Paul Seixas, 20, Wins Il Lombardia Solo and Becomes the Youngest Winner in the Race's History
The Frenchman attacked on the Civiglio and rode alone to a 48-second win over Enric Mas, ending Tadej Pogacar's five-year run in cycling's season-ending Monument.
Saturday, October 10, 2026/2 min read
Cycling has a new name on its oldest autumn trophy. Paul Seixas, a 20-year-old Frenchman riding for Decathlon CMA CGM, won Il Lombardia on Saturday with a solo attack, and at 20 years and 16 days he is the youngest rider ever to take the race, according to Domestique Cycling. He beat a record that Giovanni Gerbi had held since 1905.
It was his first Monument, the five biggest one-day races on the calendar, and only his third start in one, Escape Collective reports. It also ends an era: Tadej Pogacar had won the previous five editions, from 2021 to 2025, and Seixas is the first different winner since Bauke Mollema in 2019.
How did Seixas win Il Lombardia?
The decisive move came on the Civiglio, with about 19 kilometres left. Only Giulio Ciccone and Tom Pidcock could follow at first, and both lost his wheel by the 18.3 kilometre mark, per Domestique. Remco Evenepoel was also distanced on the climb.
Escape Collective describes a rider who used his time-trialling strength on the flat roads between the climbs rather than waiting for the last hill. He had a 35-second lead at the foot of San Fermo della Battaglia, the 2.8 kilometre climb that comes with just under eight kilometres to race, and he carried it home. He crossed the line 48 seconds clear.
The win also made history for his team: Escape Collective calls him the first Monument winner in the squad's history. He did it the hard way, riding the final 18 kilometres alone, with a pursuit behind him that included Ciccone and Pidcock.
Who finished behind him?
Enric Mas of Movistar was second, 48 seconds back, after dropping Ciccone on the last kilometre of the San Fermo climb. Ciccone held off the chasing group for third, 1 minute 5 seconds behind, in what Domestique notes was his final race for Lidl-Trek.
Seixas said afterwards, in Escape Collective's account, that he does not care much about the age record and simply wanted to win; a Monument, he said, is what he will remember.
Why was the start delayed?
The peloton held the start back by five minutes in a protest about safety standards, following the death of the rider Finlay Tarling, Domestique reports, with Evenepoel acting as the riders' spokesman. The question for the weeks ahead is how cycling's governing bodies answer the riders' demands.
For Seixas, the immediate question is how much a 20-year-old can be asked to carry. A Monument at that age puts him in a conversation usually reserved for the sport's established stars, and it hands rival teams a rider to plan around in every hilly one-day race next spring.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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