Different ways to be 18. That of Lorenzo Finn, which from the Tour de l'Avenir is heading to the Rwanda World Championships for under 23s. That of Paul Seixas, who won the Avenir and will race with the professionals in Africa (an image opens decathlonag2rlamondiale). Both world champions in Zurich in 2024: the Italian on the road, the French in the time trialThe fact that Seixas cannot be deployed in the youth team due to UCI rules, having already raced in the WorldTour, has little to do with it. Different ways to be 18 and grow up, without knowing which is the best recipe.
Seixas will turn 19 on September 24th (Finn will have to wait until December 19th). You can see he's young, and yet... in those thick eyebrows and the fixed gaze you see an age that is probably greater than the actual one. Those who experienced it up close at the Tour de l'Avenir also grasped the desire to enjoy turning 18 and make mistakes that will soon no longer be forgiven. «I enjoyed running without a radio – he said – it's not an opportunity that comes my way often among professionals. I've made small mistakes, that happens too, it's part of the learning process».
Avenir, everything to lose
In the little Tour he had only to lose and he knew it well. No longer a boy to be discovered, not yet a fully-fledged professional. Among the big ones he had arrived in February without pressure, running the UAE Tower, il Tour of the Alps and the Dauphiné (trying not to overdo it), where every flash of talent had been deemed messianic and prodigious. Al Future Tower Seixas could only win.
«He put himself in a difficult situation "—French coach Francois Trarieux told L'Equipe—showing up for an U23 match in conditions different from those of the Dauphiné. He knew full well that everyone would be waiting for him. I told him that he had won a lot and easily when he was younger because he was in a higher categoryThis time, however, he found himself up against ready riders, who wanted to beat Paul Seixas. And this also put him in difficulty."
Doubts and questions
Widar overtook him twice, both times by just five seconds that to Seixas seemed like a slap in the face in front of his friendsFirst at Tignes 2100 and then the next day at La Rosiere, with Finn in both cases finishing eight seconds behind the winner, behind the Frenchman. To win the Tour de l'Avenir he needed the final time trial, when the seconds given to Widar were 32 with all due respect to the young Belgian talent.
"It's even better to win like this," Seixas said immediately afterward. "This is sport. I was in the thick of the action; we had some tough days. I had to fight until the end, going through difficult moments in my headI wondered if I really had what it took to win. Even before Avenir left, I wondered if I'd done the right thing in coming, given my performance in training. The key was resilienceThe mental resources I had to summon, the moments of doubt, the difficulties. I had to accept the status of favorite without being at my best."
Tignes, a valuable lesson
There is maturity in his words, a great capacity for analysis. At the same time, Seixas had to understand what is required of a leader. From the second to the last day, the leader of the Avenir was our comrade Decomble: it was up to others to attack him, instead in Tignes Seixas was among the first to move. So much so that the next day the French team was permeated by rumours of a long debriefing to clarify.
«We wanted that the team remained around our leader – Trarieux explained further – but there was impatience. Seixas must master the will to win and he understood it Because we talked about it at length. In the final stage, Decomble had to agree to give up the jersey to him: it was an important collective act. They trusted him, and that's fantastic. Paul isn't a fully formed rider; he needs time and a stage like the one in Tignes will be remembered for a long timeHe wanted to overtake Widar, but he wasn't the strongest. In the past years he has always been physically superior, now he realizes that the bigger he gets, the closer the levels will get».
In Rwanda with the pros
Tignes will be the training base for the French U23 national team ahead of the World Cup in Kigali, but Seixas will not be with them there. For the regulation and also for the clear intention of the city manager Voeckler who chose to include Paul in the pro team.
"For me he is a selectable rider – the 46-year-old former rider from Schiltigheim told L'Equipe – I don't care about his age. The decision is to do what is best for him and for the interests of the French team, Without necessarily thinking short-term. My job is also to work in concert with the people around him."
The Tour de l'Avenir could have been Seixas's last race among the under 23s, while the world of adults awaits him with open armsIt was useful for him to take stock and shoulder the responsibility of leadership, while from now on he will begin the routine of professional cycling. After the World Championships, in fact, and also because of the World Championships, his schedule has already been changed. There is already talk of the European Championships and the Giro di Lombardia.
