The Only One Who Didn't Get Dropped on La Redoute: Paul Seixas and the Signal of a Generational Shift

Every generation has that one moment when everyone suddenly realizes, “The changing of the guard has begun.” The 2026 Liège–Bastogne–Liège delivered exactly that moment to the road cycling world—and the protagonist was a young man named Paul Seixas.

1. The Image: La Redoute, Only One Man Could Hold On

The 2026 Liège did not start quietly. A crash early in the race split the peloton, with a large group of 52 riders forming at the front (including Remco Evenepoel), leading by as much as 3 minutes and 30 seconds before being caught with 95 kilometers remaining.

The real watershed came at the Côte de La Redoute. Tadej Pogačar attacked there—his most iconic launching point in this race.

The result: only Seixas could hold his wheel.

The two then pulled away together from the chasing group. Pogačar had to wait until the final climb, the Côte de la Roche-aux-Faucons, to finally shake Seixas off, finishing 45 seconds ahead to take his 4th Liège title (2021, 2024, 2025, 2026)—his 3rd Monument of the 2026 season. Evenepoel finished 3rd, 1 minute 42 seconds behind.

In other words: in a Monument race dominated by Pogačar, this young man was the only one who wasn’t cut loose at the decisive moment, and he held on until the penultimate climb.

2. Not a One-Off: 4th Overall at the 2026 Tour de France

If it were only Liège, we could call it “a flashy performance in a one-day race.” But a few months later, the Tour de France provided the second piece of evidence.

Final general classification of the 2026 Tour de France:

4th overall. And that was in a Tour where Pogačar took 5 stage wins on his own (S3, S6, S10, S14, S19).

Put those two results together, and the signal is completely different:

• Liège proves he has one-day explosiveness and the ability to follow a fierce attack
• The Tour proves he has the durability and consistency for a three-week race

These two qualities rarely appear together in a rider just starting out.

3. Why Taiwanese Riders Should Remember This Name

1. “Holding On” Is an Extremely Tough Metric

In professional road cycling, whether you can win on your own often depends on team, terrain, and luck. But “when the strongest rider goes, you’re still on his wheel” is a pure question of ability—it can’t be faked.

To use a scenario we’re familiar with: on the section after Cuifeng on Wuling, when the strongest rider in the group surges, whoever can still hold the wheel—that list of names at that moment is usually the true ranking of strength.

2. 4th Overall at the Tour Is a “Foundation,” Not a “Ceiling”

A general classification result in a three-week race is hard to achieve on a single good day. It reflects recovery ability, daily consistency, and resistance to attrition. A young rider finishing in the top 5 in that format means the fundamentals are already solid.

3. He Emerged in an Era of Extremely High Standards

To understand the weight of this, you first need to see exactly what kind of opposition he faced:

• Pogačar took his 5th career Tour de France overall title in 2026, becoming the 5th rider in history to reach five wins (alongside Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, and Indurain)
• He won solo on the Col du Galibier in S14 with a 7.2 km solo ride
• On S19 at Alpe d’Huez, Reuters timed him at 35:27, reporting it as a record-breaking effort

To stand 4th overall and hold the attack at La Redoute under that standard—the quality of the achievement is naturally on another level.

4. What a Generational Shift Usually Looks Like

Historically, a generational shift is rarely “someone suddenly takes over one day.” It tends to follow this sequence:

1. A new face starts to hold on when the strongest attacks
2. Then they start getting consistent top results in major races
3. Then they start winning stages
4. Only finally do they contend for the overall title

Seixas has clearly completed stages 1 and 2. Whether steps 3 and 4 will come, and when, nobody can guarantee—the development curve of young riders is full of variables. Injuries, race schedules, and team roles all affect the outcome.

So the sensible attitude is: remember the name, but don’t rush to write his script for him.

5. Practical Takeaways for Everyday Riders

• The first sign of progress is usually “getting dropped later.” It’s not suddenly winning—it’s going from falling off on the first climb to holding on until the penultimate one.
• Consistency predicts long-term results better than a single burst. That holds for a three-week race, and it holds for your annual goal event too.
• Riding with stronger people is the most efficient reference point. But plan the intensity with individual differences and gradual progression in mind—don’t sacrifice an entire week of training just to hold one wheel.

Conclusion

At the 2026 Liège, Pogačar still won, by 45 seconds. But one of the details that truly defined that race was the young figure behind Pogačar after La Redoute who never fell off.

The signal of a generational shift is often hidden in exactly this kind of image—“hasn’t won yet, but can already hold on.”

Related Reading

• One Strike at La Redoute: Pogačar’s 4th Liège–Bastogne–Liège Title in 2026, Only Paul Seixas Could Hold On
• The Timing of Pogačar’s Attacks: The Same Logic Behind 78 km, 55 km, 24.2 km, and 7.2 km
• The Men Chasing Pogačar: A Map of Evenepoel, Del Toro, and Seixas at the 2026 Tour de France
• Two Bike Changes, One Attack, One Runner-Up: Pogačar at 2026 Paris–Roubaix, Still One Velodrome Short of the Full Set