Paul Seixas is riding the Tour de France – we've just about got over the excitement of that announcement – but which seven riders will be joining him on the Decathlon CMA CGM bus for a 21-stage lap of France?
The fast-tracking of super-talent Seixas to a debut Tour at the age of 19 has led to question marks over the make-up of Decathlon's Tour squad, which at the start of the year looked heavily set to revolve around sprinter and new signing Olav Kooij.
But Seixas' stunning breakthrough, coupled with Kooij's long absence, has led to major selection dilemmas. All-in for Seixas? That's been the big question, and there have been rumours in recent days that this could well happen. French newspaper Midi Libre reported this week that there'd be no room for Kooij, and while their article was mysteriously taken down, Het Laatste Nieuws has now reported the same thing. For now, the team insist selection is very much open.
The argument for taking Kooij – who looks to have answered doubts surrounding his form with two wins on comeback at the Boucles de la Mayenne – would be that it keeps a big-money signing happy, spreads the team's chances of success, and takes some of the pressure off Seixas' shoulders. But then again, neither Seixas nor the team seem inclined to shy away from that pressure one bit, stating their ambition with abandon.
Big calls lie ahead, and with that, Cyclingnews takes a closer look at the riders who are in the frame to fill the eight spots, whichever way the team decide to balance it.
Paul Seixas
Paul Seixas
- Age : 19
- Role: GC leader
- Chances: 100%
The only rider so far publicly confirmed for the Tour de France, Paul Seixas leads the line and will target the general classification at just 19 years of age.
After a strong debut season last year, he has taken the world by storm in 2026, which has seen him not only fast-tracked to the Tour de France but also treated as a genuine contender against the likes of Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.
Whether the team decide to take Kooij remains to be seen, but either way, Seixas is the focal point of this squad.
Matthew Riccitello
The US pocket climber has had a brilliant first season with Decathlon since his move from the Israel-Premier Tech team, which he finished with 5th overall at last year's Vuelta. What's more, he has linked up nicely with Seixas on a number of occasions.
Matthew Riccitello
- Age : 24
- Role: Mountain domestique
- Chances: 95%
Riccitello won the Tour de la Provence at the start of the year before catching the eye in support of Seixas at the Volta ao Algarve (where he finished 6th himself). A top-10 while supporting Felix Gall at Catalunya followed, and then it was back to Seixas' side for Itzulia Basque Country, not that he needed much help obliterating the field there.
Runner-up at GP Besançon-Doubs and winner at Tour du Jura rounded off a great start to the year, and while the Vuelta was on the cards at the start of the season, Seixas' decision to target the Tour appears to have pushed Riccitello in that direction, too. He was part of the recent altitude training camp with Seixas in the Sierra Nevada, is with him at the newly-named Dauphiné, and all signs point to the 24-year-old being his closest domestique in the big mountain stages.
Nicolas Prodhomme
Nicolas Prodhomme
- Age : 29
- Role: Mountain domestique
- Chances: 90%
The Frenchman hasn't set the world alight this year, but his 2025 exploits – where he won the Route d'Occitannie and a mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia – are not so quickly forgotten.
Perhaps his most notable moment of last year was winning the final stage of the Tour of the Alps, crossing the line arm-in-arm with none other than Seixas, who 'gifted' him a first pro win, despite being 10 years younger and yet to win a race.
That sort of thing goes a long way, and Prodhomme is seen as a loyal and trusted ally for Seixas, who is widely expected to make the cut.
Aurélien Paret-Peintre
There was a time when Aurélien Paret-Peintre was seen as a general classification prospect by the French team, but he has not been able to turn a couple of Grand Tour top-15s into a more concerted push up the leaderboards.
Aurélien Paret-Peintre
- Age : 30
- Role: Climber/All-rounder
- Chances: 75%
Heavier than his pocket-rocket brother Valentin at QuickStep, Aurélien is nevertheless a classy rider with a big engine. Measuring out his efforts in service of a leader, he can be a solid carriage in a mountain support train.
He's had a disrupted season and has failed to finish his last three races, but he remains very much in the team's plans, attending the recent altitude camp and lining up at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (the new Dauphiné).
Stefan Bissegger
The Swiss rider has been in line for the Tour de France all season and that doesn't appear to have changed with the decision to send Seixas.
Stefan Bissegger
- Age : 27
- Role: Rouleur/All-rounder
- Chances: 90%
The 27-year-old has impressed since joining Decathlon in 2025 and has recently seen his contract extended following his second successive top-10 at Paris-Roubaix.
Bissegger has developed from a pure time triallist into an exciting Classics rider and solid all-rounder. He looks almost certain to line up and while the opening-day team time trial is an obvious point where his services will be relied upon, he also has the versatility to provide support across a number of terrains.
Daan Hoole
At nearly two metres tall, Hoole is going to be nowhere near Seixas in the mountains, but his selection for the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes would suggest he is in line for selection regardless of what happens to Kooij.
Daan Hoole
- Age : 27
- Role: Rouleur/Lead-out
- Chances: 75%
The Dutchman is made for the flatlands and cold play an important role in pulling pelotons and setting a sprint train in motion, but equally, he could shepherd Seixas on the flat, in the wind, and when times get chaotic. What's more, Hoole, like Bissegger, was part of the squad that placed 3rd in the Paris-Nice team time trial, so would slot into that role – the TTT coming up at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes could almost be read as a dress rehearsal for the Tour's opening TTT.
Every GC rider needs a burly domestique and Hoole's presence at altitude camp and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes point to a place on the eight-man squad.
Tiesj Benoot
In ordinary circumstances, Tiesj Benoot would be one of the first names on the teamsheet, having twice been a part of a Tour de France winning team with Visma-Lease a Bike and Jonas Vingegaard. But the Belgian all-rounder has yet to pin a number onto the back of a Decathlon jersey, placing his participation in doubt.
Tiesj Benoot
- Age : 32
- Role: All-rounder
- Chances: 50%
Benoot's debut and Spring campaign went up in flames due to a herniated disc in his back that required surgery, and that has given way to a race against time to be ready for the Tour.
Benoot has been training in the Sierra Nevada, overlapping his training camp with that of Paul Seixas, and he has so far put a block of 18 days together, which bodes well. He is set to take on the Tour de Suisse later in June, which perhaps represents the make-or-break moment in terms of his Tour de France selection.
He'd bring versatility, experience, and leadership, and you can't help but feel the team managers will be praying he can make the fitness grade.
Olav Kooij
The Dutch sprinter might feel astonished, and somewhat aggrieved, that his selection is even being brought into question. After all, this was the reason he moved from Visma-Lease a Bike, where Jonas Vingegaard left no space for a sprinter in the Tour team. Decathlon, a team on the up who paid decent money and didn't have a Tour de France leader, seemed like the perfect fit – until Seixas suddenly emerged as one of the very best riders in the world.
Olav Kooij
- Age : 24
- Role: Sprinter
- Chances: 50%
Confined to the sidelines for half the season due to a lingering virus, Kooij must have been behind his sofa, barely able to watch each latest exploit on TV. Seixas was confirmed for the Tour in late April, and Kooij has responded in the best possible way, coming back and winning two stages at the Boucles de la Mayenne. But will it be enough?
In a way, it would be convenient for the Decathlon management if Kooij had been off the pace at Mayenne and the upcoming Belgium Tour. But if he looks capable of winning stages at the Tour, then it's a huge call to renege on a plan that will have been outlined in pretty concrete fashion during transfer talks.
With Kooij in decent form, the question would now seem to come down to personnel; is there enough room for a lead-out train, as well as adequate support for Seixas? Kooij is surely sweating right now.
Cees Bol
If Kooij does go to the Tour, then it's highly likely that Cees Bol will also be on the team-sheet, forcing one of the climbers above to make way.
Cees Bol
- Age : 30
- Role: Lead-out
- Chances: 50%
Kooij might see his lead-out diluted but he's not going to be going as a free electron – at that point he might as well stay at home. Bol, a fellow Dutchman and former lead-out man for Mark Cavendish, was signed along with Kooij to be his last man at Decathlon.
Although we've seen little of the partnership so far, Bol was there to help guide Kooij to two stages at Mayenne, and he also has a couple of high-profile stage podiums to his name this season from the UAE Tour and Paris-Nice.
Robbe Ghys
Robbe Ghys
- Age : 29
- Role: Lead-out
- Chances: 30%
Like Bol, Belgian sprinter Robbe Ghys was part of the sprint package that accompanied Kooij's transfer to Decathlon. The track star had proven himself to be a useful lead-out rider on the road, notably making Alpecin's Tour de France team with Jasper Philipsen in 2024.
Like Bol, he was on hand at the Boucles de la Mayenne and he was also one of the members of the recent altitude training camp in the Sierra Nevada. His spot would not have been in doubt at the start of the year, but it's tricky to see him make the eight now, even if Kooij is there.
Léo Bisiaux
There's an interesting name on Decathlon's Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes start list and that's Léo Bisiaux.
Léo Bisiaux
- Age : 21
- Role: Climber
- Chances: 30%
The 21-year-old, who came through the team's junior and development squads, is seen as a big talent, and had some eye-catching rides last year in his debut season with the pros – a stage win and GC podium at Vuelta a Burgos led to a debut Grand Tour at the Vuelta a España, which he completed.
This year, he lined up at Itzulia Basque Country, then finished right behind Riccitello in a team 2-3 at GP Besançon-Doubs and a 1-2 at Tour du Jura, before bagging top-15s at La Flèche Wallonne and Liège, and finally placing 3rd at the Classic Alpes-Maritimes this week. If the team do go all-in for Seixas, is this fellow young French climber similarly about to be fast-tracked for the Tour? He's one to watch this week.
Jordan Labrosse
Jordan Labrosse
- Age : 23
- Role: Puncheur/Climber
- Chances: 10%
Another part of the young French core of this team, Jordan Labrosse has ridden extensively alongside Seixas this season, lining up at Itzulia, Volta ao Algarve, and the hilly Classics, with 11th at Strade Bianche – where Seixas was second – a notable result.
An outsider, but an option if Kooij isn't selected and others aren't fit.
Paul Lapeira
Paul Lapeira
- Age : 26
- Role: Puncheur/Climber
- Chances: 10%
Former French champion Lapeira falls into the same bracket as Labrosse – a talented young Frenchman who is good in the hilly Classics and medium mountains. He was in that Strade Bianche squad, too, and placed 14th.
This year has also won the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes and placed 2nd at Etoile des Bessèges.
Oliver Naesen
The Belgian made a switch this year, lining up for the Giro d'Italia with the Tour de France not on his plans – there's no indication that will change, but it's not beyond the realms of possibility.
Oliver Naesen
- Age : 35
- Role: Road captain
- Chances: 10%
There is precious little experience on this longlist of riders, and as time has worn on, Naesen has established himself as one of the leading road captains in the pro peloton. He was a Tour de France bodyguard for Romain Bardet at this team back in the day, and he was the eyes and ears for Felix Gall at the Giro.
If Benoot doesn't make the grade, might the team be tempted to push the Naesen button?
The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.
.png?w=600)
