Aurélien Canot, Media365, published on Monday September 23, 2024 at 1:35 p.m.
Having become the first Frenchman to be crowned in the category on Monday, Paul Seixas, the new junior world time trial champion, had a lot of trouble in the heat of the moment to achieve the feat he had just accomplished. The French prodigy assures that he will now do everything to climb onto the podium in the road race on Thursday.
At just 17 years old, Paul Seixas entered the legend of French cycling on Monday. At just 17 years old, but on the eve of celebrating his 18th birthday, the French prodigy became the first of our representatives to triumph among juniors in the specialty during the World Championships. Titled in the time trial while he was expected in the road race on Thursday (Editor’s note: He had insisted on competing in this time trial for which he had been on the verge of not being selected), the Lyonnais, questioned on DirectVelohimself admitted in the heat of the moment that he had a lot of trouble realizing the feat he had just achieved. “I don’t realize it, it’s going to take time to sink in. At the moment everything is tangled, I can’t understand how I did it. It’s the best performance of my life on a time trial, I followed all the advice I was given. We did tests to reassemble the cockpits, I didn’t have a visor but goggles and I gained aerodynamics on that. I put everything in place so that it would be the best time trial of my life, and I didn’t think it would end with me being World Champion.”
Seixas: “I can’t believe I finished so strong”
Seixas is not dreaming, however: he made the Marseillaise resonate this Monday in the Zurich sky (“This one is exceptional, it has nothing to do with the others (smile). I’m still struggling. I’m not sure I understand everything that’s happening to me at the moment”, he confided to DirectVélo). All this after dominating everyone on a course that didn’t necessarily suit him (“I’m tall but I’m light”) and without really hitting hard, before this exceptional finale on his part. “I didn’t feel like I was going to end up World Champion. I told myself that I was doing a great performance, but there are so many talented riders (…) I gave it my all. I can’t believe that I finished so strong, I felt like I had crashed at the end (…) On a course like that, finishing strong, it’s crazy.” A double would be even crazier. Monday’s hero assures that he will do everything to get on the podium also, Thursday during the road race, which he will start this time with a very specific sign on his back. “I don’t know if I’m the big favorite but I’m probably one of them (…) I can’t say that I’m going to win a medal but I’m going to do everything to do it”. You will have understood: the nugget could write a new page of history on Thursday.
