After the surprising finale of last season, where, as a fresh 19-year-old, he secured bronze at the European Championships and seventh place in his first Lombardia, Paul Seixas has the eyes and attention of all cycling professionals, and in the upcoming season, this interest in him is inevitably set to rise even further.

The signals he gave last autumn in his first direct confrontations with the top cycling stars leave no doubt about the talents possessed by the Lyon native, who certainly has natural talent and the numbers to build a champion's career.

However, the steps to take are still many, and Seixas is the first to be aware of this. At not yet 20 years old, these steps undoubtedly involve work, acquiring a precise mindset, assimilating the teachings from the people around him, and a series of essential sacrifices for excelling, which he is already dealing with at the start of 2026.

"I haven't seen my parents and my girlfriend for two months, but I know well that these are sacrifices made to achieve results. When you come back, you truly feel the difference," he told Eurosport during the training camp at 2,300 meters in Sierra Nevada, where he and other Decathlon CMA CGM riders are fine-tuning their condition to best face the upcoming events in the coming weeks.

For Seixas, these will include Volta ao Algarve, Faun-Ardèche Classic, and Faun Drôme Classic, races where he will start not only simply to find race rhythm and breathe the adrenaline of competitions for the first time this year but also, right from the start, to play his cards and try to leave everyone behind.

"Looking at the starting lists of the upcoming races, I see only very strong riders, but I will give my maximum to raise my arms as soon as possible, whether in Algarve or in Ardèche," Seixas stated, not hiding his hunger for those successes and first places that, in his way of living and understanding cycling, essentially represent the driving force behind every pedal stroke.

"Winning is something I love, that I strongly desire but am not obsessed with," admitted the French prospect. "Even if I were to achieve my dreams, I won't stop. When I was a child, for example, I dreamed of becoming French champion, and I succeeded. Winning a race gives you an indescribable feeling, which is priceless, and this is what drives me to train even harder."

Driven by this will and guided by this attitude, Seixas could very soon further reduce the distance and, who knows, maybe even give some headaches during the race to people like Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, phenomena with whom he is destined to cross paths again this year.

"I believe in myself, I feel I'm improving and obviously, being able to follow those two, even just once, gives you a lot of confidence. Being much younger than them, I tell myself that if I managed to keep their pace at the end of last season, by continuing to progress, I will close the gap I have with them."

Examining the programs publicly announced so far by the three, Seixas will face the world champion at Strade Bianche and the Belgian at Flèche Wallonne before finding both on his path at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but head-to-heads could certainly be more numerous during the season.

Decathlon CMA CGM has not yet inserted any commitment in Seixas' calendar after the Doyenne, deliberately leaving room to understand, based on the sensations collected and the results obtained during the spring, how best to direct the season of the French prospect, who is not excluded from possibly taking part in his first Grand Tour.

However, it is unlikely that, in this regard, the choice will fall on the race where Seixas is most expected, namely the Tour de France, an event that, for now, is not part of the ambitious plans of the winner of the points classification at the last Tour of the Alps.

"Obviously the Tour would be a dream, but it's not my goal this year," Seixas stated, a young rider on whom, like many before him, they have already begun to place great hopes in France for the near future.