Paul Seixas, aged 19, has just more or less confirmed that he will finish fourth at his debut Tour de France, the first teenager to finish in the top 10, let alone the top five, since 1904.
The Decathlon CMA CGM rider finished 10th on stage 20 atop Alpe d’Huez, 2:55 behind the stage winner, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and 1:50 behind yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and his teammate and white jersey, Isaac del Toro.
It is a remarkable result, one that is beyond superlatives, for Seixas to finish fourth at his debut Tour, his debut Grand Tour in fact. It’s all the more remarkable because Seixas fought hard on the penultimate stage, not to secure his place on general classification, but to actually attempt to move up into third, and to overhaul Del Toro. His team rode smartly, and while the plan failed, it showed intent.
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However, in the immediate aftermath, in the biggest huddle beyond the finish line, the young man is disappointed.
“I cracked. Voilà. That’s how it is,” Seixas said.
“I wanted to go as deep as possible, but there was a moment where I was on my limit, and I cracked,” he continued.
“I hoped to be stronger than usual but in the end I exploded.”
The podium might have slipped away from his grasp, but it was clear that Seixas was ready to gamble his fourth place, rather than race conservatively to secure his historic result.
“We said in the team that we had nothing to lose. Today I’m fourth, and yesterday I was fourth. We tried everything to crack Del Toro and he was just stronger today,” he explained.
“We say we risk it all for the podium. I’m still fourth so I didn’t lose anything. I tried everything but the legs were not good enough, the head also. That’s why I cracked after. For me it was third or nothing, and today for me it’s nothing.”
However, fourth place is not nothing – it is yet more confirmation that France has a serious talent on its hands, one that is only going to mature into a better racer, and one that also has time on his side in the battle against Pogačar and Del Toro in the future.
It does show the sign of a great competitor to be disappointed with fourth, although that achievement will be understood more in the coming weeks.
“In a few days, with a bit of air, there will be some pride,” Seixas said.
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