Blacked-out frameset with stem spacers and 28mm tyres: Paul Seixas’ Van Rysel RCR-Pro prototype
Decathlon CMA CGM’s teenage prodigy spotted aboard an unreleased Van Rysel race bike
French Tour de France hopeful Paul Seixas has been riding what appears to be a Van Rysel RCR-Pro prototype, both at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Critérium du Dauphiné) and now the Tour de France. Decathlon CMA CGM cycling team mechanics were tight-lipped about any details on the bike when we photographed it at the Grand Départ in Barcelona, but it does bear a resemblance to the current all-rounder and also features the brand’s ‘Road-Aero-Light’ nomenclature on the inner triangle.
Another one! Paul Seixas joins the growing trend of adopting 28mm tyres
With product lifecycles lasting between three and four years, it’s likely this prototype is indeed the new RCR-Pro, which was first unveiled in late 2023. Keeping with the current aero trends dominating contemporary road bike design, the new bike utilises Van Rysel’s super-high-mod carbon fibre. There’s a notably deeper and pointier head tube, with matching fork legs that taper towards the dropouts. The top tube looks straighter, and the rear end is underscored by a thinner seat tube that tightly hugs the rear wheel, with reprofiled seat stays that attach lower down than before.
Not that it was ever undergunned in the tyre clearance stakes, but closer examination also suggests the new bike has space to safely fit widths upwards of 34mm. Interestingly, like many of the riders, Seixas has opted to use 28mm - in this instance, Continental GP5000 S TRs paired with Swiss Side Hadron 3 Ultimate 550 wheels.
As a SRAM-sponsored team, Seixas’ Van Rysel is fitted with a Red AXS groupset, complete with a 54/42T chainset, 10-33T cassette, 170mm cranks, and Look Keo Blade Ceramic Ti pedals. Decathlon CMA CGM is currently the only WorldTour team that uses Deda Elementi components - pictured here is a custom integrated cockpit matched to a 140mm stem. Seixas is also running 150mm worth of spacers under his stem.
The rest of the build comprises a Fizik Vento Antares 00 saddle, Elite Leggero Carbon bottle cages, and a 3D-printed race number holder for the seatpost. There’s also a section of butyl inner tube wrapped around the right fork leg to hold a transponder.
- Frameset: Van Rysel Super High Modulus Carbon Fibre
- Fork: Van Rysel Super High Modulus Carbon Fibre
- Cockpit: Custom Deda Elementi integrated bar-stem
- Seatpost: Van Rysel Carbon
- Groupset: SRAM Red AXS 54/41T, 10-33T
- Wheelset: Swiss Side Hadron 3 Ultimate 550
- Tyres: Continental GP5000 S TR 28mm
- Saddle: Fizik Vento Antares 00
Away from his bike, Seixas rides some of the most affordable kit in the peloton, as my colleague Matt highlights in his piece on getting the Seixas look, including the Frenchman's £69 budget sunglasses.
While we know Seixas is clearly riding a prototype, it looks pretty much ready for production, and there are already significant discounts on the current RCR & RCR-F at Decathlon; check out some of them below.
