The UAE points to Seixas as one of the biggest threats to Pogacar in the Tour: "He is at the level of Vingegaard"

Paul Seixas has not yet debuted in a grand tour, but within the UAE Team Emirates-XRG, he is already considered a real threat to Tadej Pogačar's reign. Less than two weeks before the start of the 2026 Tour de France, Joxean Fernández Matxin surprised with statements placing the young 19-year-old Frenchman at the level of Jonas Vingegaard as a rival for the general classification.

Matxin points to Seixas as one of Pogačar's main rivals

The words of the Spanish coach come after the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, a race in which Seixas suffered a hard fall in the queen stage, staged a spectacular comeback to limit damage at the Grand Colombier, and ended up abandoning the next day. However, for Matxin, the most important thing was not the results, but the way he responded to adversity.

In an interview with the Italian media Bici.pro, Matxin stated that the performance shown by the leader of Decathlon CMA CGM left him with an impression even greater than expected.

“Aside from the falls, or perhaps precisely because of them, we have seen an extraordinary Seixas, stronger than we thought. I don't look at the final result, but at his behavior. I consider him one of the main obstacles in the way to Tadej's fifth victory. The fall he suffered shows us that he is not only strong in legs but also mentally. He does not give up; otherwise, he wouldn't have achieved that sensational four-minute comeback,” Matxin declared to Bici.pro.

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The most striking statement came when he was asked about the Frenchman's real chances in his first Tour de France. Far from downplaying his youth or lack of experience in three-week races, the UAE leader raised the bar even higher.

“He must be absolutely considered for the general classification, even though he has never raced a grand tour. When you show that level, you cannot be afraid even of a three-week race. I consider him at the level of Jonas Vingegaard and what the Dane showed in the Giro. We really cannot underestimate anyone,” Matxin stated.

Seixas will face the first grand tour of his career in July at just 19 years old, after a season in which he has already proven capable of competing head-to-head with some of the best climbers in the peloton. His performance in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, especially the resilience shown after his fall at the Grand Colombier, seems to have convinced even those who will have to try to defeat him.