Jens Voigt pays tribute to emerging star and Paul Seixas - 'The legitimate successor to Tadej Pogacar. He's a once-in-a-century talent'

The Frenchman came out on top of the tour of the Basque Country, pipping the likes of Florian Lipowitz and Tobias Halland Johannessen to first during the six-stage event.

Seixas followed up success in northern Spain with a first-placed finish at La Fleche Wallonne before coming second to Tadej Pogacar at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

The 19-year-old Decathlon-CMA CGM rider is tipped to take the cycling world by storm, with TNT Sports cycling expert Jens Voigt among those to heap praise upon the teenager.

When asked whether he'd seen a rider performing as impressively as Seixas at the age of 19, Voigt said: "He's the kind of rider you’d compare to Peter Sagan, a young Laurent Jalabert, or a very young Bernard Hinault. A rider like that comes along once every 20 years.

"Given how things have gone so far this year, you have to say he’s the legitimate successor to Tadej Pogacar.

"He’s the first rider in years who’s been able to stay with Pogacar for a very, very long time. Remco [Evenepoel] was already dropped at the Redoute last year, but young Seixas is still with the group this year and isn’t dropped until the final climb.

"He’s better than all the other Pogacar chasers. He’s a once-in-a-century talent."

Given the Pogacar comparisons, Voigt added that "not much" separates the two riders, continuing: "One thing is maturity. Pogacar is a seasoned rider who has already competed in many tough races and Grand Tours. He can read a race; he knows how it works.

"If something doesn’t suit him, he shapes the race to suit him. The biggest difference between the two, however, is that Pogacar has an incredibly strong team with a virtually unlimited budget behind him. He can do more wind tunnel tests, more training camps.

"On top of that, he has domestiques who have already won Grand Tours or stood on the podium.

"Decathlon is far, far from that. They’re a great team and do a fantastic job for their budget, but they just don’t have a João Almeida or an Isaac Del Toro."

Seixas and his team have so far remained tight-lipped on whether he will take part in the Tour de France.

The sport's biggest event will start on July 4 in Barcelona and concludes in Paris on July 26.

Voigt believes that Seixas should feature in the Tour, stating: "Yes, he should race." However, Voigt believes that his team is not ready to compete for the yellow jersey, adding: "And no, the team isn’t ready for that yet. Not this year.

"They put in a heroic effort at the Itzulia Basque Country. But neither [Jonas] Vingegaard nor Pogacar were there with their teams’ strongest line-ups. It’s not the same thing. It would be too easy to say: 'We’ll triple the length of the race and get the same result.'

"A marathon isn’t just a half marathon doubled in length; it gets exponentially harder toward the end. It’s the same with the Tour. Then there’s the press, sponsor obligations and more pressure. Everyone is ready to give their all for a stage win, for a top-ten spot in the general classification.

"His team lacks the experience, the savvy and the strength to capture a jersey and defend it. It would be too soon and would end in a frustrating experience for the young rider and Decathlon.

"Instead of milking the cow to death, they should let the cow graze in the meadow for a while so it can grow even bigger and stronger.

"Of course, the temptation is great with the sponsors, the public, and the front page of L’Equipe saying: ‘Paul Seixas, the new superhero.’ But they should be sensible; after all, they want to enjoy him for several years to come."

Spanish former cyclist Alberto Contador has also admitted that he would "love" to see the Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider take part in the Tour.

"Personally, as a spectator, I'd love to see him on the Tour," the 43-year-old said. "But I would completely understand if both he and the team opted for the Vuelta a Espana. It's a particular situation with different interests. 

"If he ends up going to the Tour, he shouldn't be expected to win; at most, he could be expected to reach the podium. In three-week races, he remains an unknown quantity, despite his great results so far. 

"We have to see how he recovers in three weeks. He's not yet fully developed physically; he's a junior, he's 19 years old."

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