Seixas pushes his preparation for the Tour to the limit with a wild block in Sierra Nevada

As Jonas Vingegaard continues to dominate the 2026 Giro d'Italia, accumulating kilometers and elevation on his way to the Tour de France, there is another rider who is amassing equally impressive figures away from competition. Paul Seixas, the great sensation of world cycling at just 19 years old, is completing one of the toughest training blocks ever recorded for a debutant in the Tour in Sierra Nevada. And the numbers are impressive even when compared to those of a grand tour.

Paul Seixas has already accumulated almost the elevation of a Giro like Vingegaard's in just two weeks in Sierra Nevada

The young Frenchman from Decathlon CMA CGM has accumulated 1,686 kilometers and 43,373 meters of positive elevation in just two weeks of high-altitude training. This figure is very close to the 49,150 meters of elevation planned for the entire 2026 Giro d'Italia that Vingegaard is competing in, but compressed into just 14 days of work.

The comparison helps to understand the level of demand that Seixas is facing before becoming the youngest rider to start the Tour de France in 89 years during the Grand Départ in Barcelona.

The Frenchman has been training in Sierra Nevada since early May alongside several teammates from Decathlon CMA CGM, such as Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Nicolas Prodhomme, Matthew Riccitello, Leo Bisiaux, and Stefan Bissegger. There, he is completing the last major block of preparation before competing in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné, which will be his last test before the Tour.

RECOMENDADO

"That was the whole plan we had": Vingegaard turns the Giro into a luxury training session for the Tour

Why do most cyclists wear their glasses outside their helmets?

Zwift launches an exclusive Rocket Espresso coffee maker at a premium price

Vingegaard dominates in the high mountains again and has the Giro in the bag

We spotted the future Cannondale Lefty and it comes with important changes

The S-Works Epic 9 won again in Nove Mesto: a detailed look at Laura Stigger's bike

The data shared on Strava shows absolutely wild days even by WorldTour standards. Last Saturday, he recorded a ride of 231 kilometers and over 5,000 meters of elevation in seven hours of training at an average speed exceeding 32 km/h. But even more striking was the session he did with Bissegger a few days later, with 197 kilometers and 6,255 meters of elevation gained in less than seven hours.

Even his theoretically easy days have included high mountain passes and active recovery sessions. On another of the most demanding days, he managed to do double training on the same day, accumulating over 160 kilometers and nearly 5,000 meters of elevation.

Within Decathlon, they are clear that the key to Seixas' progression is not only his natural talent but also the speed at which he is able to absorb training loads typical of the best riders in the world. Stephen Barrett, performance director of the French team, explained in statements to Velo that the Frenchman “still has a huge margin for improvement” and that one of the big differences compared to other young talents is how he is assimilating the increase in volume and intensity.

“He is starting to train more like a WorldTour rider. He is increasing volume and intensity,” Barrett explains in Velo. The Irish coach also insists that Seixas still arrives relatively “fresh” from the perspective of accumulated load because he comes from cyclocross and had not done huge volumes of work during his adolescence.

In the team, they consider this precisely a huge advantage for the future. “He is someone who wants to learn, progress, and absorb all the information possible,” Barrett assures. According to the performance manager of Decathlon, the Frenchman has been making “giant strides” practically every month for months.

Another aspect that surprises internally is his resistance to fatigue. “He has an enormous capacity to withstand tiredness. Normally, that comes with experience and age, but he already has it,” Barrett states. The team noticed this trait especially in races like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, where Seixas was the only one able to withstand Tadej Pogačar's attack at La Redoute and also recorded some of his best physiological values of the entire race there.

The feeling within the peloton is that the Frenchman is evolving much faster than expected. His victory in the Itzulia, his displays in the Flèche Wallonne, and his second place in Liège behind Pogačar have completely changed the perception of him within the WorldTour.

In fact, at Decathlon, they initially considered that his debut in a grand tour would come at the Vuelta a España. However, the level shown this spring ended up accelerating all plans. “If you are good enough, you are old enough,” Barrett summarized regarding the decision to take him to the Tour.

Now all eyes are on how he will perform in his first Tour de France. But given the volume of work he is accumulating in Sierra Nevada, it seems evident that neither Seixas nor Decathlon want to leave anything to chance before Barcelona.