Jesus 19 year old wunderkind Seixas just wiped the floor with everyone. He's certainly got my attention, Del Toro. (Ayuso 38th), Roglic (4th), even Mountain TT specialists like Grosschartner (3rd) all beaten. Kevin Vauquelin INEOS's other big hope, came second, but a disaster for Del Toro 51 seconds off the pace & 13th. Young American I hadn't heard of with INEOS called Andrew August? came 7th with a storming ride. I think INEOS just pick young riders by their TT prowess!Interesting preview of the 6-day Itzulia Basque Country, which starts today with a brutal ITT around Bilbao. Pog and Jonas won't be there, but many other heavy hitters on the roster — many with important histories with this race.
A third WorldTour stage race victory in 2026 for Isaac del Toro? Analysing the Itzulia Basque Country contenders
Mexican star set for thrilling duel with former teammate Juan Ayuso, but Paul Seixas and Primož Roglič are waiting in the wingswww.cyclingnews.com
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No sign of it yet on HBO Max.Search "itzulia", not "cycling".
Watching the peloton - Professional Road Racing thread 2026
- Thread starter Rás Cnoic
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Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
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- Carlsbad, CA
Quite a performance by Seixas! Lucky us, with 5 more days of GC-biased racing to see how this all plays out.
I like that commentator in your clip— a very unique style. Know his name?
Carlton Kirby - long term mainstay of Eurosport, now TNT/Discovery. been there for 20 years or so I'd guess. Gets a lot of slagging from younger viewers for his kind of waffling style. it can be unintentionally funny actually, but he's been doing it so long that the nature of doing hours of non stop commentary probably leads to a kind of stream of consciousness!
Some long boring stages off TdF he goes VERY surreal!
stompandgo
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Jonas nearly died there two years ago. I don't suspect that he will be back.
HBO Max puts their race schedule up a bit at a time.
HBO Max puts their race schedule up a bit at a time.
stompandgo
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He goes by AJ in the US. 2023 US National Junior Road Champion. Multiple UCI road wins. I was shocked that they made him #1 on the team for this race as he is so young, only 20 years old. I will be watching.
We're in the age of youth it appears. Seixas 19, Del Toro 22 and Matthew Brennan who has already won his first classic and GC win in the 25 Tour of Norway is still only 20!
Crazy young.
Seixas wins stage 2, alone 1 min 25 over a chasing group of Roglic, Ujitbroeks, Lipowitz, Skejlmose and others. Only got the last 5km highlights so not sure what happened further down the mountain, but no doubt Seixas is announcing his credentials very loudly.
stompandgo
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I watched it from 40km out. He was with all of the big names up front as they took the right hand turn onto the last big climb to the finish. He waited until Del Toro, Skjelmose, Amarail, Roglic, Landa, Lipowitz, Tejada, and quite a few other big names started to string out and suffer, made a move to the front and just went full gas. No jump, just hit the gas. He simply had another gear. He is also a skilled descender and pushed it to the fog line several times. Landa crashed while chasing. A spectator got run over by a motorcycle.
Seixas has 1:25 over Skjelmose, Roglic, Baudin, Izagirre, and Lipowitz after two stages.
Seixas has 1:25 over Skjelmose, Roglic, Baudin, Izagirre, and Lipowitz after two stages.
Its extraordinary. Be fascinating to see how Decathlon deal with him, he's so young but the entirety of France will be watching.
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
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- Carlsbad, CA
Good way to put it. Quite an exciting final descent by Seixas — nail-biting at times.
Never heard those road edge lines called "fog lines". Presumably as in, so you can see the edges of the road in fog?
Maybe a New England thing? We're no strangers to fog here in coastal CA, where I've totaled ~45 years now. First time for fog lines. In Denver, you'd follow them in blowing snow or heavy rains instead.
Hope the callers are doing gushing exercises between races, cuz between Jonas, Pogi, and Seixas, they're gushing pretty much full-time now.
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stompandgo
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Yes, "fog lines" are a coastal New England thing for the reason you stated. I don't know what the rest of the world calls them other than the "white line" or the "shoulder marker".
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Not sure I've ever heard a name for them before now, but that one's as good as any. These lines don't seem to come up much in conversation in coastal CA and Colorado.
stompandgo
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They are super important when descending at high speed. They help you read the corner a few seconds ahead. Watch Seeay-Shass when he comes close to losing it. He was on the white line with inches to spare.
I cannot imagine Decathlon not making him #1 for the Tour. French team, French rider with so much potential, the fans will go crazy for him.
On another note, I'm really getting tired of the motorcycles drafting the breakaways, This is strictly enforced in the USA, but it seems to be de rigeur overseas. It's affecting the racing. There are plenty of Commissaires watching this happen, but they do nothing.
I cannot imagine Decathlon not making him #1 for the Tour. French team, French rider with so much potential, the fans will go crazy for him.
On another note, I'm really getting tired of the motorcycles drafting the breakaways, This is strictly enforced in the USA, but it seems to be de rigeur overseas. It's affecting the racing. There are plenty of Commissaires watching this happen, but they do nothing.
RunForTheHills
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Fog lines are discussed all the time in the SoCal mountains. Sometimes that's all you can see to get you home in the fog, hence the name. I would rather drive in a blizzard than a thick fog at night up here.
I watched that clip of Kelly winning Milan San Remo in 92 and heading up the Poggio I couldn't get over the number of motos, it was like a scene from Mad Max! I don't remember ever being concerned back then, but now it looks so dangerous and yes seeing drafting pisses me off today as well.
re Seixas to confuse matters I've now seen a Belgian commentator refer to him as Six-as or sex-as which was how I was pronouncing his name until I heard the other guy say
shy-shas so it seems there is confusion!
Jeremy McCreary
Bought it anyway
- Region
- USA
- City
- Carlsbad, CA
Yeah, he was literally putting everything "on the line" in some of those curves — including the one with the ragged rock wall waiting on the other side. Made the caller very nervous. Me, too.
That outweighs his lack of Grand Tour experience? His radio would probably compensate to some extent, but you still have to make decisions on the fly under great pressure, right?
Heard more than one commentator say that without the TV coverage the motorcycles provide, there would be no pro racing. If true, that gives the people behind the motorcycles a lot of power. Hope Europe finds a way to get them to behave.
How are the motorcycles controlled in the US? Money speaks loudly here as well, of course, and we certainly have our share of people who believe that what's right is what they can get away with.
At 19 you think they'll throw him straight into the tour? That seems rash to me, sure his performance is extraordinary but he's so young. I know France expects, but his biggest stage race before this week was winning Tour L'Avenir last year (Youth week long stage race for under 23s). I'd worry about his stamina, mental strength etc and if it went wrong, damaging him. Get him in a few week long ones like this Basque Country one, maybe the Tour de Romandie or Tour de Suisse both high alpine mountains, 5 day short stage races with a strong line up. Then if he's killing it, possibly stick him in La Vuelta, the easiest of the 3 big ones. Hell even Remco won that one 
Next year he'll be 20 and with all those stage races under his belt he'll be better prepared to have a real go. Plus Decathlon can have build a support team around him.
- actually that might be a problem- I think his Decathlon contract will be up next year and although they have good funding, everyone will want Sexias. They might shove him into the tour this year to make use of their star while they have him.
Next year he'll be 20 and with all those stage races under his belt he'll be better prepared to have a real go. Plus Decathlon can have build a support team around him.- actually that might be a problem- I think his Decathlon contract will be up next year and although they have good funding, everyone will want Sexias. They might shove him into the tour this year to make use of their star while they have him.
stompandgo
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Every stage has a plan. It doesn't have to be winning. If he finished on the podium that would be outstanding. However, if they kept him out of it, that would be fine too,
In the US, the PCP (President of the Commissaires Panel, i.e. Chief Referee) is in charge of the race, not the organizer. Commissaires in cars as well as on motorcycles typically control the movement of all vehicles in the race, unless there is a Regulator, which is rare. Comms will tell the motor to move up and open a gap if they are too close to the riders There is no reason for them to be right on top of them and creating a draft for the leaders, or the chasers, or the peloton. There are these things called lenses. I hear @Stefan Mikes might know something about them.
The organizer is selling the racing production to media outlets. The media motors represent their customers. The riders are just the actors in the movie. Epic sells.
There are regulations that control where media must position themselves during the race. Behind the riders, on the quarter flank, is preferred. They are not supposed to film alongside the riders, but they do. They are allowed to be in front of a group, but cannot interfere with the race, but they do.
Ben Delaney former editor of publications like Velo News and now YouTuber reviewer (and racer) of mostly gravel bikes, gives a fun glimpse inside the Flandrien Hotel & road bike museum in Flanders, including a fun lecture by the Aussie owner & firmer cyclist, of the evolution of race bikes from the 80s steel era to today, using some of his vast collection of ex pros bikes to demonstrate the move from steel to alloy to carbon, that he has in the hotel.
That Klein is just gooooorgeous! And I never knew of the collaboration between Ernesto Colnago and Enzo Ferrari, amazing story.
I once owned one of Sean Kelly's Vitus Duralinox 979 aluminium framed bikes & a KAS end of season cast off. Later I passed it on to a friend who was a Triathlon champion in Ireland. That bike had a colourful past life!
That Klein is just gooooorgeous! And I never knew of the collaboration between Ernesto Colnago and Enzo Ferrari, amazing story.
I once owned one of Sean Kelly's Vitus Duralinox 979 aluminium framed bikes & a KAS end of season cast off. Later I passed it on to a friend who was a Triathlon champion in Ireland. That bike had a colourful past life!