Paul Seixas achieved another feat on Tuesday by securing his second victory in two days at the Tour of the Basque Country. After the race, the Frenchman savored the perfect execution of his team’s plan.
A new show of strength. Following his impressive performance in the opening time trial, Paul Seixas continued his winning streak on Tuesday in the second stage of the Tour of the Basque Country.
The Frenchman increased his lead in the general classification by breaking away solo 26 km from the finish line. None of the favorites were able to keep up with the infernal pace set by the Decathlon CMA CGM rider (owner of the RMC-BFM group). He finished with a 1’25” lead over the first chasing group, led by Mattias Skjelmose and Primoz Roglic.
Seixas: “That’s also what I love about cycling, the panache”
“This was the stage that I saw as most suitable for making a difference and trying to win this race,” revealed the day’s winner at the finish. “After this, there are four very difficult stages to come and there won’t be much rest. Today, everything materialized, the team’s work was perfect, they positioned me well when it was needed.”
While Nicolas Prodhomme, his teammate, revealed that this attack had been “the plan for a week and a half,” Paul Seixas assured that he had no fear of breaking away from so far. “The biggest risk is being afraid to attack,” he stated decisively. “The best defense is the attack, it’s well known. I wasn’t afraid. I was thinking ‘what do I have to lose by trying?’ That’s also what I love about cycling, the panache. I admit that after two or three minutes, I thought I might have gone a bit too early and that it would be very long (smile). But I managed to do it and it’s magnificent.”
In the general classification, after two stages out of six, Paul Seixas now holds a lead of 1’59” over his closest rival Primoz Roglic. Florian Lipowitz (+2’08”), Mattias Skjelmose (+2’14”), and Ben Tulett (+2’27”) complete the top 5.
