French cyclist Paul Seixas sets unofficial record on Tour de France climb

French cycling prospect Paul Seixas is intensifying his preparations for his highly anticipated debut in the Tour de France. The Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider recently tested a portion of this year's Tour route in the Pyrenees, including the climbs of Col d’Aspin and the iconic Col du Tourmalet.

Seixas arrived in the Pyrenees following altitude training in Sierra Nevada, where he logged nearly 2,000 kilometers and accumulated approximately 50,000 meters of climbing over 16 days. His weekend training included a 137-kilometer ride on Saturday and a 90-kilometer ride on Sunday, ahead of his next race, the Tour Auvergne Rhône Alpes (formerly Critérium du Dauphiné).

His most notable achievement was on a 10.1-kilometer segment from Luz Saint Sauveur to Super Barèges, adjacent to the Tourmalet. According to Strava data, Seixas covered this section, which has an average gradient of 6.9%, in 25 minutes and 25 seconds. This time is 35 seconds faster than the previous record set by Lenny Martinez during last year's 14th stage of the Tour de France. Seixas averaged 23.9 kilometers per hour on this challenging climb. While these are unofficial records, not comparable to race conditions, they demonstrate Seixas's serious commitment and form ahead of his Tour de France debut in July.