Paul Seixas arrived at the 2026 Itzulia Basque Country as a promising but largely unknown neo-professional. Two stages later, he has turned the six-day Spanish stage race into a showcase performance that has the cycling world asking a single question: where did this rider come from?
The Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider won Stage 1’s opening time trial in Bilbao, then followed it up with a solo victory in the mountains on Stage 2 to Cuevas de Mendukilo — building a general classification lead of approximately two minutes over Primož Roglič and the rest of the WorldTour’s best stage racers. It is the kind of performance that announces a new force in professional cycling.
The Time Trial That Stunned the Peloton
Stage 1 was a short but technical time trial through the streets of Bilbao — a test that typically rewards established time trialists and GC specialists with the resources to optimize their equipment and pacing. Seixas beat them all. He finished 23 seconds ahead of Kévin Vauquelin, the nearest challenger, with Ilan Van Wilder a further 6 seconds back in fourth.
The margin was not subtle. A 23-second advantage in a short time trial against WorldTour-level competition suggests raw power numbers that place Seixas among the best time trialists in the world. For a rider in his first full WorldTour season, the result was extraordinary.
What made it more impressive was the execution. Seixas rode a metronomically paced effort, building his lead through the technical sections where other riders lost time on cornering and acceleration. His bike handling — a product of his development through the French cycling system — was impeccable.
The Mountain Stage That Confirmed It
If the time trial raised eyebrows, Stage 2 dropped jaws. The route from Pamplona to Cuevas de Mendukilo featured multiple categorized climbs designed to fragment the peloton and create a GC battle among the established contenders. Instead, Seixas attacked on the final climb, rode away from the field, and finished alone — extending his overall lead to approximately two minutes.
Winning both a flat time trial and a mountain stage in the same race is exceptionally rare at WorldTour level. It is the kind of versatility that defines potential Grand Tour contenders — riders who can gain time against the clock and then defend (or extend) that advantage in the mountains.
Primož Roglič, a four-time Vuelta a España winner and one of the most accomplished stage racers of his generation, finished the stage nearly two minutes behind Seixas. That single statistic tells you everything about the level of the performance.
Who Is Paul Seixas?
Seixas is a French rider who came through the development ranks of what is now the Decathlon CMA CGM Team (formerly AG2R Citroën). He showed flashes of talent in junior and under-23 competition, including strong performances in French national championships and Continental-level stage races, but he had not yet delivered a WorldTour-level breakthrough before this week.
The Basque Country race — set against the dramatic backdrop of the Pyrenean foothills and the Cantabrian mountains — has historically served as a proving ground for emerging talent. The race’s combination of time trialing, climbing, and tactical racing in a compressed six-day format tests riders comprehensively. Past winners include Alejandro Valverde, Alberto Contador, and most recently Tadej Pogačar, who used the race as a springboard to Grand Tour domination.
Whether Seixas follows a similar trajectory remains to be seen, but the signs are unmistakable. A rider who can dominate both disciplines at this level in a major WorldTour stage race has the physical toolkit to compete at the very highest level.
What It Means for the GC Battle
With four stages remaining, Seixas holds a commanding lead. The general classification after Stage 2 shows Roglič in second at approximately 1 minute 59 seconds, Florian Lipowitz in third at 2:08, Mattias Skjelmose in fourth at 2:14, and Ben Tulett in fifth at 2:27. That is a substantial buffer, particularly given the remaining stages are not as mountainous as Stage 2.
For Roglič and the other GC contenders, the task is daunting. Overturning a two-minute deficit against a rider who has proven he can time trial and climb at this level will require either a dramatic collapse from Seixas or a level of collective aggression that WorldTour teams rarely coordinate effectively.
What This Means for You
Seixas’s breakout at Itzulia is a reminder of what makes professional cycling endlessly compelling — the sport’s ability to produce transformative performances from unexpected sources. It also illustrates principles that apply to amateur cyclists at every level.
Consistent training across multiple disciplines — time trialing, climbing, technical handling — creates the kind of versatile fitness that allows riders to perform across varied terrain. The riders who thrive in stage races are not specialists in one area; they are competent across all of them. For amateurs building their own training and nutrition strategies, the lesson is clear: do not neglect the disciplines you find less natural.
Pacing is equally instructive. Seixas’s time trial win was built not on an explosive start but on disciplined, even effort distribution — the same approach that helps amateur riders in sportives and time trials. His mountain stage win came from a single, decisive attack rather than repeated surges — an approach that conserves energy and maximizes the psychological impact on rivals.
The Itzulia continues through April 11, with the final stage finishing in Bergara. Whether Seixas holds his lead or not, cycling has a new name to watch — and the 2026 season just got significantly more interesting.
