Paul Seixas abandons Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes ahead of Tour de France after heavy crash on previous stage - 'I was really beat up'

The 19-year-old French prodigy went down just 30km into Stage 7, but was able to rejoin the peloton despite his visible injuries.

However, on Sunday the physical toll was clear to see as Seixas began the stage, but soon called for medical assistance, and then retired from the race.

Seixas fell behind the peloton on the first climb of Stage 8 at Col du Pre, the first of four mountains on the 120km stage.

And after completing the climb, he called for his team's car to help him, before getting in the vehicle, which signalled the end of his race.

Seixas' team said on social media: "After 32 km, [Seixas] decided to call it a day. Rest up. See you back soon."

In Saturday's Stage 7, Seixas showed remarkable determination to fight back from his crash to get himself into the race, eventually finishing seventh on the stage, 1'21'' behind winner Isaac del Toro of UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Reflecting on the incident, Seixas did not shy away from taking responsibility.

"It was an error on my part. I have no excuse. I went into a corner too quick," he said.

"I'd become used to overtaking riders on descents to move up without using energy, and voila, that's not necessarily a risk-free strategy. Today I paid for it. I took too many risks.

"I misjudged the corner. I was going around the outside of one rider, I apologise to that rider and to the others around me who I put in danger. It was entirely my fault. There was a ditch on the right and gravel on the left, and for a while my wheel was in between the two, and then it gave way."

Recalling the impact of the crash, he added: "I went tumbling like a toboggan, and I went sliding at 70 kilometres an hour. For a moment, I didn’t believe I'd be able to get going again. I was really beat up, and I could barely hold the handlebars."

Seixas began Sunday's final stage in sixth, 1'54'' behind the general classification leader Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

Seixas has enjoyed one of the breakout seasons in cycling so far, and now attention turns to his recovery ahead of the Tour de France.

The race, which begins on July 4 and is available to watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max, could provide another platform for Seixas to showcase why he is so highly tipped for success.

But this injury could throw that into question, with just a few weeks before the Tour de France begins.

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