With two stage wins and overall victory in the Tour de l'Avenir last season, we already knew that Paul Seixas was packing a punch. However, according to his friend and compatriot Alex Baudin of EF Education-EasyPost who is privy to such things, Seixas enjoyed a phenomenal winter of training that saw him add 20 watts of power per month to his output. No wonder the results have begun to rack up with such apparent ease for the 19-year-old from Lyon this season.
Baudin's little snippet of insight was passed on by EF Education-EasyPost director sportif Matti Breschel, who was speaking to Danish outlet Feltlet about Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and his Tadej Pogačar-bothering ride to second place in Sunday's Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
Breschel had been following Beaudin in the team car at the Monument race, which was ultimately won for a fourth time by Pogačar, and watched the battle between Seixas and the Slovenian unfold on La Redoute. It felt, said Breschel, as though the older rider was pointedly attempting to assert his authority over the French teen.
"It was as if he wanted to put him in his place. I think it went beyond simply winning the bike race. He wanted to show that young lad who the world champion is," said Breschel.
The Dane also got the impression that Pogačar had been annoyed by the amount of attention being paid to Seixas, he said.
"Everyone had been talking about Seixas in the build-up, and everyone was being asked about him. Not a single rider could walk through the mixed zone without getting a question about Seixas. In a way I think it irritated [Pogačar]."
But it was Seixas's 20 watts per month gain – according to Beaudin – that was surely the most startling observation.
"[Beaudin] said that Seixas was gaining 20 watts of power every month through the winter. That is extraordinary," Breschel said. "The question now is whether he'll make his Tour debut this season."
That certainly is one question – although another of equal gravitas, and one that Seixas, his coaches, and perhaps Pogačar are all asking, is exactly how many more watts the French rider can add to his arsenal. Also, after winning Itzulia Basque Country and La Flèche Wallonne, how much more power does Seixas need?
