Seixas… in “Paul position”
June 1 st 2026 - 16:59
- The Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes, which will take place from June 7 to 14, marks the start of a summer sequence in which young French rider Paul Seixas will be particularly expected following his performances at the beginning of the season, both in stage races and in the spring classics. At 19 years old, the Decathlon CMA CGM leader heads a particularly strong group of rising champions that includes Isaac Del Toro, Juan Ayuso, Kévin Vauquelin, Oscar Onley, Cian Uijtdebroeks, and Luke Plapp.
- The previous generation has not yet had its final say and will have strong arguments to present between Vizille and the Plateau de Solaison, notably former Colombian winner Dani Martinez, as well as two-time Paris-Nice winner Matteo Jorgenson.
There is every reason to believe that the white jersey of the first Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes will be worth just as much as its yellow jersey! With a peloton richly populated by contenders who are under 25 years old this year, the favorites are to be found more in the recent history of the Tour de l’Avenir than in the Grand Tours. And it even appears that the most recent winner of the prestigious stage race for young riders comes into the event with the most favorable odds. After a dazzling start to the season, Paul Seixas, at just 19 years of age, appears to be the most credible candidate to shatter the record for precocity set at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 1983 by Greg LeMond, who was then about to celebrate his 22nd birthday. Looking at his fellow rising stars, one realizes that Juan Ayuso is the only rider to have beaten the Frenchman this year in a stage race, on the occasion of his season debut at the Tour of the Algarve. The Spaniard must be considered one of the most threatening rivals to Seixas, but he could pay the price for a lack of form and race sharpness after a start to the season disrupted by a heavy crash at Paris-Nice, followed by a virus that deprived him of an Ardennes Classics campaign. The greatest danger would therefore, in theory, come from Isaac Del Toro, who, like Seixas, is continuing his build-up toward his first Tour de France. The Mexican champion, winner of the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico, has also suffered very few setbacks this year. But his third place at Strade Bianche was achieved behind his leader Tadej Pogacar… and just 9 seconds behind the French prodigy.
The rising generation is also well represented within Netcompany Ineos, with both Kevin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley, who have alternated strong performances at the Tour of the Algarve and Paris-Nice, while their teammate Carlos Rodriguez (25 since February) may also have an opportunity to shine. At Movistar, it will be 2022 Tour de l’Avenir winner Cian Uijtdebroeks who will be tasked with targeting a strong overall result in the Alps; and Australian rider Luke Plapp, having just aged out of white jersey eligibility, will attempt to confirm his progress after highly visible performances at the UAE Tour (3rd), the Tour de Romandie (5th), and the Tour of Hungary (3rd).
Faced with this army of youngsters, the event’s only former winner, Dani Martinez, has just celebrated his 30th birthday but already appears as a veteran. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Colombian showed outstanding form at Paris-Nice, which he finished in second place behind Jonas Vingegaard, and could take advantage of this opportunity before turning his attention to supporting his team leaders at the Tour de France. He will certainly come up against another strong rider from Visma-Lease a Bike, Matteo Jorgenson, who at 26 is difficult to classify among the “old guard,” but who can nevertheless point to a second-place finish at the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné, followed by sixth place last year. The group of experienced riders expected to play a significant role can also be expanded to include Pello Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious, as well as Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet of Groupama-FDJ United.
22 teams, main contenders (as of 1st June)
Australia
Team Jayco AlUla : Plapp, Matthews (AUS)
Bahrain
Bahrain Victorious : Bilbao (ESP), Buitrago (COL), Mohoric (SVN)
Belgium
Soudal Quick-Step : V.Paret-Peintre (FRA), Hayter (GBR), Lecerf (BEL)
Alpecin-Premier Tech : Houle (CAN), Glivar (SVN)
Lotto Intermarché : Zimmermann (DEU), Veistroffer (FRA)
France
Decathlon-CMA CGM Team : Seixas, Bisiaux, A.Paret-Peintre, Riccitello (FRA)
Groupama-FDJ United : Martin-Guyonnet, Berthet, Molard (FRA)
Cofidis : Coquard, Rouland, Thomas (FRA)
TotalEnergies : Jegat, Burgaudeau (FRA)
Germany
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe : D.Martinez (COL), Van Gils (BEL)
Great Britain
Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team : Vauquelin, Godon (FRA), Onley (GBR), Ca.Rodriguez (ESP)
Kazakhstan
XDS Astana Team : Tejada (COL)
Netherlands
Team Visma-Lease a Bike : Jorgenson (USA), Van Aert (BEL), Armirail (FRA)
Team Picnic PostNL : Faure Prost (FRA)
Norway
Uno-X Mobility : T.Johannessen (NOR), Charmig (DNK)
Spain
Movistar Team : UIjtdebroeks (BEL), Romeo, Castrillo (ESP)
Caja Rural-Seguros RGA : Castellon (ESP)
Switzerland
Tudor Pro Cycling Team : Alaphilippe (FRA), Trentin (ITA), Voisard (CHE)
NSN Cycling Team : Bennett (NZL), Hofstetter (FRA)
United Arab Emirates
UAE Team Emirates XRG : Del Toro (MEX), Almeida (PRT), Cosnefroy, Sivakov (FRA)
United States
EF Education-Easypost : Steinhauser (DEU), Healy (IRL), Baudin (FRA)
Lidl-Trek : Ayuso (ESP), Skjelmose (DNK), Skujins (LVA)
