What are your plans for 2028? I know we are yet to cross the rubicon into 2027 yet, but where do you think you’ll be? What do you want to be doing? Are you happy in your current job? Do you think you could be doing something better in the year after next?
These are all big questions, individually existential, for which I would hope most of you don’t have all the answers to yet. If you do, congratulations on being more neurotypical than me, or at least scarily organised. These are the kind of questions that are currently being asked of the crown prince of cycling, the great hope of France, the growing phenomenon that is Paul Seixas.
At just 20, the young man is currently being asked to decide onthe direction of travel for his career. The devilishly simple question is this: should he stay at Decathlon CMA CGM, the team that has brought him to this point, or should he seek great riches elsewhere? Stick or twist? The elsewhere could be UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Visma-Lease a Bike, Netcompany-Ineos and more.
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Seixas is, of course, a rider who has won Flèche Wallonne, Itzulia Basque Country and Il Lombardia, and finished fourth at his debut Tour de France, all in his second season as a pro. However, he is also a second-year pro, someone still working it out, someone barely out of his teenage years with a complexion to match; a man who cannot yet grow a moustache is being asked to make a totemic decision.
At the Frenchman’s age, I was still in my third year of university, studying history, with barely a thought about something as vulgar as my future career. I probably wanted to be a journalist, that’s about as far as it got. It’s no wonder that the man himself has had enough of the debate over what happens next.
News editor at Cycling Weekly, Adam brings his weekly opinion on the goings on at the upper echelons of our sport. This piece is part of The Leadout, a newsletter series from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here. As ever, email adam.becket@futurenet.com – should you wish to add anything, or suggest a topic.
“It’s going to become increasingly oppressive,” he told French radio station RMC’s ‘SuperMoscato Show’. “I can’t just decide at the last minute, either.
“But perhaps I’ll start the [2027] season without making any announcement – I don’t know yet. I think there will come a point where I’ll want to be free of this.”
“Up until now and ever since the start of my career, I’ve spent my time chasing after contracts,” he continued. “Every time I put in a good performance, people would tell me, ‘You need to sign a new deal.’
“But when I signed my current contract two years ago, I promised myself I wouldn’t rush into signing the next one. Because, honestly, I’m fed up with it.”
A professional bike rider’s career is short and full of risk, so it makes sense for them to maximise their earnings wherever possible. It might be that Seixas is never as in demand as he is right now again, never so able to leverage his position. Right now, he’s the most promising rider in the world, so it’s unsurprising that he’s paralysed by choice.
However, it doesn’t need to be this difficult. I think he should stay at Decathlon CMA CGM. I understand I am in the privileged position of an armchair observer, but to stick rather than twist would not be an abdication of opportunity. The team has been through a revolution in the last couple of years, from the plucky brown shorts of AG2R to the super-team they are now, not all of which is down to Seixas.
Decathlon have proved adept at changing to suit their superstar, with ever-improving technology from their partners, Van Rysel in particular. They have signed riders to match their ambition. They might have lost Felix Gall, but in Laurens De Plus, Pavel Sivakov and Ben O’Connor, the team has world-class support for their 20-year-old leader. They have also offered a competitive package to keep him, a record deal, should reporting be believed.
Seixas knows the team, has been successful there, and can continue to be the star. There is more risk with moving. Should he leave for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, he will be at the best team, but also vying with Tadej Pogačar and Isaac del Toro for the limelight. A move to Netcompany-Ineos might see him as an outright leader, and potentially better paid, but the British squad are past their super-team era, and whether they can get back there is unknown. There are other suitors, all of which would mean upheaval. At 20, stability and a familiar environment should be compelling.
This might all just be selfish thinking from me. I think it’s more fun for the stars of the sport to be spread out across an array of teams than to have all the best talent stacked up in one place. I like the French hope being at a French squad, and the idea of this project being allowed to develop. We know Seixas is good, but we still don’t know how he will develop or how this story will end. I just hope he stays at Decathlon CMA CGM.
This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.
If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.
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