Alpe d'Huez showed no mercy to anyone, and Paul Seixas was no exception. The young French talent from Decathlon-CMA CGM experienced one of the most difficult days of his career, but managed to limit the damage and keep his hopes alive of finishing on the podium at the Tour de France.

At the end of the nineteenth stage, the young Frenchman crossed the line in ninth place, losing only four seconds to Isaac Del Toro, his direct rival in the battle for third place in the general classification. A contained gap that allows him to approach the last major mountain stage still fully in contention for a result that would be sensational on his Grande Boucle debut.

However, his feelings tell a very different story from what the numbers suggest.

«It was terrible, exhausting - Seixas said at the end of the stage - The crowd was going wild, I can still hear the roar in my ears. It was a magical day, but at the same time one of the hardest days of my life on a bike».

What he said perfectly describes what it means to tackle Alpe d'Huez in the midst of a Tour de France, with thousands of fans along the twenty-one hairpin turns and a pace set by the world's best climbers. Seixas never stopped fighting, even though he realized his legs weren't responding as he would have liked.

«I gave it everything, like every day here at the Tour. In the end I managed to limit the damage. My legs weren't as strong as I hoped, but I still think it was a great performance».

Fourth place in the general classification remains solid and, most importantly, the podium dream remains alive. «I'm still in the fight. There's still tomorrow's stage and it will be incredibly tough. In the end, everything will be decided by strength and the ability to endure. I want to congratulate everyone who has already finished this stage, because it was truly an exhausting race».

For the young Frenchman, the true revelation of this Tour, the climb up Alpe d'Huez was also an opportunity to realize once again how important teamwork is. At the end of the stage, in fact, Seixas wanted to dedicate much of his words to his Decathlon-CMA CGM teammates, protagonists of a collective performance of the highest level.

«The team was extraordinary. Everyone gave their all. Look at what they did on the climb: when there were barely twenty or thirty riders left up front, some of my teammates were still there working for me, despite having completely different physical characteristics».

The young Frenchman then praised one by one the men who accompanied him on the toughest day of the Tour.

«The two riders up front did incredible work. Matthew was rock solid. Aurélien and Nicolas attacked already on the penultimate climb when there were only about a dozen riders left in the group, and it was invaluable help for me. Then Olav also continued to work behind to bring the teammates back into contention. I truly believe that today the entire team can be proud of their performance».

Finally, Seixas acknowledged with sincerity that, without the support of Decathlon-CMA CGM, his position in the standings would probably be very different.

«In the final stretch, I didn't have the legs to make a difference. If I'm still in contention for the podium, much of the credit goes to my teammates».

At nineteen years old, Paul Seixas continues to amaze. Even when he can't attack or win, he demonstrates a quality that belongs to great riders: the ability to suffer, limit losses, and stay in the fight. Alpe d'Huez took much of his energy, but not his dream of standing on the podium. The challenge is still open and it will be the last mountain of the Tour de France that will determine whether the young Frenchman can complete one of the most surprising achievements of this Grande Boucle.