Published July 7, 2026, 11:17 am
His Tour de France career is only a few days old, but the hype surrounding Paul Seixas is growing even stronger.
The 19-year-old Frenchman is one of the sport’s most popular players and interest in him is growing at a dizzying pace, with several WorldTour teams courting his signature in eye-watering deals.
His Decathlon CMA CGM team are doing everything they can to keep him on board, but Visma-Lease a Bike is the latest team to confirm they will do whatever it takes to get him on board.
This offer will of course include a mega-million dollar offer, but also an offer to “train him to win” in the sport’s three-week races.
Since 2019, the team has amassed a staggering ten Grand Tour victories, more than any other team in that period.
The desire to sign Seixas was confirmed by team CEO Richard Plugge, who told NOS that the young driver was the team’s focus. This is true even if the team already has a clear leader.
“Of course, everyone wants to talk to Seixas. Everyone wants him,” he said. “Jonas Vingegaard is our main leader at the moment, but we also have to look to the future.”
“We are always looking for riders who will support Jonas. Either from our own development team, or from someone like Seixas, who will be the next big star and would be the best fit for us. “He’s super intelligent, very smart, and he’ll make the choice where he can get the best results.”
In his opinion, this goal is best achieved with Visma-Lease a Bike.
“Of the current teams in the peloton, we have won the most Grand Tours,” he said. “So we think he has the best chance to start winning Grand Tours with us.”
Worries the best driver in the sport
Paul Seixas keeps his cool when it comes to the biggest names (Photo: Dario Belingeri/Getty Images)
Seixas has long been considered one of the most talented young drivers in the sport. Things went up a notch this season when he took his first professional win at the Volta ao Algave in February. That opened the floodgates and he now has seven wins to his name, including the overall at Itzulia in the Basque Country and the classic Flèche-Wallonne.
There he knocked all his rivals off his wheel, leading the way and throwing them down the scorching steep Mur de Huy.
Yet it was his failures that brought him the most attention. He was second to the sport’s best start, Tadej Pogačar, at Strada Bianche, just one minute behind. Then in Liège-Bastogne-Liège he was the only one able to resist as Pogačar struggled at the Côte de la Redoubt.
He stayed with him for another 21km, showing courage and dedication in dealing with the sport’s new cannibal. And although he was eventually suspended in Côte de la Roche-au-Faucon, he caused serious concern for the world champion and showed just how strong he had become.
Similar performances further increased interest in him, including the Wisma Rent a Bike performance, as well as several others.
Number of suitors
Paul Seixas was protected from the sun after the third stage of the Tour de France (Photo: Tim de Waele/Getty Images)
Pogačar’s Emirates-XRG team have already offered him a contract, as confirmed by team principal Mauro Gianetti, and HLN reported in April that Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe want him to replace Primož Roglic as team leader when the latter’s contract expires this year.
Netcompany Ineos is another project linked to this player, and any such deal would likely be boosted by reports of new sponsorship from French energy company Total Energies. Lidl-Trek is another company that is reportedly trying to get the checkbook.
The fifth new team seeking his signature is Pinarello Q36.5 Pro Cycling. It is being financed by South African billionaire Ivan Glasenberg, who is reportedly keen to sign the deal.
According to some reports, he is ready to offer him a staggering 13 million euros per season, although Pogačar’s agent Alex Carera was skeptical about this amount in a recent interview with the publication Velo.
Decathlon, of course, really wants to keep its big star. As well as sponsors insisting on an increased budget to cover any pay rises and the need to sign new riders to further strengthen the team, they are reportedly even willing to give up one aspect of their national identity.
The team is currently registered in France, but laws there requiring employers to pay part of their salaries into the social security system are an obstacle. They make it much more expensive to sign drivers, but the team is reportedly willing to switch to a Swiss license to get around this problem.
Team supporters Decathlon and CMA CGM have also said they will step up their commitment to keep him on board.
“We stick to the rules”
Many teams want to sign Seixas, causing his price to rise (Photo: Gongora/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
One thing is clear: the more fans look after the driver, the higher the offers will grow. This will be even more noticeable if he performs well in his debut Tour de France.
Seixas is already the youngest rider to take part since 1937 and any major competition will be viewed in that context. A stage win or podium finish would inevitably raise interest.
Visma will be among the many teams in contact with Seixas’ agent Juna Laukka now and in the coming weeks. However, Plagg suggested that there were limits.
“He works at Decathlon and still has a contract there,” he said. “He has to stick to it, and we stick to the rules. We don’t do anything specific.”
“But if he decides to move to another team, we are the best team to prepare him to win Grand Tours.”
It’s a bold statement, but Seixas must keep it in mind. However, it is also possible that the UAE’s Visma and Emirates-XRG proposals could be influenced by the fact that they already have clear frontrunners.
With Vingegaard still looking for Tour success for a couple more seasons, and Pogačar and Isaac Del Toro being pushed to the forefront as current and future Grand Tour stars, it’s entirely possible that the Frenchman will either stay where he is or go somewhere where he has clear status as the undisputed leader.
In any case, demand will only further increase financial supply.