Wout van Aert picks Paul Seixas out as rival to Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at Tour de France - 'He will belong with the big guys'
By Ben Southby
Published 05/05/2026 at 15:03 GMT+1
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Wout van Aert has picked out one rider who has "surprised" him and could challenge cycling greats Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at the 2026 Tour de France.
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Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider Paul Seixas' participation in the iconic Grand Tour has been confirmed, and Visma–Lease a Bike's Van Aert feels he could prove to be a problem for the big stars.
Seixas, 19, has picked up three major wins this year on his rise to prominence, including the Tour of the Basque Country, La Fleche Wallonne and the Ardeche Classic.
He also finished an impressive second behind Pogacar at Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Van Aert feels that should the teenager continue to progress at the pace he is currently, it will only be a matter of time before he is mixing it with Pogacar and Vingegaard.
”If he continues to confirm his level, he will simply belong with the big guys,” Van Aert told Domestique.
”There is a chance it becomes less Tadej against Jonas, and more a battle between three men, or even more.”
The Tour de France - live on TNT Sports and HBO Max - will be Seixas' debut Grand Tour and Van Aert was careful not to get carried away.
He will be competing with the likes of Pogacar and Vingegaard, who have a combined six Tour de France crowns.
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UAE Team Emirates XRG rider Pogacar won the race in 2020, 2021, 2024 and holds the title after reigning supreme in 2025, while Van Aert's Visma team-mate Vingegaard triumphed in back-to-back years in 2022 and 2023.
The pair have dominated the race in the 2020s, but Van Aert believes that Seixas "has the legs to be involved".
”What he is doing at such a young age really surprises me. We definitely shouldn’t underestimate him,” he said.
Looking ahead to the Tour de France, which takes place in July and is Van Aert's next major race, the Belgian has his own goals to work towards.
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”I already have my mind set on the opening weekend,” said Van Aert, who beat Pogacar to win Paris-Roubaix last month.
”I don’t think there will be a huge number of chances for me on this route, but in the first weekend, I think there will be.”
The team time trial is crucial to Visma's plan, and Van Aert hopes that he will be part of the group to attack it.
”We want to win the team time trial,” he said. ”That is a very big goal for us as a team. And if we do that well, there is also a chance for me to maybe wear the yellow jersey.”
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