Paul Seixas' ride on the penultimate stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes drew shock, awe, and praise from all angles, but it was exalted to biblical terms by the French newspaper L'Équipe. The 19-year-old, body limp after hours of bloodied toil, having to be dragged to his feet by his father, was likened to "someone who's been crucified and brought down from the cross – Christ and child at the same time".
In some ways, it wasn't so hyperbolic. There was a martyred sort of glory in his defeat and his defiance. We don't like it when our sportspeople have it too easy; we want them to suffer for their success. Tadej Pogačar winning Flanders three times the same way: boring. Pogačar winning Milan-San Remo after years of trying and after crashing just before the Cipressa: scintillating.
