Paul Seixas Targets Podium at 2026 Tour de France

Nineteen‑year‑old French cyclist Paul Seixas, the leader of the Decathlon‑CMA CGM team, is racing his first Grand Tour in the 2026 Tour de France. Before the eighth stage he was seen wearing a protective mask; team director Julien Jurdie said the rider had recovered well overnight and there is “no problem” with his health.

Seixas has already delivered strong mountain performances, finishing fifth on a Pyrenean stage and sitting sixth overall, 3:55 behind race leader Tadej Pogačar. He previously won seven races this season, including the Itzulia Basque Country and the Flèche Wallonne, and placed second in the Strade Bianche. The team is protecting him with teammates Nicolas Prodhomme and Aurélien Paret‑Peintre, and hopes his good recovery will allow him to contest the podium on the Champs‑Élysées.

The ninth stage will be Seixas’s ninth consecutive day of racing, a first in his career. The squad described the effort as a “voyage of discovery” and will assess his condition after the stage before the rest day.