Paul Seixas facts for kids
Paul Seixas on the podium in 2025
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| Personal information | |||
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| Born | 24 September 2006 Lyon, France |
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| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb; 10 st 1 lb) | ||
| Team information | |||
| Current team | Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale | ||
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| Role | Rider | ||
| Rider type | All-rounder | ||
| Major wins | |||
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Paul Seixas is a French road cyclist who races for the UCI WorldTeam team called Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale. He was born on 24 September 2006 in Lyon, France. He is known as an all-rounder, which means he can climb mountains, sprint, and race against the clock. He won the world junior time trial title at the 2024 UCI Road World Championships. Many cycling experts call him one of the most exciting young sports stars in the world.
Contents
Early Life and Growing Up
Paul grew up in the large French city of Lyon. Both of his parents, Emmanuel and Emmanuelle Seixas, were competitive karate athletes. His father even won second place in the French national karate championships. Paul learned about fitness and focus from his family. His great-grandfather came from Portugal and married a woman from Czechoslovakia.
Paul did not start with martial arts like his parents. Instead, he fell in love with bicycle racing while watching races on French television with his grandfather. Seeing riders speed over giant mountains inspired him to try the sport. At eight years old, he joined his first neighborhood sports group, Lyon Sprint Évolution.
In school, his teachers often thought he was quiet, shy, and a bit absent-minded. However, everything changed whenever Paul got on his bicycle. He was brave, determined, and very fast. Between the ages of 9 and 14, he won dozens of local events. In 2021, his family moved near Anse, where he joined the Vélo Club Villefranche Beaujolais.
Junior Racing Career
Early Success in Youth Cycling
As an under-17 cadet rider, Paul showed he could win on different surfaces. He won the national cadet title in road racing at the French National Road Race Championships. He also won the national title in Cyclo-cross, an off-road sport where racers jump over obstacles and ride through thick mud.
In 2023, when he was 16 years old, he joined the AG2R Citroën U19 junior squad. He quickly learned to compete against strong teenagers from all around the world. During his first full junior season, he won four international races. He placed sixth in the European junior championship for cyclo-cross.
Becoming a World Junior Champion
The 2024 season was an amazing year for Paul as a 17-year-old athlete. He won the junior edition of the famous Belgian race Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He also defended his country by winning French junior titles in both cyclo-cross and the solo race against the clock.
He earned a bronze medal at the 2024 European Road Championships during the junior road race. Next, he traveled to Switzerland for the 2024 UCI Road World Championships. In Zurich, Paul raced with incredible speed to win the gold medal in the junior time trial. He also finished seventh in the junior road race. Because of these huge victories, the top French professional team offered him an official contract.
Professional Cycling Career
2025: First Year as a Professional Rider
Paul began racing against adult professionals in 2025. His first event was the 2025 Grand Prix La Marseillaise in southern France. Soon after, he traveled to the Middle East for the 2025 UAE Tour, which was his first race at the elite UCI World Tour level.
His strong legs helped him earn second place at the historic one-day race Paris-Camembert. He also won the bright points jersey at the mountainous Tour of the Alps. In June, he competed in the week-long 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné. Paul finished eighth overall, becoming the youngest racer ever to finish in the top 10 of a modern World Tour stage race.
Later that summer, he entered the Tour de l'Avenir, a famous event known as the mini Tour de France for young athletes under 23 years old. Paul won two stages and claimed the overall title. Later that season, he won a silver medal in the mixed team relay at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Africa.
He also raced at the 2025 European Road Championships in France, where he earned a bronze medal in the elite men's road race. In October, he finished seventh at Il Lombardia, an event called a Monument because it is one of the five hardest one-day races in cycling. He became the youngest rider in over 100 years to reach the top ten in that race.
2026: Winning Big Races on the World Stage
The 2026 racing season turned Paul into a superstar. In February, he scored his first professional win at the Volta ao Algarve in Portugal. He rode fast up a steep summit called the Alto da Fóia. He defeated star riders like João Almeida and Juan Ayuso, finishing second in the overall standings.
Ten days later, Paul attacked on his own with 40 kilometers left to win the Ardèche Classic. Fans loved his brave riding style and compared him to the great champion Tadej Pogačar. In March, Paul rode the dusty gravel roads of Strade Bianche in Italy. He was the only athlete brave enough to chase Pogačar across the gravel hills. Paul dropped Mexican rider Isaac del Toro near the end to finish second.
In April, Paul reached new heights. He entered the Tour of the Basque Country, a famous Spanish race filled with steep climbs. Paul won three individual stages and took home the overall championship jersey. It was his first major win in a UCI World Tour stage race. Later that month, he conquered the steep wall of the Mur de Huy to win the classic La Flèche Wallonne.
During the summer, Paul made his debut at the mighty Tour de France. He climbed well against top stars and earned an outstanding fourth place overall. In autumn, he traveled to Canada, taking second place at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal. He then picked up a bronze medal in the elite time trial at the World Championships in Montreal. To end his year, Paul attacked in Italy and won the Giro di Lombardia at just 20 years old, becoming the youngest winner ever in the long history of the race.
Major Career Results
Road Racing Highlights
- 2023 (Junior)
- 1st overall, Tour du Pays d'Olliergues (won stages 1 and 3)
- 1st, Trofeo Guido Dorigo
- 2nd overall, Tour du Valromey
- 2nd overall, Watersley Junior Challenge
- 2nd, La Classique des Alpes Juniors
- 3rd overall, Eroica Juniores
- 4th overall, Saarland Trofeo
- 2024 (Junior)
- 1st, World Junior Time Trial Championship
- 1st, French Junior Time Trial Championship
- 1st overall, Giro della Lunigiana
- 1st overall, Tour du Pays de Vaud
- 1st, Liège–Bastogne–Liège Juniors
- 1st, La Classique des Alpes Juniors
- 3rd, European Junior Road Race Championship
- 2025 (First Professional Season)
- 1st overall, Tour de l'Avenir (won prologue and stage 6b)
- 1st, Points classification at the Tour of the Alps
- 2nd, World Championships Mixed Team Relay
- 2nd, Paris–Camembert
- 3rd, European Road Race Championship
- 7th, Giro di Lombardia
- 8th overall, Critérium du Dauphiné
- 2026 (Breakthrough Season)
- 1st overall, Tour of the Basque Country (won stages 1, 2, and 5)
- 1st, Giro di Lombardia
- 1st, La Flèche Wallonne
- 1st, Ardèche Classic
- 2nd overall, Volta ao Algarve (won stage 2)
- 2nd, Liège–Bastogne–Liège
- 2nd, Strade Bianche
- 2nd, Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal
- 3rd, World Time Trial Championship
- 4th overall, Tour de France
Major Stage Races and Classics Timeline
Paul has competed in some of the hardest bike races in the world:
- Tour de France: 4th place overall in 2026
- Critérium du Dauphiné: 8th place overall in 2025
- Tour of the Basque Country: 1st place overall in 2026
- Giro di Lombardia: 7th place in 2025, 1st place in 2026
- La Flèche Wallonne: 1st place in 2026
- Liège–Bastogne–Liège: 2nd place in 2026
- Strade Bianche: 2nd place in 2026
Cyclo-Cross Racing Highlights
Before turning professional on the road, Paul raced in winter cyclo-cross events:
- 2022–2023
- 1st overall, Swiss Junior Cup (won rounds in Steinmaur and Hittnau)
- 1st, Junior races in Bulle, Orée d'Anjou, and Dijon
- 2023–2024
- 1st, French Junior Cyclo-cross National Championship
- 1st, Swiss Junior Cup round in Mettmenstetten
- 3rd, UCI Junior World Cup race at the Namur Citadel
