After his promising start to the season, there are hopes across France that Seixas from the Decathlon CMA CGM team can potentially end the French four-decade-long wait for a Tour de France winner since Bernard Hinault's victory in 1985.
Hinault acknowledges that Paul Seixas "is a very good rider", but Hinault doesn't feel that it's necessary to give him a challenge that is too big too soon. Rather, he'd prefer to see Seixas test himself in the three-week racing at either the Giro or the Vuelta.
"If it’s to put him in the Tour de France and then he’s burned out, I think it’s better to think about it, to say we might manage it as best as possible. At 19, if he comes up against a Pogacar and finishes 10 minutes behind, it might be better to go and test himself in another race, and if he went to the Giro d’Italia, if he found himself against Jonas Vingegaard, it would give an idea of his abilities," says Hinault to RMC Sport.
The 2026 Giro d'Italia starts on Friday, May 8, 2026, in Nessebar, Bulgaria. The opening stage is part of the first three days of racing held in Bulgaria before the race travels to finish in Rome on 31 May.