Winner of the junior world championship time trial on Monday, Paul Seixas, at just 18 years old, appears to be the prodigy of French cycling.
The performance is historic. For the first time in its history, a Frenchman has in fact become junior world time trial champion. At just 18 years old, Paul Seixas confirmed his (immense) potential by winning ahead of the Belgian Jasper Schoofs. The gap is small – only six seconds – but the very fast course did not favor the French lightweight (53 kilos for 1m83).
The young Frenchman was also formal after having experienced a Marseillaise “exceptional” on the podium.
“It’s the best performance of my life in a time trial, I don’t know how I did it,” he got excited in remarks relayed by The Team.
UAE wanted to recruit Paul Seixas
Paul Seixas’ performance is all the more impressive given that the Lyon native was not supposed to compete in this time trial. The French staff wanted to preserve him in view of the road race. “But he was insistent, said he was the French time trial champion, he pushed and pushed, revealed Julien Thollet, the manager of the French teams. He has this maturity, to focus and prepare his thing well. That’s the whole challenge, to preserve him but nevertheless support his enormous potential.”
Because by all accounts, Paul Seixas has gold in his legs. “The kid is going to win the Tour de France,” insists Serge Barle, former manager of Jean Delatour and president of the Villefranche-Beaujolais club, where the young Tricolore spent three seasons. The potential did not escape UAE, who tried to attract him with a view to next season. But the young prodigy preferred continuity by extending the adventure for three seasons with Décathlon-AG2R La Mondiale.
Related News :