A Tour winner or too much pressure for Paul Seixas

We have been living it in cycling since 1985 when Bernard Hinault became the last French cyclist to win the coveted yellow jersey of the Tour de France. Every time a new French cyclist emerges, they are immediately labeled as the "future winner of the Tour de France." This label was placed on the very young Paul Seixas last year, and after achieving his first professional victory at the Volta ao Algarve, he occupies the headlines of the cycling world.

France sees Paul Seixas as the successor to Bernard Hinault after his victory at Volta ao Algarve

For more than 40 years, the French have been waiting for a cyclist capable of triumphing again on the Champs-Élysées. That is why every time a French cyclist starts to shine, the media pressure soon demands that they win the Tour de France. This pressure has been handled better or worse by those who have experienced it and, in many cases, has conditioned their careers.

Fignon suffered from it in the Tour that he lost by just 8 seconds to Greg Lemond. In the 90s, the great climber Richard Virenque saw his brilliant career overshadowed by the fact that he was not in a position to win the Tour, and in recent times, this demand has fallen on cyclists like Romain Bardet or Thibaut Pinot.

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The latter suffered the pressure more than anyone, retiring in tears when he faltered in the decisive stage of the 2019 Tour, a edition in which Egan Bernal would ultimately prevail. This was a fact from which the French cyclist would not recover, ending his cycling career in 2023, citing physical and mental fatigue at the age of 33.

Last year was the professional debut, at just 18 years old, of Paul Seixas, the young gem of Decathlon-CMA CGM, who has led the team in 2026 to begin to grow around him under the blind belief that the Tour de France of 2030 must bear his name. The truth is that the Frenchman had a brilliant season in his first year in the World Tour. Although he did not achieve any professional victories, he clearly won the Tour de l'Avenir, had a fantastic Critérium du Dauphiné, and at his peak moment of the year, he reached the third step of the podium at the European Championship behind two giants like Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel.

This week, in his debut in the season of his confirmation, at Volta ao Algarve, he achieved a brilliant victory at Alto da Foia right from the start, coincidentally the same place where, in 2019, a 20-year-old Tadej Pogacar also achieved his first professional victory. To top it off, Paul Seixas defeated none other than a killer in this type of stage like Juan Ayuso and resisted in the last kilometers against the intense offensive carried out by Joao Almeida.

It is true that Paul Seixas shows great promise, and everything suggests that he will have a bright future in cycling. However, we have seen too many times the destructive effects that can have on a young man who is not yet 20 years old when too many expectations are placed on him.

In fact, in Spain, we know this very well since, after Miguel Indurain's retirement, Spanish cycling suffered a syndrome similar to that of the French, which fortunately was remedied by Carlos Sastre, Pereiro, or Contador. However, before that, the label of Tour winner was also placed on cyclists like Abraham Olano, Francisco Mancebo, Santi Blanco, Joseba Beloki, or Haimar Zubeldia, who, despite achieving good results in the French round, never managed to wear the yellow jersey in a country where, even today, it seems that if you haven't won the Tour, you haven't been anyone in cycling.