An overjoyed Paul Seixas wins his first Monument and takes an Il Lombardia record: 'I had a feeling'

It looked like it was going to be an open race in Lombardy, with Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), and Seixas as the top favorites going in. But there was no three-way battle: the 20-year-old Frenchman accelerated on the decisive climb, the Civiglio. No one could keep up with him, and so he flew to victory with a commanding lead.

The winner was over the moon with his first Monument. “I still can’t believe it,” he exclaimed during the flash interview. “Everything went perfectly. My teammates did a great job; everyone pushed harder than necessary. My legs felt great—I had a feeling it was going to be a great day.” After all the drama throughout the day, he left everyone in the dust on the Civiglio.

At first, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello - Q36.5) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) kept up with the top talent’s surge, but he turned up the heat so much that they were simply dropped. And so everything went according to plan for the Decathlon CMA CGM team leader.

"I was able to make a difference right when I wanted to—or maybe even a little earlier. I felt that the pace wasn't high enough at the start of the climb, at least for me. So I had to accelerate early. There were a few less steep sections in between, so I had to pace myself and then go all out on the tough parts. I did what I could, and then rode a time trial—me against myself."

Ciccone was joined in his chase by Enric Mas (Movistar). Seixas wasn’t sure exactly how big his lead was. “I had no real idea. I knew it was between thirty and forty seconds, but not enough to think about winning before the final climb. After that, I dared to believe it was possible. Then I just had to make sure not to make any mistakes on the descent. I was careful there. I still can’t believe what I’ve done.”

Thibaut Pinot was the last French winner of the final Monument of the year, eight years ago. Seixas was twelve years old at the time. For the youngster, it was the perfect way to redeem himself after the World Championships, where he had disappointed himself. “It feels like a dream. I still can’t believe it.”