{"id":240084,"date":"2026-04-24T09:43:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/if-paul-seixas-isnt-ready-for-the-tour-de-france-then-who-is-oliver-naesen-backs-19-year-old-teammate-for-debut-this-summer\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:43:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T09:43:28","slug":"if-paul-seixas-isnt-ready-for-the-tour-de-france-then-who-is-oliver-naesen-backs-19-year-old-teammate-for-debut-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/24\/if-paul-seixas-isnt-ready-for-the-tour-de-france-then-who-is-oliver-naesen-backs-19-year-old-teammate-for-debut-this-summer\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;If Paul Seixas isn&#8217;t ready for the Tour de France, then who is?\u2019 \u2013 Oliver Naesen backs\u00a019-year-old teammate for debut this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-d7f4398a-0780-4474-8ad9-8abce423abee\">As <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/paul-seixas\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/paul-seixas\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/paul-seixas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Paul Seixas<\/a> continues to move through the gears at an astonishing rate, the question over the possibility of a <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France<\/a> debut this summer is only growing louder, and he has a voice of support from within his own team in the shape of Oliver Naesen.<\/p>\n<p>The Tour was not on Seixas&#8217; original schedule, but following a highly promising debut season in the professional ranks last year, the 19-year-old Frenchman has well and truly broken out in 2026.<\/p>\n<p><a id=\"elk-seasonal\"\/><\/p>\n<aside data-block-type=\"embed\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\" class=\"hawk-root\"\/>\n<p id=\"elk-d7f4398a-0780-4474-8ad9-8abce423abee-2\">He has seven wins to his name already, <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/itzulia-basque-country-isolated-paul-seixas-clinches-first-worldtour-stage-race-title-as-aj-august-wins-rain-battered-final-stage\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/itzulia-basque-country-isolated-paul-seixas-clinches-first-worldtour-stage-race-title-as-aj-august-wins-rain-battered-final-stage\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/itzulia-basque-country-isolated-paul-seixas-clinches-first-worldtour-stage-race-title-as-aj-august-wins-rain-battered-final-stage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wiping the floor with a high-class field at Itzulia Basque Country<\/a> earlier this month before taking out La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne on Wednesday to set up a blockbuster battle with Tadej Poga\u010dar, Remco Evenepoel, and Tom Pidcock at <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/liege-bastogne-liege\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/liege-bastogne-liege\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/liege-bastogne-liege\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge<\/a> on Sunday.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-continues-below block py-2 text-sm\">Article continues below <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"inline-block w-2.5 h-2.5 ml-2\" fill=\"currentColor\" preserveaspectratio=\"xMidYMid meet\" viewbox=\"0 0 1000 1000\"><path d=\"M1000 100L500 900 0 100h1000z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pb-0 pt-2 mb-4\">\n        <span class=\"&#10;            flex&#10;            after:content-[''] after:flex-1 after:ml-4 after:my-[0.7rem] after:border-t after:border-solid after:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            before:content-[''] before:flex-1 before:mr-4 before:my-[0.7rem] before:border-t before:border-solid before:border-t-[#ccc]&#10;            font-article-heading pb-0 !text-base uppercase sm:text-sm font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">For Naesen, a <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/road\/teams\/uci-worldtour\/2026\/decathlon-cma-cgm\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/road\/teams\/uci-worldtour\/2026\/decathlon-cma-cgm\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/road\/teams\/uci-worldtour\/2026\/decathlon-cma-cgm\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Decathon CMA CGM<\/a> stalwart and road captain, there is no reason why Seixas should not be fast-tracked to the start line of the 2026 Tour de France in Barcelona in July.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;My opinion is just what it is \u2013 the team will decide ultimately \u2013 but I mean, this question about him maybe not being ready for it\u2026 If he\u2019s not ready, then who is ready? That\u2019s the question, you know. He&#8217;s 100% ready to go to the Tour,&#8221; Naesen told <em>Cyclingnews<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Opinion has been divided on whether Seixas should go to the Tour. The race comes with the spotlight of the biggest cycling race in the world, one that&#8217;s especially bright for such a talent from the host country, which hasn\u2019t celebrated a men&#8217;s home winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985.<\/p>\n<p><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/sean-kellys-classic-column-tadej-pogacar-is-unbeatable-but-thank-god-for-paul-seixas\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/sean-kellys-classic-column-tadej-pogacar-is-unbeatable-but-thank-god-for-paul-seixas\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/sean-kellys-classic-column-tadej-pogacar-is-unbeatable-but-thank-god-for-paul-seixas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sean Kelly pleaded patience<\/a> in a recent column for <em>Cyclingnews<\/em>, but Naesen doesn&#8217;t buy into the idea that the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a might offer a gentler introduction to Grand Tour racing \u2013 in fact, he says, the opposite might be true.<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-BKEGD7iJQVN7WpyuUHBNQE\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-BKEGD7iJQVN7WpyuUHBNQE slice-container-newsletterForm\">\n<div data-hydrate=\"true\" class=\"newsletter-form__wrapper newsletter-form__wrapper--inbodyContent\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-form__container\">\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__top-bar\"\/>\n<section class=\"newsletter-form__main-section\">\n<p class=\"newsletter-form__strapline\">The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cImagine they don&#8217;t send him there, and he goes to, let&#8217;s say, the Vuelta, and he finishes maybe fifth or something,&#8221; Naesen said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\" aria-hidden=\"true\">&#8220;Again, this is purely my opinion, but let&#8217;s say he finishes fifth in the Vuelta, then next year you can&#8217;t go to the Tour and finish ninth on GC, and everybody is happy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Whereas, if this year he goes to the Tour, wins a stage, and finishes ninth on GC. \u2029We will all be like, &#8216;Oh, nice, man.&#8217; So that is how I would do it if I were the boss, but yeah, I&#8217;m not the boss.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p id=\"elk-8b616f66-31ca-4ace-aa15-c9620adaa194\"><em><strong>Get unlimited access to our unrivalled 2026 Spring Classics coverage with a Cyclingnews subscription. We&#8217;ll bring you breaking news, reports, and analysis from some of the biggest races on the calendar, including Amstel Gold Race, La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge. <\/strong><\/em><a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/sub24\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=SC26\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/sub24\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=SC26\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/sub24\/?utm_source=Referral+link&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=SC26\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><em><strong>Find out more.<\/strong><\/em><\/u><\/a><em\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/if-paul-seixas-isnt-ready-for-the-tour-de-france-then-who-is-oliver-naesen-backs-19-year-old-teammate-for-debut-this-summer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As Paul Seixas continues to move through the gears at an astonishing rate, the question over the possibility of a Tour de France debut this summer is only growing louder, and he has a voice of support from within his own team in the shape of Oliver Naesen. The Tour was not on Seixas&#8217; original [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":240085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-240084","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240084"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240084\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}