Oct 10, 4:01 PM
Solo Ambition in Como: Seixas Capitalises on a Void in Lombardia
With cycling’s dominant force absent, France’s twenty-year-old prodigy takes his first Monument victory.
When the dominant force of modern professional cycling is sidelined by injury, the vacuum inevitably creates immediate opportunities for those brave enough to seize them. With Slovenia’s formidable Tadej Pogacar absent following a crash at the Vuelta a Espana, the Giro di Lombardia required a new protagonist to step into the void. Twenty-year-old French rider Paul Seixas stepped forward, delivering a decisive blow on the steep Civiglio climb to claim his first career Monument.
Launching his attack 19 kilometres from the finish in Como, the Decathlon–CMA CGM rider split the elite group, leaving only Britain’s Tom Pidcock and Italian Giulio Ciccone in brief pursuit. The resistance was short-lived. Within a few hundred metres, Seixas jettisoned both companions on the ascent and initiated a demanding 18-kilometre solo drive to the finish line. He crossed the line comfortably ahead of Spain’s Enric Mas and Ciccone, who were left to settle for the remaining spots on the podium.
The performance renders Seixas the youngest winner in the history of the Giro di Lombardia and the youngest rider to conquer any Monument since 1944. For French road cycling, a domain frequently burdened by excessive domestic hype and inconsistent international yields, Seixas offers a rare moment of absolute tactical clarity. His victory marks the first French Monument triumph since 2019 and the country's first success in Lombardia since 2018.
The triumph also provides swift redemption following a dismal 15th-place finish at the World Championships just two weeks earlier, where Seixas failed to deliver despite starting among the clear favourites. Having already recorded a seventh-place finish in Lombardia last year, second at Liege–Bastogne–Liege, and fourth in this year’s Tour de France, his trajectory was evident. Yet executing a long-distance solo break in one of cycling’s five premier classic races demands something beyond raw talent: it requires raw ruthlessness.
Whether this result signals a permanent power shift or merely a clever tactical exploitation during Pogacar’s recovery will be tested in the seasons ahead. What occurred on the roads above Como was an individual refusing to wait for consensus, riding away from the pack on his own terms.
Written by Thomas Nussbaumer thomas.nussbaumer@alpineweekly.com
