While the national football team is announcing a new campaign with convincing games on the American continent world champion title, sports fans in France they have an additional reason for euphoria. The world's biggest cycling event - the mythical Tour de France - starts this weekend, and there the French will finally have a serious trump card.
Paul Sexas, a 19-year-old native of Lyon, will try to do something that has seemed unattainable for a long time - to bring the Tour de France trophy back home. Since 1985, France has been waiting for the victory of a local driver in the most prestigious race, and this information sounds incredible for a country where biciklizam follow religiously.
Analysts have tried to determine why the drought has lasted for over four decades, but they have not been successful. A lot of things in French cycling seem to be in the best order - the teams are financially responsible, a large number of children train the sport, and the number of professionals is also impressive.
The races are attended and adequately covered by the media, so cycling often manages to make its way to the front pages of the prestigious L'Equip, despite competition from PSG, rugby and Victor Vembanyama.
There was only one thing missing in the entire system, and that was elite talent. In the past, the French have had unreasonably high expectations for drivers like Thibaut Pinot and Roman Barde, but now it seems they really have a champion in the making.
Photo: AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert,Cyclist Paul Seksus
Angel of Lyon
Paul Sexas justified the euphoria about his future with the rides in the previous period. He already hinted at the magnificent talent in his debut season in the professional caravan, and this year he went one step further.
He won the Basque race, became the youngest conqueror of the "Walloon arrow" and severely tormented the undisputed Pogačar on the "Strade Bianca" and Liège-Baston-Liège. The season is only halfway through, and his career is at the very beginning, so the performance of the young Decathlon driver so far is very impressive.
Reasons for optimism do not rest only on previous results. Sexas seems to have been "born on a bicycle", and his innate instinct will help him prevent falls and certainly extend his career. Apart from his graceful riding style - which earned him the nickname "Angel from Lyon" - the young cyclist is characterized by fearlessness and maturity at the same time.
Recently, at the Dauphiné race, he suffered a fall that could have cost him his participation in the upcoming Tour de France, but he reacted very calmly in the awkward situation. He got back on the bike and managed to close the gap on the next climb, the legendary Gran Colombier, showing that he is not one to give up easily.
The mentioned characteristics will come in very handy for Paul Seksas in future challenges, but in terms of his championship ambitions at the three-week "grand tours", the most important thing is that the young competitor has shown that he is successful on different terrains and profilimatrka.
Youth as an advantage
Cycling has long been considered a sport in which experience brings great success. Older drivers dominated, and anyone under the age of 25 was considered young. At the end of the last decade, this perception began to change.
In 2019, Egan Bernal won the Tour de France at the tender age of 22, and the next six editions of the prestigious race were won by two drivers - Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vinjegor - who were far from their fourth decade of life when they lifted the cup.
It became clear that youth brings numerous physical benefits, so they were followed by a constellation of promising drivers such as Remko Evenepoel, Isaac del Toro and Jai Hindley.
None of them, however, arrived on the big stage with higher expectations than the hero of our story.
Perhaps only the recent hysteria surrounding Remko Evenepoel in Belgium, the only country that rivals France in terms of cycling popularity, is comparable to the euphoria of Paul Sexas' Tour de France debut.
Huge public pressure fell on the back of the 19-year-old, and many believe that, as understandable as the French audience's need to finally celebrate the victory, it is something unfair. In no way can the young Sexas be responsible for the failures of his predecessors, and the unprecedented public attention could be counterproductive.
As talented as he is, Sexas has a long way to go before winning the Tour d France. For the first time, he will drive a race that lasts three weeks, and it is necessary to cover 3,333 kilometers without falling and faster than 183 opponents. Among them is the undisputed Tadej Pogačar, a 27-year-old Slovenian who has already won the Tour four times, and won 11 of the 16 races he participated in this season. In addition to the wonderful Pogačar, there is also Jonas Vinjegor, a Danish cyclist who recently won the Giro d'Italia and has won the Tour de France twice in the past.
Asking a 19-year-old to overcome the mentioned "snakes", who have incomparably stronger teams, and therefore better helpers on the hills, is not entirely fair. Many analysts believe that it would have been better for Sexas to wait another year before his Tour de France debut, in order to gather the necessary experience and kilometers in his young legs.
Nevertheless, Sexas will become the youngest debutant in the most prestigious world race since 1937 and the performance of Adrien Sento, and he could also become the youngest winner since Henri Cornet, who lifted the trophy back in 1904.
Photo: AP Photo/Thibault CamusCyclist Paul Seksus
So why the rush?
Whether the child prodigy will make his debut in the Tour d France has been the main topic of the French public since last year. Despite experts' opinions that the time is working for Seksas and that it would be best to postpone the performance for a year, speculations about a different decision have become more frequent in the previous months.
The dilemma was resolved eight weeks ago, when the official Instagram account of Decathlon, the team for which Seksas rides, posted a video in which the young cyclist confirms his performance at his grandparents' house - where, as he says, it all began.
According to rumors from France, there are several reasons for this decision. Seksas' contract with Decathlon expires next year, and there is a great fear that the local star will in the future wear the jersey of foreign, more powerful teams such as Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates, Vinjegor's Vizma or British INEOS.
By sending Seksas to the Tour, Decathlon encourages the young rider and shows him that he is at the center of their ambitions, while also maximizing his own marketing potential while still having the French child prodigy at his disposal.
Of course, Sexas' presence is a big win for the organizer of the Tour d'France, the French company ASO, as well as for the race director Christian Prudhomme. The upcoming edition will be the most watched in decades, adding to the popularity, size and importance of the race.
Ever since 1985 and Bernard Hinault on the top step of the Tour de France podium, the French people have been waiting for the next great rider. The nation that celebrated winning eight of the nine previous editions, and a record 36 since the race's inception, is waiting too long for a new trophy.
Is it time to rejoice again?
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