DV Junior Challenge: Paul Seixas breaks the record – News

Since 2015, the DV Challenge has been available for Juniors. This ranking, which has become an undisputed reference, makes it possible to establish the hierarchy in the U19 category. Matys Grisel in 2023, Thibaud Gruel in 2022, Romain Grégoire in 2020 and 2021: the list speaks for itself. First J1 last year, World Time Trial Champion Paul Seixas is the winner of the 2024 edition, with a new record: 1,842 points.

For a long time, they remained neck and neck to take and keep the lead in the DV Junior Challenge. Elliott Boulet (CC Plancoët) and Paul Seixas (La Motte-Servolex Cyclisme) shared first place in the Challenge for four months. And then, the period of the Championships arrived and Paul Seixas definitely took the upper hand to win the final ranking of the DV Challenge.

At the end of August, Eliott Boulet occupied first place for the last time with a small 15 point lead. The Breton has just scored 292 points in two weeks: a stage victory at the Ronde des Vallées (2.1) and 8th place overall, victory in the last stage of the Boucles de l'Oise, final of the Coupe de France Juniors or 8th place in the Plouay Grand Prix (1.1). But the 2nd in the Morbihan Center Trophy will only score 2 points until the end of the season, at the Tour du Morbihan Juniors. The 2023 French Time Trial Champion therefore finished 2nd in the DV Junior Challenge.

For his part, Paul Seixas is waiting for the month of May to climb onto the podium. The representative of the Junior reserve of Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale won Liège-Bastogne-Liège then the French Time Trial Championship before winning bronze in the road race then 3rd place in the Trophée Center Morbihan and winning the Tour of the Pays de Vaud. This month of May offers him a nice total of 646 points, 35% of his jackpot at the end of the year. This spring harvest gave him first place in the DV Challenge.

Five riders in the Top 10 in Conti, only one in N1

His victories in the Classique des Alpes, his good results at the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour (one stage and 2nd overall) kept him in the lead before handing over the lead for two weeks to Eliott Boulet. The French cyclo-cross Champion will then pass the big stage. Winner of the Tour de la Lunigiana, bronze medal of the European Championship and of course World Time Trial Champion and 7th in the road race in the cold rain of Zurich.

He thus adds 565 units to his basket to arrive at 1842 points. The record in the history of the DV Junior Challenge, proof that Paul Seixas has scored numerous points at the UCI level: 80.6% of his total. Behind the leading duo, Baptiste Grégoire occupies 3rd place. The AC Bisontine rider beat Aubin Sparfel (Cycle Golbéen) just before the post.

The mixed relay cyclo-cross World Champion lost his place on the podium at the World Championship. Baptiste Grégoire finished 13th in Zurich and scored 52 pts, Aubin Sparfel, 18th, pocketed 20 fewer. The winner of the Gipuzkoa Klasika (2.1) and Champion of Burgundy-Franche-Comté snatches 3rd place at the wire by only 5 points.

A sign of the times, of the eight Junior 2s among the first ten of the Challenge DV, only one will join an N1 next year, Camille Charret, loyal to VC Villefranche Beaujolais. One rider will go to a foreign club, Ellande Larronde to Caja Rural-Alea, five to Conti and only one, directly to the WorldTour, to Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale, Paul Seixas, the first in class.

Final individual ranking of the DV Junior Challenge

Pink is on

The J1 and team rankings have taken on a candy pink hue all season. That of the Argenteui Val de Seine Cyclisme jersey. The suburban club placed three riders among the four best Juniors 1, Arthur Alexandre in the lead. Only Johan Blanc (VC Rodez) came in 2nd place. He even took the lead after the Plouay Grand Prix but, in the end, the Argenteuil Val de Seine Cyclisme member won by 4 small points.

Arthur Alexandre, Yann Dubois, Alexandre Trouvain, are not the only ones to have brought their stones and their points to the building of the Argenteuil club. Edgar Berthelemy has five victories at the Federal level, including the Ronde du Bassin Sioule Limagne, and at the international level with the Côte d'Or Classic. In this UCI race, Argenteuil Val de Seine Cyclisme monopolized the first four places overall. A symbol of their domination, they won the team time trial, starting from the Muséoparc Alésia. But Edgar Berthelemy experienced a decline in performance from the month of July.

For his part, Arthur Alexandre scored his last points at the Classique des Bourbons (Federal) where he ranked 15th overall. The 11 points gleaned allowed him to win the J1 ranking. He started his season well from his first UCI race, Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne (12th), then 2nd in the Trophée de la Ville de Châtellerault. He then won the Tour de l'Eure Juniors then the Cantonale. It was also at the Cantonale that Yann Dubois confirmed his 2nd place at the Côte d'Or Classic and his title of Champion of Ile-de-France. That day the pink jerseys did well by placing five riders in the first five places. Best club in the DV Junior Challenge but also prophet in his country.

Ranking of Juniors 1 of the DV Junior Challenge

DV Junior Challenge team ranking

All the DV Junior Challenge rankings by clicking here.

Photos: Zoé Soullard, Nicolas Mabyle, Freddy Guérin and Robert Gachet