{"id":247076,"date":"2026-06-06T19:09:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T19:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/i-would-have-liked-them-to-be-there-paul-seixas-disappointed-by-absence-of-pogacar-and-vingegaard-at-dauphine-his-tour-de-france-rehearsal\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T19:09:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T19:09:21","slug":"i-would-have-liked-them-to-be-there-paul-seixas-disappointed-by-absence-of-pogacar-and-vingegaard-at-dauphine-his-tour-de-france-rehearsal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/06\/i-would-have-liked-them-to-be-there-paul-seixas-disappointed-by-absence-of-pogacar-and-vingegaard-at-dauphine-his-tour-de-france-rehearsal\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I would have liked them to be there&#8217; \u2013 Paul Seixas disappointed by absence of Poga\u010dar and Vingegaard at Dauphin\u00e9, his Tour de France &#8216;rehearsal&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p id=\"elk-ea2889c0-7c8e-47ab-9c0d-c039292e429e\">One of the most anticipated debuts of a French rider at the <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> is fast approaching, with just eight more race days and less than a month separating <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> from his first Grand D\u00e9part in Barcelona in July 4.<\/p>\n<p>The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider is well aware of the expectation and pressure following him, which he has earned as the top teenage talent in the sport, and he&#8217;s about to embark on his final &#8220;rehearsal&#8221; for the big event at the Tour-Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes \u2013 what was the <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/races\/criterium-du-dauphine-auvergne-rhone-alpes-2026\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/races\/criterium-du-dauphine-auvergne-rhone-alpes-2026\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/races\/criterium-du-dauphine-auvergne-rhone-alpes-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9<\/a>.<\/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-ea2889c0-7c8e-47ab-9c0d-c039292e429e-2\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Unlike previous years when all of the big Tour favourites would be at the start of the Dauphin\u00e9, Seixas is without reigning four-time champion Tadej Poga\u010dar, or Jonas Vingegaard \u2013 the only rider to ever beat the Slovenian at the Tour, in 2022 and 2023.<\/p>\n<div class=\"my-6 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-[10px] lg:my-8\" data-component-name=\"JwPlayer:Carousel\" data-jwp-carousel=\"\" data-jwp-carousel-payload=\"{&quot;ids&quot;:{&quot;playerID&quot;:&quot;jYDCcabO&quot;,&quot;searchPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;divID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;fallbackPlaylistID&quot;:&quot;gwjdoYHD&quot;,&quot;fallbackDivID&quot;:&quot;botr_gwjdoYHD_jYDCcabO_div&quot;,&quot;key&quot;:&quot;X9\\\/mXVGac0NphghLH9hZaqWA5d3dhAM\\\/Ih07grnEyMLjuO2E&quot;,&quot;tintLogo&quot;:true,&quot;useSearchPlaylist&quot;:false,&quot;enabled&quot;:true},&quot;signPostingEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;signPostingLinkEnabled&quot;:true,&quot;waitForAdLoad&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnDesktop&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnMobile&quot;:false,&quot;hidePlayerOnTablet&quot;:false}\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-nowrap items-center justify-between gap-3 bg-zinc-900 px-[14px] py-3\" data-jwp-carousel-header=\"\">\n<div class=\"flex min-w-0 shrink items-center\"><span class=\"inline-flex items-center gap-1.5 text-sm font-article-heading capitalize leading-5 text-white whitespace-nowrap\"><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-mobile\"\/><span class=\"jwp-carousel-title-desktop\">Latest Videos From<\/span><span class=\"jwp-carousel-brand inline-flex items-center\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"aspect-video w-full min-h-[200px] lg:min-h-[330px] relative overflow-hidden bg-black\" data-jwp-carousel-container=\"\">\n<div class=\"absolute inset-0 size-full items-center justify-center bg-white\" data-jwp-carousel-fallback=\"\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" data-new-v2-image=\"true\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/flexiimages\/gmvwmhupgi1715762145.svg\" class=\"rounded-[var(--image--border-radius,0)] max-h-12 w-auto\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">The young Frenchman said he would have preferred they were here, to test his legs against the very best in the sport, but he&#8217;s trying to stay focused on the task at hand before he lines up against them finally in Barcelona.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Of course, I would have liked them to be there. I like racing against them, even if I haven&#8217;t done it much against Jonas yet. It&#8217;s always a challenge to race against the best; it&#8217;s an opportunity to improve alongside them,&#8221; he said at a press conference on Saturday, as reported by <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.directvelo.com\/actualite\/129420\/paul-seixas-c-est-vraiment-un-avant-gout-du-tour\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.directvelo.com\/actualite\/129420\/paul-seixas-c-est-vraiment-un-avant-gout-du-tour\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>DirectVelo<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 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-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            You may like<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Asked if he&#8217;s dreamt of beating Poga\u010dar, Seixas could only concede, &#8220;Dreaming about it, yes. But you have to be realistic. I have a lot of respect for him, of course, and humility too.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;And for Jonas as well, we mustn&#8217;t forget him,&#8221; he added. &#8220;They&#8217;ve held the top two spots in the Tour for six years. I&#8217;m here to try and compete against them, but until I&#8217;m actually there, I prefer not to imagine or dream about anything.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div id=\"slice-container-newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-PU8WyjDLtkc7uaj5WDEkoE\" class=\"slice-container newsletter-inbodyContent-slice newsletterForm-articleInbodyContent-PU8WyjDLtkc7uaj5WDEkoE 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 aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">One of the biggest changes for Seixas at the Tour will be the swarm of media attention he garners, which has already followed him to his races in 2026 and the Dauphin\u00e9, but he seems to be showing maturity beyond his years and taking it all in his stride.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Speaking at the same busy press event ahead of stage 1, Seixas was asked directly how he was finding the fame and fervour since his rapid rise: &#8220;There are many of us attending this press conference. Does that stress you out?,&#8221; asked one journalist, as reported by <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lequipe.fr\/Cyclisme-sur-route\/Actualites\/Paul-seixas-avant-le-tour-auvergne-rhone-alpes-c-est-un-peu-une-repetition-du-tour-de-france\/1682422\" target=\"_blank\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.lequipe.fr\/Cyclisme-sur-route\/Actualites\/Paul-seixas-avant-le-tour-auvergne-rhone-alpes-c-est-un-peu-une-repetition-du-tour-de-france\/1682422\" referrerpolicy=\"no-referrer-when-downgrade\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>L&#8217;Equipe<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Not particularly. I knew the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes would be a preview of the Tour de France, in terms of media coverage,&#8221; replied Seixas, with several microphones fighting for space in front of him.<\/p>\n<aside data-component-name=\"Recirculation:ArticleRiver\" data-recirculation-type=\"inline\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"Trending Bar\" data-nosnippet=\"\" class=\"clear-both pt-2 pb-0 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-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,1em)] uppercase sm:text-[length:var(--article-river-title--font-size,0.875em)] font-bold&#10;        \"><br \/>\n            What to read next<br \/>\n        <\/span><\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Even though I can&#8217;t yet imagine what the Tour will be like, I&#8217;ve already been told I&#8217;m going to be blown away. I&#8217;m preparing myself mentally, and it doesn&#8217;t bother me; it&#8217;s part of the game. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s important: learning in all aspects, on and off the bike.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;This week will be a similar experience, with all the media attention, managing things with the team&#8230; It&#8217;s a bit of a rehearsal for the Tour de France, and that&#8217;s really what interests me here.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">He&#8217;s been <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/37-000m-of-elevation-gain-in-two-weeks-how-super-talent-paul-seixas-is-ramping-up-his-training-ahead-of-highly-anticipated-tour-de-france-debut\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/37-000m-of-elevation-gain-in-two-weeks-how-super-talent-paul-seixas-is-ramping-up-his-training-ahead-of-highly-anticipated-tour-de-france-debut\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/37-000m-of-elevation-gain-in-two-weeks-how-super-talent-paul-seixas-is-ramping-up-his-training-ahead-of-highly-anticipated-tour-de-france-debut\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">clocking in serious training mileage at Sierra Nevada in recent weeks<\/a>, almost 50,000 metres of elevation gain and 2000 kilometres across 16 days, before also <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/a-warning-to-pogacar-and-vingegaard-paul-seixas-claims-several-strava-koms-on-col-du-tourmalet-during-recon-of-tour-de-france-mountain-stage\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/a-warning-to-pogacar-and-vingegaard-paul-seixas-claims-several-strava-koms-on-col-du-tourmalet-during-recon-of-tour-de-france-mountain-stage\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/a-warning-to-pogacar-and-vingegaard-paul-seixas-claims-several-strava-koms-on-col-du-tourmalet-during-recon-of-tour-de-france-mountain-stage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">scorching sections of the Col du Tourmalet<\/a> on a recon in the Pyrenees, but he isn&#8217;t concerned about his energy levels.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;Hard work&#8230; It went very well personally. I don&#8217;t know if there will be any negative effects; it was well managed by the team,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I&#8217;m coming off a relatively light week and I think I&#8217;ll arrive feeling quite fresh. I wouldn&#8217;t say I&#8217;m solely focused on winning this race. The most important thing, with the Tour in mind, will be to see how much I&#8217;ve improved my recovery capacity between each day.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;From the moment I made that announcement, I threw myself into training, and each passing stage brings me closer to the Tour. Naturally, there&#8217;s a sense of anticipation.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Seixas is the heavy favourite, earned by his domination of Itzulia Basque Country, victory at La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne, and runner-up finishes at Strade Bianche and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, but he isn&#8217;t listening to the noise.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">For him, it&#8217;s a home race, but also one he wants to build on having finished eighth last season as an 18-year-old neo-pro. Since then, it&#8217;s been quite the meteoric rise to the top.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;The favorite, I don\u2019t know, but among the favorites, yes. There are some excellent riders at the start; it\u2019s one of the biggest stage races of the year, very prestigious, and even more so for me since it\u2019s a race in my region,&#8221; said Seixas.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">&#8220;I regularly ride these roads when I\u2019m at my parents\u2019 house; it\u2019s a pleasure to be here. [The goal is to] not finish completely exhausted like last year. It&#8217;s not easy in such a tough race, but recovery will be crucial.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">His <a data-analytics-id=\"inline-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/no-pogacar-or-vingegaard-but-paul-seixas-faces-test-of-tour-de-france-credentials-against-del-toro-ayuso-and-more-analysing-the-contenders-at-tour-auvergne-rhone-alpes\/\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/no-pogacar-or-vingegaard-but-paul-seixas-faces-test-of-tour-de-france-credentials-against-del-toro-ayuso-and-more-analysing-the-contenders-at-tour-auvergne-rhone-alpes\/\" data-hl-processed=\"none\" data-mrf-recirculation=\"inline-link\" data-before-rewrite-localise=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/racing\/no-pogacar-or-vingegaard-but-paul-seixas-faces-test-of-tour-de-france-credentials-against-del-toro-ayuso-and-more-analysing-the-contenders-at-tour-auvergne-rhone-alpes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">main rivals for the week will be Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Juan Ayuso<\/a> (Lidl-Trek), who both DNFed in the Basque Country.<\/p>\n<p aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"kiosq-b\">Seixas noted how, although, &#8220;It&#8217;s good to have rivalries, to see riders I beat in the Basque Country again,&#8221; this week is a &#8220;clean slate&#8221;.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/pro-cycling\/teams-riders\/i-would-have-liked-them-to-be-there-paul-seixas-disappointed-by-absence-of-pogacar-and-vingegaard-at-dauphine-his-tour-de-france-rehearsal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the most anticipated debuts of a French rider at the Tour de France is fast approaching, with just eight more race days and less than a month separating Paul Seixas from his first Grand D\u00e9part in Barcelona in July 4. The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider is well aware of the expectation and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":247077,"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-247076","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\/247076","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=247076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247076\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}