Paul Seixas survived a puncture, a near collision and a team radio mix-up on stage 2 of the Tour de France, limiting his loss to three seconds in Barcelona.
The 19-year-old Decathlon CMA CGM rider endured a stressful run-in before and during the three ascents of Montjuïc. Yet he reached the finish in ninth place and moved to sixth overall.
Seixas now sits 42 seconds behind yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard and 36 seconds behind Tadej Pogačar. Given the problems he faced, he considered the outcome a positive one.
Paul Seixas steadies after Montjuïc scare
The first setback came with 40km remaining, shortly before the race hit the Montjuïc circuit. Seixas punctured and had to chase back before the finale fully opened.
During that chase, he also narrowly avoided a car from the race organisation. The vehicle moved into his path on a narrow section while he was trying to regain contact.
Seixas later said he stayed calm because he had faced similar scares before. He added that the driver had seen the riders, avoiding a worse outcome.
The French rider still needed to spend significant energy after the mechanical. He explained that he changed bikes twice after the puncture, adding to the strain before the decisive climb.
Decathlon CMA CGM then faced another complication at the foot of the final Montjuïc ascent. Tiesj Benoot went to the front and drove the pace hard for the team.
Seixas, however, was sitting farther back in the reduced lead group. He later explained that the move came after a communication problem with sports director Luke Rowe.
According to Seixas, his earpiece caused confusion while he tried to explain that he was not ready to attack. Rowe understood the message differently and sent Benoot forward.
Seixas told L’Équipe that his legs felt better than expected once the move unfolded. Even so, he would have preferred to save energy for later in the Tour.
Pogačar’s team tightens the selection
UAE Team Emirates-XRG took control farther up the climb. Adam Yates lifted the tempo and reduced the front group as the gradient and pace took effect.
Seixas managed to stay with the leading selection through that acceleration. The group then split again over the short descent and the final approach to the line.
Isaac del Toro attacked alone before the final drag to the finish. Pogačar did not come around him in the closing metres.
Del Toro finished in the same time as Remco Evenepoel of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Vingegaard of Visma. Seixas arrived three seconds later in ninth place.
The small gap still left Seixas well placed in the overall standings after two stages. He described the result as very good, considering the puncture and radio issues.
He said he tried to manage his effort after the mechanical and keep strength for the finish. That plan helped him limit the damage on a difficult day.
Seixas also noted that the final climb was not as steep as he had expected. He saved some energy there, but his positioning hurt him at the start of the descent.
When a gap opened near the foot of the final climb, he could not close it. Still, he stressed that three seconds represented only a minor loss.
For Decathlon CMA CGM, the stage offered both warning signs and encouragement. Their young leader avoided serious consequences during a chaotic finale and stayed inside the top ten overall.
Seixas summed up the afternoon by saying the most important thing was to “keep a cool head.” On a fraught stage in Barcelona, he did exactly that.