Paul Seixas saw UAE play a 'weird' game: "Del Toro blocked me three times"

No, he couldn’t follow Tadej Pogacar on the Monte Sante Marie, but Paul Seixas certainly didn’t disappoint in Strade Bianche. The 19-year-old Frenchman finished second in Siena. “This was the best I could do today,” he admitted in the post-race flash interview.

“Tadej Pogacar was exactly as he has been in every race in 2024 and 2025: one or two steps above the rest,” said Seixas. “But I’m very happy with my second place. It’s incredible to stand here.”

‘Del Toro blocked me’
Seixas tried to close the gap to Pogacar on the Monte Sante Marie. For a moment it seemed he would succeed, but in the end he had to give up. “It was a bit strange. When he attacked, I tried to follow Pidcock. But Del Toro blocked me. Not once or twice, but three times. I was held back. It was a game and they decided to play it that way.”

“I had to close the gap. If Tadej is in front of you, twenty or thirty meters is obviously too much. I tried to get back on his wheel and was very close, but it was five hundred meters too long. He controlled his effort, looked back, and didn’t want me on his wheel.”

‘He didn’t want to take a turn’
In the finale, Seixas rode away together with Del Toro from the chasing group. He thus secured second place. “It was very tough. After Pogacar escaped, I was initially also with Del Toro. He didn’t want to take a turn. That was understandable because he had Tadej in front of him.”

“When we rode away together again in the finale, it was incredibly hard. It was full gas all the time. I thought: he’s going to pass me at the end. I rode for the podium. That I still finished second and shook him off my wheel was unbelievable.”