Paul Seixas is three minutes late for his press conference. Inside a side room of Barcelona’s former Sant Pau hospital, a grand auditorium with yellow tiles on the ceiling and stained glass windows, the suspense is building. The 90 or so chairs are not enough for the more than 150 journalists that have turned up. Those that came last are standing along the wings, waiting cross-armed for the rider of the moment: France’s teenage darling, the youngest Tour de France debutant in 89 years.
Hushed whispers announce Seixas’s arrival. Fresh-faced and dressed in a white shirt and cream chinos, he could be mistaken for a teenager on work experience as he files through the crowds. He steps up onto the small stage, drops into a chair, and relaxes his body against the armrest. Alone, he then looks out to the back of the room, where 10 television cameras point back at him.
