Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old French cycling prodigy, will make his Tour de France debut this July, becoming the youngest rider to start the race in 89 years. The Decathlon-CMA CGM rider announced the news on his team's social media on Monday, telling his grandparents in a video that he will compete in the Grand Boucle, which begins in Barcelona on 4 July.
Seixas has had a remarkable start to 2026, winning the Tour of the Basque Country in April and becoming the first Frenchman since Christophe Moreau in 2007 to claim a WorldTour stage-race title. He also won the Fleche Wallonne before being beaten only by world champion Tadej Pogacar in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
The Lyon-born rider, who has stated that his biggest dream is to win the Tour de France, is already being seen as a potential answer to France's long wait for a male homegrown winner since Bernard Hinault in 1985. His participation has sparked debate over whether early exposure to the Tour could risk overburdening a rider still in his first professional season.
Seixas's team had indicated that his programme would be assessed after the Ardennes classics. This will be his first grand tour and the only time he has tackled a race longer than eight days. The 2026 Tour de France finishes in Paris on 26 July.
