Paul Seixas rides with a mysterious Van Rysel that has never been seen before ahead of his debut in the Tour de France

Paul Seixas continues to accumulate kilometers and signs that his debut in the 2026 Tour de France will not be just another one. The young talent from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale has been seen training in Sierra Nevada with a completely new Van Rysel bike that, from what can be seen in the first images, could anticipate a significant change within the French brand's road range.

Paul Seixas caught training in Sierra Nevada with a mysterious new Van Rysel before the 2026 Tour

The images appeared on social media during the altitude training camp that Seixas is conducting in Sierra Nevada before facing the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the race that took over the space of the Critérium du Dauphiné and will serve as a major rehearsal before the Tour de France.

There, the young Frenchman is accumulating a training volume that even surpasses what Vingegaard can do throughout the Giro, but Seixas in just two weeks. Here you can read all about this wild preparation.

But beyond the numbers, what has really caught attention is the bike in the video.

A Van Rysel that does not fit with any current model

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At first glance, the new frame seems to be situated halfway between the two bikes currently used by the French team. On one hand, at the top and rear, it maintains some relatively light and sleek lines of the RCR Pro, the first Van Rysel used in the World Tour that was developed directly with this idea five years ago.

But its front end is much more aggressive with clearly more aerodynamic solutions inspired by the RCR-F, the aero bike that Van Rysel officially launched in 2025 after several months of secretly competing with it.

The front seems more compact and sharp, the frame profiles show a much more refined integration, and the whole conveys a clearly competitive orientation, although not reaching the visual extremes of the current RCR-F. This new bike would fit well into the current Worldtour trend of an aerolight model.

Currently, the Van Rysel competition catalog is divided into the RCR Pro, focused on weight and versatility, and the RCR-F, clearly oriented towards aerodynamics. So it remains to be seen if this new model will be added to the catalog or as a replacement for one of them.