French cyclist Paul Seixas ended his breakout season with a historic victory at the Giro di Lombardia on Saturday. At 20 years and 16 days, Seixas became the youngest ever winner of the Classic of the Falling Leaves and the fourth-youngest winner of a Monument. This achievement marks a remarkable first full season in the professional ranks for Seixas, who had previously impressed with second-placed finishes at Strade Bianche, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and the Montreal GP.
Seixas launched a devastating attack on the Civiglio climb with around 19km of the 239km one-day classic remaining, dropping all of his remaining challengers within a kilometre. Olympic and European champion Remco Evenepoel was the first to flounder, followed shortly by pre-race favourite Isaac Del Toro and then world champion Brandon McNulty. Evenepoel and McNulty eventually came home in fourth and fifth, respectively. Vuelta a Espana champion Enric Mas took second place, 48sec back, with Italian Giulio Ciccone rounding out the podium just over a minute behind the winner.
The race started five minutes behind schedule as riders staged a brief protest to draw attention to safety concerns following a series of incidents involving vehicles on race routes. With cycling superstar Tadej Pogacar, the winner of the last five editions of Lombardia, missing due to injury, Seixas took his chance to end an incredible season as a Monument winner. Pogacar had won both of Seixas' previous two Monument finishes, including a seventh-place finish at Lombardia last year and a second-place finish at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April.
Seixas' victory completes a remarkable season that includes a fourth-place finish at the Tour de France, his debut Grand Tour, in July. He also won the Tour of the Basque Country and La Fleche Wallonne earlier in the year. However, he endured a disappointing world championships last month, cramping up in the final stages and finishing 15th. A week earlier, he had won the time-trial bronze medal behind specialists Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna.
Inside the final 60km, American Matteo Jorgenson and McNulty led a dangerous counter-attack behind the day's breakaway. Evenepoel's Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe team-mate Giulio Pellizzari led the chase and controlled the gap, ensuring the five counter-attackers were brought back 15km later. With 20km left, the breakaway riders had around 30sec on the peloton, now driven by McNulty's UAE Emirates XRG team-mate Adam Yates.
Seixas' team-mates played a crucial role in his victory, with the French prodigy praising their efforts. "My team-mates did a great, awesome job," he said. "They all pushed more than what they had to do." Seixas also attributed his success to his physical condition, saying he had "amazing legs" and felt that "today was a great day."
With 2km to go to the top of the Civiglio climb, only Tom Pidcock and Ciccone were able to follow Seixas. But within another 500 metres, and still 18km to ride, he was alone, crossing the finish line to take the win. This success marks a dream come true for Seixas, who described it as "a dream" to win this race.
Key points
- Seixas is the youngest ever winner of the Giro di Lombardia at 20 years and 16 days.
- Seixas' victory marks a remarkable first full season in the professional ranks.
- The race started late due to a rider protest over safety concerns.
