‘Lisan al-Gaib!’ So goes the declaration of worship in Frank Herbert’s seminal sci-fi novels Dune, and their recent film adaptations, towards a messianic 15-year-old named Paul Atreides, celebrated by a prophesied hero by the indigenous people of the story’s titular planet. We’re not sure what ‘Lisan al-Gaib’ translates to in French, but it’s easy to imagine that nation’s French public greeting with similar reverence their own anointed teenage hero who goes by the name ‘Paul’, following his exploits at Itzulia Basque Country last week.
Going into the race, the hype surrounding Paul Seixas was already reaching fever pitch. Having shown flashes of brilliance last year as a neo-pro, winning the Tour de l’Avenir as well as making the top ten against elite opposition at both Il Lombardia and Critérium du Dauphiné, plus a bronze medal at the European Championships, the nineteen-year-old started the 2026 season by winning on just his second day of racing, a summit finish at the Volta ao Algarve. He went on to finish second overall at that race, before crushing the opposition to win the Faun-Ardèche Classic, and then, in his last race prior to Itzulia Basque Country, produced his performance yet with an outstanding second place behind Tadej Pogačar at Strade Bianche.
We knew therefore that Seixas was a special talent, and would likely be a contender for the overall victory, but we still weren’t quite prepared for just how much he utterly dominated the race. It was a one-man show from start to finish, the Decathlon CMA CGM rider competing with a maturity beyond his years to take victory by huge margin of two and a half minutes. He ended the race not only with the overall title, but a clean sweep of the points, mountains and young riders classifications too, plus wins in three of the six stages.
It was a performance that seemed to confirm what many have been saying these past twelve months — that Paul Seixas is the man French cycling has been waiting for for generations. Much is made about the nation’s long drought since winning their home Grand Tour, and the wounded pride that comes from forty long years having passed since Bernard Hinault’s final triumph there, but the nation's recent difficulties have extended to many races. Shockingly, no French rider had even a WorldTour level stage race since Christophe Moreau at the Critérium du Dauphiné way back in 2007. As talented and successful as the likes of Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet were, they lacked a killer instinct and completeness to win titles. By winning Itzulia Basque Country, Seixas has already elevated French cycling to a level it has not been at for many years.
One weakness that has been common among French GC contenders in recent generations has been time trialling, so the watching French public must have greeted with particular excitement Seixas’ crushing win in the opening stage last week in Bilbao. With his tall, gangly frame, he doesn't look like a natural against the clock, but nonetheless managed to produce a huge amount of power in the 13.8km route, with no other rider finishing within 23 seconds of his time. Not only was it his first victory at WorldTour level, but proof that he can do it against the clock — an essential ingredient for any wannabe Tour de France contender.
Seixas was in more familiar hunting ground in the hills of the following stage, but the manner in which he dispatched the opposition with such ease was still stunning. He used the long, 9.4km climb of the San Miguel de Aralar to attack, dropping everyone and soloing the remaining 26km to take a second successive stage win by another massive margin of 1:25 ahead of the group of chasing favourites. It was the kind of climbing victory that was reminiscent of those produced by Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard in recent years.
While he didn’t win on stage four, he nevertheless showcased another string to his bow — descending. He didn’t attack on the climbs this time, opting instead to mark moves, but struck a surprise by flying down the final descent. It was not only a show of boldness, but also of skill, and only the seasoned pros and renowned descenders Ion Izagirre and Pello Bilbao — both, as Basques, with the advantage of local knowledge — were able to follow. All of the other GC favourites were left behind, ceding yet more time.
His third stage win the following day might have lacked the same panache, but impressed as a demonstration of maturity. By now leading the GC by over two minutes, Seixas was in defensive mode, covering attacks made by the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe duo of Florian Lipowitz and Primož Roglič, without making a committed effort to go clear himself. It was a hectic stage, with attacks being made throughout the day, and was therefore hard to control, yet Seixas was alert to everything. Eventually, he went clear with Lipowitz, and showed that a quick finishing sprint is yet another attribute he possesses by taking the victory.
Finally, he was subjected to one more test on the last stage — how would he cope in bad weather? It was a stage full of hazards, with six climbs and, more pertinently in these conditions, six descents to contend with. Yet again, Seixas passed with flying colours, at no point looking uncomfortable on the wet roads. He was put under some pressure this time, with GC threat Tobias Halland Johannessen escaping in the day’s break and at one point reducing his deficit on the virtual GC to about two minutes. If Seixas can be said to have made any mistake this week, it might have been in overzealously trying to chase the Norwegian down by himself, leaving himself exposed in a valley road and starting to shed time. But he quickly corrected, dropping back into the group behind, and ultimately defended the yellow jersey with ease to seal overall victory.
It was a special performance, one that suggested that even the hyperbolic statements being made about Seixas might even have underrated his talents. It’s important not to get carried away — one of the themes of Dune is that messianic figures should be treated with caution. It should be remembered that both of the men tipped to be his main challengers for the GC at the race, Isaac del Toro and Juan Ayuso, suffered from a mixture of illness, injury and lack of form. And while there will surely be a clamour among the French for him to appear at the Tour de France this year, and his team Decathlon CMA CGM will surely be tempted to do so given the huge amounts of publicity it would give them, three week Tours are a whole different challenge, and his physical development as a nineteen-year-old need to be prioritised above all else.
But riding this like, Paul Seixas looks like the first rider to deserve the label of ’the next Tadej Pogačar', and it may not be long before he is competing against the Slovenian in the biggest races.— maybe as soon as Liège-Bastogne-Liège in two weeks’ time. Lisan al-Gaib, indeed.
Photography: Getty Images
