'España, before tackling the Grande Boucle where the level is at the highest.
Among the current great champions, Tadej Pogacar first tested himself on the Vuelta in 2019, winning three stages and taking third place in the general classification, before winning his first Tour de France the following year on his first attempt, at the age of 22.
With AFP
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