The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes GC contenders face their first major challenge of the overall battle this afternoon in the stage 3 team time trial, but for leading favourite Paul Seixas, it will be an even more crucial test.
As Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad pointed out on Tuesday, this is the first time the 19-year-old has raced a full-scale team time trial as a pro. Only his participation in the World Championships in Rwanda mixed relay event, where the French sextet took silver, could be seen as a very partial precedent at this level.
