The cycling prodigy Paul Seixas will make his Tour de France debut this year, raising hopes of France’s first male homegrown winner since 1985.

The 19-year-old Decathlon-CMA CGM rider has prompted intense debate in France after a dazzling start to 2026 with his team weighing the benefits of early exposure to the Tour against the risk of overburdening a rider still in his first season as a professional.

Seixas made the announcement on his team’s social media on Monday. “I’ve come here to announce to you something special, I have a race in July,” he tells his grandparents, before they guess that he is talking about the Tour.…