Cycling: with Paul Seixas, France seems to have found a rider capable of winning the Tour, says Mathieu van der Poel

Published on 30/04/2026 at 17:57


Updated on 30/04/2026 at 17:58

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 Even he was stunned watching it on his television screen. In an interview published on Thursday, April 30 in the Spanish media AS, Mathieu van der Poel focused on the first part of the season, his ambitions for the second part, but also his competitors. Asked about the emergence of Paul Seixas, the 2023 world champion didn’t beat around the bush: “It’s simply incredible. What we saw in Liège this week, at only 19 years old, was spectacular. After so many years of waiting, France seems to have found a rider capable of winning the Tour,” said the Dutchman, who has not crossed paths with him in competition this season.

Deprived of a Monument in 2026, twice by Tadej Pogacar (in Milan-San Remo and the Tour of Flanders) and once by Wout van Aert (in Paris-Roubaix), Mathieu van der Poel reflected on a drought he hadn’t experienced since 2021. “Of course, I would have liked to win an additional Monument — I already have eight — but it would be unrealistic to think you can win one every year. I was at one of my best levels this spring, with optimal preparation, and it’s difficult to do much better under those conditions,” he admitted.

“I would like to be remembered as a member of a generation that transformed cycling, the way of racing, with attacks from the beginning to the end. It’s good that this type of races remains engraved in memory.”

Mathieu van der Poel

in the Spanish media AS

Unlucky in the cobbled sector of Carrefour de l’Arbre, with several punctures, the three-time winner of the Hell of the North couldn’t defend his chances, relegated to the role of observer for the first memorable victory of his Belgian rival against the Slovenian at the velodrome. “It’s normal that Van Aert is faster, but equally incredible is how Pogacar manages to rise to this level. He climbs the podium of all the Monuments every year, it’s remarkable,” praised the Alpecin-Premier Tech leader.

Now 31 years old, Mathieu van der Poel is entering the final phase of his career. Spending more and more time in Spain, “my second home, but it’s getting closer to becoming the first,” as he says, he confirmed his presence at the Tour de France starting on July 4. He also mentioned his main ambition for the end of the season: the world title in mountain biking, at the end of August in Italy, “because no one has been a world champion in all disciplines.”