In his first professional appearance at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, young French talent Paul Seixas immediately made his mark with an extraordinary second place finish behind world champion Tadej Pogacar. A result that confirms the enormous expectations surrounding this 19-year-old rider, already a winner in 2024 of the Liège-Bastogne-Liège in the junior category.

Today's race represented a crucial test for Seixas: the transition from the junior ranks to the professional world, and moreover in one of the hardest and most prestigious classics on the calendar. The Frenchman responded perfectly, demonstrating maturity, endurance, and a surprising ability to match the pace set by the strongest of all, world champion Tadej Pogacar.

«First time at Liège, second place: you can't complain about a second place finish, but I know I wasn't far from victory. That's for sure, today I came very close»

Seixas proved to be the talent that everyone had noticed, and his victory at the Flèche Wallonne was just a preview of what we would see today.

«As I said, it was my first Liège, I really wanted to give my best, and that's what I did. Tadej was the strongest in the final; I was already at my limit at the top of the Redoute climb. My team positioned me perfectly throughout the day; they did fantastic work. And the proof is in the final part of the race, where I found myself alone with Pogacar».

Paul Seixas was the only rider capable of following the world champion, and at just 19 years old he truly demonstrated he is ready to race alongside the big names. «I think the fact that I remained alone with Pogacar gave me the push to resist all the way to the top. I was really struggling, my vision was blurred, and then, of course, I passed him. I thought, let's see how the final will go. We attacked again on the climb, then he accelerated again on the Roche au Faucon, and well, I was just missing the final sprint to catch him, and so I managed to finish well to secure this second place».

Today's Liège was very particular, with a very high pace and average speed, a race that started at full throttle right from the beginning. «It's true, but the high pace was an advantage for us. I preferred when there were fewer dangerous positions, and the group thinned out quite quickly. So, naturally, we paid the price, with some riders unable to position themselves as they wanted because they went too hard to catch Remco's group. But it also allowed us to avoid too much friction and to be more relaxed further ahead. What can I say? This second place is really an excellent result».

From Seixas's words, you can clearly understand how tough and difficult the day was, but also the awareness of having reached the highest levels, without yet having turned 20 years old.