Geraint Thomas believes Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) is further ahead than Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) was at the same age. He made the comparison on his Watts Occurring podcast on November 9 while discussing the Frenchman's Il Lombardia victory.
"Unreal really from him, this year ending with that. Just fair play. What can you say? He's better than Pog when Pog was that age," said Thomas, who is director of racing at Netcompany Ineos.
“It's going to be exciting few years for him and for France,” he added.
Thomas said the comparison went beyond results: "not just the wins, but just how he seems. He just seems more advanced, more developed." He added that Seixas is "naturally still going to step up year on year."
"Pog's still improving," Thomas said. "That's going to start to tail off, start to plateau a bit. Very high plateau."
Rowe questioned how long Pogačar could keep progressing: "How much better can he get? Is he going to continue to get better after the age of 30? Don't think so."
Thomas countered: "Mentally, if he can still commit and do everything right, he can keep improving till he's like 35 in my eyes."
Seixas won Lombardia on October 10 aged 20 years and 16 days. That made him the youngest winner in the race's history and the youngest Monument winner since the Second World War.
He went clear on the Civiglio, around 19km from the finish in Como, by setting a high pace rather than launching a single attack. He then rode the descent and the final climb of San Fermo della Battaglia alone. Enric Mas (Movistar) was second at 48 seconds and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) third at 1:05. Pogačar, a five-time consecutive winner of the race, was absent through injury after his Vuelta crash.
The results give Thomas's claim some support. At 20, Pogačar won the Volta ao Algarve and the Tour of California. He then finished third at the 2019 Vuelta with three stage wins and the young rider's jersey. His first Tour de France title came in 2020 and his first Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2021.
Seixas's 2026 season includes overall victory and three stages at Itzulia Basque Country, plus wins at La Flèche Wallonne and the Faun-Ardèche Classic. He was second at Strade Bianche and second at Liège, where he alone followed Pogačar on La Redoute. He finished fourth on his Tour de France debut, but at almost 12 minutes behind Pogačar, the performance gap is currently considerable.
Photo: Billy CeustersA first Monument for Decathlon
Luke Rowe, Thomas's co-host and a sports director at Decathlon CMA CGM, directed Seixas through his first Tour.
"Mate, 33 years old this team is. Never won a monument. And it's pretty cool," Rowe said. "For us that was huge. That was huge to get that one and also win it in style, win it convincingly."
Rowe said "it'll be interesting to see how Paul develops now." Seixas's contract with the team runs to the end of 2027. His directeur sportif Julien Jurdie has discussed a Grand Tour podium as a target for next season, alongside returns to Strade Bianche, Liège and Lombardia.
