Overview
- Mathieu van der Poel, in an interview with AS on Thursday, said France finally has a rider capable of winning the Tour de France and pointed to Paul Seixas.
- Seixas, who is 19, won the Tour of the Basque Country and La Flèche Wallonne this spring and finished second at Liège–Bastogne–Liège behind Tadej Pogačar.
- Van der Poel called Seixas’s ride at Liège “spectacular,” highlighting how he stayed with Pogačar on the key climb of La Redoute before taking second.
- The Dutchman confirmed he will start the 2026 Tour with Alpecin–Premier Tech and said he will keep trying to beat Pogačar, whom he called a formidable rival.
- French hopes are rising because no Frenchman has won the Tour since Bernard Hinault in 1985, though Seixas has not confirmed he will race this year’s edition.