Take2 days ago
Seixas wins Il Lombardia at 20; Madiot tells Pogačar to cut holiday
Paul Seixas won Il Lombardia 2026 at 20 years and 16 days, the youngest winner in the race's history. Pogačar was not at the start after his Vuelta crash at the end of August.
What this means
Madiot says the win confirms what was already assumed: an exceptional, very precocious talent. He also says it promises great races next year. Sports.fr reports a likely Pogačar return at the Tour Down Under in late January, with the official 2027 calendar still to come.
Seixas went solo on the Civiglio about 18–19 km from the finish, leaving Enric Mas, Remco Evenepoel and Brandon McNulty behind, and Mas finished 48 seconds back. Madiot, president of Groupama-FDJ United, called it «a bit reminiscent of the Pogačar methodology: you put them under pressure and ultimately make the last remaining leaders explode». He added that once Seixas had five metres, it was over. Seixas himself says beating Pogačar is a dream: «maybe I will never beat him, but I will always try». Madiot said he thought of Pogačar watching on his sofa near Monaco.
Sources
Tadej Pogačar 'will probably have to shorten his vacation' to prepare for battles with Paul Seixas next season, says Marc Madiot'It's a great dream to really be able to compete against Tadej Pogačar' – Paul Seixas takes another step towards his man-made destiny at Il LombardiaPogacar va devoir "raccourcir ses vacances", lance Madiot après la victoire de Seixas au Tour de LombardieTadej Pogacar, le conseil après le coup de tonnerre
Analysed 4 sources, written and summarised with AI · How we work