Sean Kelly reflects on historical Tour of Lombardy, but questions Pidcock's mental game: 'You have to fight like a dog'
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Follow us on GoogleSean Kelly, who won Il Lombardia three times in his professional career, reflected on an edition of the race which he felt made history in more than one way. The Irish great praised Seixas for the 'dominant fashion' in which he won. He also reflected on the 'long overdue' protest from the peloton.
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Kelly warns the UCI that action is already too late
Before the race, Evenepoel acted as the spokesperson for the bunch, and led a five-minute protest. The riders were calling out the multiple incidents of vehicles causing harm, and even death, in races recently. Evenepoel referenced the heartbreaking death of Finlay Tarling saying "we lost a brother and a colleague".
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Kelly praised this action, saying: “It needed to be done and, honestly, it was long overdue," said the Irishman in his Cyclingnews column.
"If the UCI doesn't start taking visible action, then I suspect the riders will carry out more protests and strikes because they know the situation, experience the issues, and have unfortunately seen the heartbreaking consequences too.”
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Kelly thinks Pidcock could focus on his mental game in races
Seixas was the best on the day, Kelly thinks
“It was a first Monument victory for Seixas, and he won it in dominant fashion. He was by far the best rider in the end, by quite some way,” Kelly praised the youngster, who broke records with his win, at the age of just 20.
“It was the kind of performance that says this guy is looking like a real champion, not only performing in stage races, but also in one-day Monuments.”
The Irish ex-pro turned commentator and analyst thinks Lombardy is the easiest Monument, tactically, to win, saying it tends to simply favour the guy with the best legs.
“There's a much higher likelihood of mechanicals or crashes ruining your chances in other Monuments or one-day Classics, particularly on the cobbles, but the Race of the Falling Leaves typically favours the rider with the best legs. That was undoubtedly Paul Seixas this time around.”
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Seixas delivered a record breaking win
He went on to say: “Seixas was well placed to deliver his attack, but others were too – Giulio Ciccone, Tom Pidcock and Enric Mas – yet if you haven't got the power to follow, then it's not going to happen for you. They were simply not at the same level as Seixas on Saturday.”
Pidcock 'lost his head' according to Kelly
Pidcock did not deliver a win in the Tour of Lombardy, eventually finishing sixth after trying to follow Seixas' attack and losing his wheel.
“I worry that when he loses contact with the rider in front, he just seems to lose his head a bit too much, and you cannot do that in a race,” Kelly wrote.
“You have to be really strong in the head, and fight like a dog. If you're really over the limit trying to follow the guy up the road, you knock it back a bit, and then you go with the next guy.”
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Clarice WebsterEditor
Clarice has been following cycling her whole life, wroting about Thibaut Pinot (among others) for her university magazine while earning her masters in Journalism. She is passionate about furthering equality in sports coverage, and has taken huge inspiration from pillars of women’s cycling like Beryl Burton, Marianne Vos, and Laura Kenny.
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Latest Comments
- The “king is dead” line feels premature. Pogačar has dominated this race for years, and one brilliant Seixas win doesn’t mean his reign is over. The article leans a bit too hard into the hype.patriciaw12-10-2026
- How does Seixas’s win compare with Gerbi’s in 1905? Was the race anything like the Lombardia riders face today?michael5412-10-2026
- Evenepoel finishing fourth while apparently struggling is still a solid result, though it’s surprising he couldn’t carry his European title form into the race.bikebuffj12-10-2026
- Nibali’s point about Del Toro racing Gran Piemonte makes sense. UAE needed him fresh for Lombardia, especially with Pogačar absent.jeremya12-10-2026
- Seixas looked completely in control on Civiglio. Winning Lombardia at that age is extraordinary; the comparisons with Pogačar are inevitable, but he deserves to be judged on his own ride.tourdeforce912-10-2026
- How can he race a mountain-bike event just 15 hours after Lombardia? Does that mean he had to recover on the way there? I’m still figuring out how these races fit together!sprocketspiny12-10-2026
- Winning Lombardia without Pogačar there is still a huge achievement, though the headline makes it sound like Seixas is already chasing him personally. Is there any indication he’s actually considering UAE for 2028?andrewf12-10-2026
- The UAE interest is worth watching, but he’s under contract through 2027 and Decathlon clearly have a major talent to build around. No need to rush the transfer speculation.samanthak12-10-2026
- He’s right to keep Pogačar as the benchmark rather than claiming he’s already there. Second at Strade and Liège, plus fourth on his Tour debut at 19, is an incredible platform.robert6512-10-2026
- Seixas attacking on the Civiglio and then lining up at Roc d’Azur the next day is wild. The win matters, but that appetite to race says a lot about him.julien12-10-2026
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