Miracle boy back on the road, clear who Pogacar will battle

French cycling prodigy Paul Seixas is on a tight schedule to be ready for his Tour de France debut. The 19-year-old, who suffered a serious fall during the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, has returned to the road after a period of indoor training. He was recently spotted training on the iconic Col du Galibier in the Alps, scouting key climbs for this year's Tour.

Seixas, still with bandages on both hands, trained with teammates Nicolas Prodhomme, Aurélien Paret-Peintre, Gregor Mühlberger, and Matthew Riccitello. Romain Bardet, who will transition to a sports director role at Decathlon, also joined them. Following his crash, Seixas endured severe abrasions on his forearms and hip, describing the experience as sliding like a "sledge" and being "ground down" on the asphalt.

A magnetic resonance imaging scan on Tuesday confirmed no serious consequences from the fall, enabling him to gradually increase training intensity. He will miss the national championship on Sunday, heading directly to Barcelona for the Tour de France start on July 4. Decathlon plans to use the final preparation block to scout three Alpine stages, including the finishes at Orcières-Merlette and both sides of Alpe d'Huez.

The team has postponed its Tour de France roster announcement due to uncertainties, including the condition of Daan Hoole, a key rider for the team time trial, who withdrew from the Dutch national time trial championship due to injury. The core of the team is expected to include Seixas, Prodhomme, Paret-Peintre, Riccitello, and Mühlberger. Strong time trialists Stefan Bissegger and Hoole are also contenders, while the participation of sprinter Olav Kooij remains uncertain.