TakeWorlds5 weeks ago
France names Paul Seixas and Célia Gery as leaders for the 2026 Worlds in Montreal. Seixas is 19 with a fourth place at the Tour de France behind him; Gery is 20 and won her first elite national road title in June. Voeckler isn't hedging: «The ambition is victory».
Gery's leadership came weeks after she took the French women's road title with a solo attack on the final climb — her first elite road win, full stop. Seixas arrives having already won La Flèche Wallonne and Itzulia Basque Country this year, and is chasing Karel Kaers' 1934 record as the youngest elite men's road race world champion. Voeckler told L'Équipe he'd have said the same even with Tadej Pogačar in the field, just believed it a little less. That's not a coach managing expectations — it's a coach naming his team's ceiling.
Sources
'The ambition is victory' – French teams announced for Montreal World Championships with Paul Seixas and Célia Gery taking leadership rolesFrench National Championships: new super talent Célia Gery conquers first road race title with devastating solo attackFrance put Worlds hopes on Seixas as teenage star gets heavyweight support
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