Paul Seixas, the French cycling prodigy, confirmed on Monday that he will compete in this summer’s Tour de France, making him the youngest rider to start the race in 89 years at just 19 years old.
The Decathlon CMA CGM rider announced his participation in a video posted on social media, recorded at his grandparents’ home in Haute-Savoie. In the clip, Seixas says he came to “tell them something special: in July, I’ll be racing.” When his grandmother asks, “The Tour de France?” he responds, “Yes.” The young Lyonnais is poised to make history again with his precociousness.
When the Tour de France starts in Barcelona on July 4, Seixas will be 19 years, 9 months, and 10 days old. That will make him the youngest entrant in the Grande Boucle since 1937, when Frenchman Adrien Cento started at 19 years, 3 months, and 26 days.
The decision was highly anticipated after the French phenomenon’s exceptional start to the 2026 season, his second as a professional, where he has already secured seven victories.
**A Prodigious Start to the Season**
Seixas won a stage at the Tour of the Algarve (finishing second overall), followed by a solo victory at the Classic Ardèche and a second place at Strade Bianche, behind only Tadej Pogačar. He then shone at the Tour of the Basque Country, winning three stages, before triumphing at Flèche Wallonne and finishing second at Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 26, being the only rider able to stay with Pogačar for a time.
His team had set a deadline after the spring classics to decide on his Tour participation. The spectacular results from the young talent quickly tipped the scales in favor of his debut this summer.
Still, jumping straight into a three-week Grand Tour like the Tour de France, with immense media pressure, is highly unusual in a sport where riders typically improve with age, especially in endurance. The norm is to first gain experience in other Grand Tours like the Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a España before tackling the Grande Boucle, where the level is highest.
Among current champions, Tadej Pogačar also first tested himself at the Vuelta in 2019, winning three stages and finishing third overall, before conquering his first Tour de France the following year at age 22.
