Surely none of us is wishing for anything but a speedy recovery for Tadej Pogačar. But man…this Pogi-less stretch of racing sure is fun.
We had McNulty’s out-of-nowhere Worlds win, Remco’s hair’s-breadth Euros victory over Ciccone, and now Paul Seixas’ true debut on the World(Tour) stage: an emphatic Monumental victory at Il Lombardia, a fitting cap to the season.
And with that…the racing truly tails off. The Asian sprinters’ contests, the Eneco Tour, a bit of attention to cyclocross (especially once the roadies convert (crossing fingers), and then…Looking forward to the spring classics!
TOP STORY
- No Looking Back for Paul Seixas
RACE NEWS
- Roglič Earns his own Special Jersey with a Euros TT Win
- Per Strand Hagenes Delivers a Win for Visma at Paris-Tours
- Widar’s Long Sprint Stuns Pidcock and Jorgenson in Varese
TEAM AND RIDER NEWS
- Peloton Stands Still: The Five Minutes That Mattered at Il Lombardia
- Victor Campenaerts’ Last Minute Lombardia Call-Up
- Lachlan Morton’s Pony Express Progress
VIDEO
- Richard’s Top Ride Around Lake Como
No Looking Back for Paul Seixas
Some riders spend a career waiting for a Monument. Paul Seixas has needed only two pro seasons. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider rode away from the field on the Civiglio and held off Enric Mas and Giulio Ciccone to win Il Lombardia, and he did it with the confidence of a man who had already decided how the day would go.
The Attack that Settled It
The plan was always to go on the Civiglio. Seixas just did it a bit earlier than he had intended, only 2km after the start of the climb, because he expected a higher pace from the favorites. He hoped to crest with at least 15 seconds in hand, and he got more than that. With 18km to go he was alone, and from there the race was his to lose.
“I knew the rest of the course was nice for one man solo,” he said afterwards. “It was exactly the type of effort I could manage alone.” He took no risks on the descent, and the chasers never came close on the San Fermo della Battaglia. Mas, who won the Vuelta only a month ago, crossed the line 48 seconds back. Ciccone took third at 1’05” and admitted that following Seixas on Civiglio was a small mistake. Remco Evenepoel was fourth at 1’20”, with Brandon McNulty fifth on the same time.
Records, and a French First
Seixas is 20 years and 16 days old, which makes him the youngest winner of Il Lombardia ever. He beat the record set by Giovanni Gerbi in the very first edition in 1905, back when cycling records and firsts were wacky; after all, back then the Tour de France was literally a trip around France, with 300+ kilometer stages. To win a Monument at (just) 20 years old in the Modern era is nearly unique.
Meanwhile, Seixas is also blowing past French milestones. He is the first Frenchman to win a Monument since Julian Alaphilippe took Milano-Sanremo in 2019. He is only the second French winner of Lombardia this century, after Thibaut Pinot in 2018. It is also Decathlon CMA CGM’s first Monument since the team was created in 1992.
Seixas was refreshingly unmoved by all of this. “I don’t really care about being the youngest winner, I just care about winning,” he said, adding that he hopes the result inspires young French riders the way Pinot’s win inspired him eight years ago. He had even skipped the European championships to target this race, and after a Worlds result that he rued deeply, the gamble paid off.
Pogačar Will Have Something to Say
Of course, there is a Slovenian-shaped caveat. Tadej Pogačar had made this race very much his own, winning this Monument more easily than any other. Seixas won on a day when the biggest name in the sport wasn’t there to stop him. A win’s a win, but I assume Pogačar is already counting the days until next year’s edition. Seixas, meanwhile, said in a post-race interview that his dream is to be able to compete with Pogačar on level footing.
The comparison flatters Seixas. At the same age, Pogačar had not yet won a Monument. His first came in 2021, when he was 22. Seixas now has one at 20, and in the one-day races, where Pogačar later became so dominant, the Frenchman is ahead of the schedule.
Beating a rival at his peak is a different matter, and Seixas knows it. Still, a clean solo win in Como, against Mas, Ciccone, del Toro and Evenepoel, is not the work of a rider who will fade away. If this is what his second pro season looks like, the rest of the peloton, Pogačar included, should expect to see a lot more of him.
- Check out Pez’ full Lombardia writeup!
- And listen in on our 2024 chat with Chris Horner about the Italian classic!
RACE NEWS
Roglič Earns his own Special Jersey with a Euros TT Win
The jury is very much out regarding the European Championships’ relevance and prestige. Its unfortunate timing, sandwiched between Worlds and Il Lombardia, renders it less alluring than its organizers surely wish. Still, Euros winners earn the one thing all of us cyclists really desire: a cool jersey to wear all year (unless, of course, you also won Worlds; the jersey hierarchy is clear).
The Elite order at Euros is the reverse of Worlds’: Last weekend crowned Evenepoel and Vollering as road champs, and then the time trials followed midweek, on the same 22.1-kilometer Šenčur circuit that decided the road races, climb and all. The Možjanca ascent halfway round meant this was no pan-flat affair for the big engines (which may be why Ganna sat it out).
The women went first, and the script was familiar. Marlen Reusser stopped the clock in 31:30, with Demi Vollering 23 seconds back, fresh off her road title four days earlier. Juliette Berthet took third at 1:09. Reusser led at both time checks and even gained a little more on the descent and the fast run-in, so there was never much drama.
It was her fifth European TT title, which pushes her past Ellen van Dijk’s four. It also makes her the only rider, man or woman, to win Worlds and Euros TTs in the same year twice. She did it in 2025, and now again. Consider her fourth-straight-year dominance of the discipline, and the question answers itself: Reusser is this era’s preeminent time trialist. Everyone else is racing for second.
The men’s race offered more suspense, and a lovely story. Remco Evenepoel skipped the event to save himself for Lombardia, but that takes nothing away from Primož Roglič. At 36, on home roads, he set the early benchmark at the top of the Možjanca climb and then had to hold off a late fightback from Bruno Armirail, who posted a 28:23 and got within single digits of the Slovenian. The expected late charges from Stefan Küng, Jakob Söderqvist and Kasper Asgreen never materialized. Roglič is an Olympic TT champion and a grand tour winner, and this was his first European title. Whoever showed up or stayed home, you still have to go and do it, and he did, in front of a crowd that had hoped to see Pogačar show up for Euros, but was happy to settle for the next best thing. It was win number 93.
Late-career victories like this one are why we love this sport. Roglič gets a European jersey, and he has earned every thread.
Per Strand Hagenes Delivers a Win for Visma at Paris-Tours
Scanning the list of past winners, one concludes that Paris-Tours used to be a bigger deal: I see Démare, Gaviria, Degenkolb, van Avermaet, Gilbert — not to mention van der Poel (Adri, not Mathieu), Sean Kelly and even Joop Zoetemelk. This year, it ran very much in the shadow of Il Lombardia, but it delivered exciting racing, and a name to be remembered: Per Strand Hagenes.
The 120th edition covered 216 kilometers, and the finale was no walk through the Loire Valley. Ten gravel sections totaling 10.5 kilometers were packed into the last 75 kilometers, with the final one, Rochecorbon, just 11 kilometers from the line.
Before the fireworks, a long, flat opening saw a dozen riders go clear, among them Yves Lampaert, Julius van den Berg, Martijn Rasenberg, Jonas Rutsch, Jakob Söderqvist and Stefan Bissegger. Rasenberg’s day went flat, literally, when a puncture dropped him from the group. Behind, Visma | Lease a Bike and Netcompany INEOS kept the break on a short leash, and by the first gravel the gap was a minute and a half. The tempo and a string of mechanicals then shredded the front group, while a big crash in the bunch, which took down Anthony Turgis, split the peloton.
The remaining escapees, including Storm Ingebrigtsen and Matis Louvel, held on for a while, but a Jenno Berckmoes acceleration 25 kilometers out brought the chasers into view. Berckmoes then fell victim to mechanical trouble himself. “Peloton” is a generous word here: only about twenty riders remained, and Tim Merlier was long gone. (Note: sprinters used to win this race: I also see Zabel — and even Petacchi.)
With 20 kilometers to go, the break was done. Pierre Gautherat of Decathlon CMA CGM jumped immediately, and was joined by teammate Rasmus Søjberg Pedersen and Hagenes. That trio was eventually swallowed, but a new group of eleven formed, loaded with favorites: Hagenes, Christophe Laporte, Toms Skujiņš, Jonas Abrahamsen, Paul Lapeira and Jasper Stuyven.
Then came the poker game. The chasers nearly made contact, but just before the final kilometer Skujiņš launched his bid. Hagenes was ready, countering the Latvian with real power and riding off alone. Stuyven tried to bridge across, yet could not close the gap, and the young Norwegian soloed home with Visma | Lease a Bike’s name on his chest. Stuyven took second, Laporte won the sprint for third.
Paris-Tours may have lost some of its old glamour, but a late, decisive solo like that is exactly why the race still matters.
Widar’s Long Sprint Stuns Pidcock and Jorgenson in Varese
Paul Seixas wasn’t the only 20 year-old who earned a big victory in Italy last week. Jarno Widar (Lotto-Intermarché) took the first pro win of his career at Tre Valli Varesine on Tuesday, and he did it in style.
The 105th edition was a 196km slog around Varese with no Tadej Pogačar to defend his title. That left the door open, and Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) was the man to kick it in. With around 14km to go, Pidcock attacked on the penultimate climb. Only Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Widar could follow, and the trio quickly had daylight on the chasers.
It wasn’t a harmonious breakaway. Jorgenson initially refused to share the work, which drew plenty of protest from Pidcock, who ended up doing the lion’s share of the driving. Behind, the group hesitated, and by the final kilometre the three had about 30 seconds in hand. Pidcock, the obvious favorite for a sprint, was suddenly in a tactical standoff with two riders happy to let him lead.
Widar had other ideas. Sitting at the back of the trio, he let a small gap open, then launched from well over 200 meters out, using momentum rather than closing the gap first. Pidcock reacted but had nothing left, and Widar held on to the line for the win, with Pidcock second and Jorgenson third. Quinn Simmons took fourth, three seconds back. Widar later explained that he trusts his 20-second power, so he knew he had to go early.
It’s a big result for a rider who dominated the under-23 ranks, including the 2024 Giro Next Gen, but had yet to win as an elite. A first pro victory over a rider of Pidcock’s caliber is not a bad way to break the seal.
Two 20-year-olds winning in Italy in the same week? That’s a good sign for the future of the sport.
RIDER, TEAM AND CYCLING NEWS
Peloton Stands Still: The Five Minutes That Mattered at Il Lombardia
The start of Il Lombardia in Bergamo was supposed to be a formality. Instead, the peloton refused to roll out for a full five minutes.
The trigger was close to home. Two Pinarello Q36.5 riders, Marcel Camprubi and Tom Gloag, were surprised by a police motorcycle travelling the wrong way at Tre Valli Varesine. They escaped serious injury, but it was one more vehicle-on-course incident in a week full of them, and it came after Fin Tarlay died in August at the Tour of Portugal after hitting a van head-on — during a race.
What makes this notable is how it came together. Ben Healy called Tom Pidcock and their agent after Pidcock publicly vented his frustration at Tre Valli. A WhatsApp group followed, though accounts differ on whether Healy or Pidcock set it up. One rider from each of the 25 teams was invited in. The idea was simple: a short, united statement at the start line. It was kept quiet on purpose, and George Bennett says even team directors and staff were left out. The riders’ union wasn’t involved either, with Healy insisting it came entirely from the riders.
At the line, Pidcock, Evenepoel and Giulio Ciccone were seen talking with race director Luca Guercilena shortly before the start. Then the countdown ended and nobody moved. Evenepoel took a microphone and spoke for the bunch, telling the crowd “we cannot accept the fact that people are dying.” Spectators and riders applauded.
Guercilena was gracious, calling the protest “very fair and correct,” though he suggested it could have been handled better, since he’d have liked to help.
Message delivered. Whether the UCI and organizers act on it is another matter, but for five minutes in Bergamo, the whole peloton agreed.
Campenaerts Latest Vlog: The Last-Minute Call-Up — and an Early Plea for Safety
In a sport whose athletes prefer to control every aspect of training, nutrition and preparation, sometimes circumstances require spontaneity.
Such was the case for Visma | Lease A Bike stalwart — and fan-favorite rider and vlogger — Victor Campenaerts. In classic “Campy” fashion, he shared his last-minute call-up experience on his vlog (and issued typical teammate teasing as well). But the post wasn’t all jocularity: The teammates took the opportunity to share their concerns about rider safety, and to preview the rider “strike.”
Lachlan Morton’s Pony Express Progress
This site typically focuses on proper bike racing, not the exploits of former racers — but this one has us engaged.
We mentioned that Lachlan Morton’s latest nutballs exploit is to “race” the Pony Express — to cover the length of that American-legend mail run, and to do so faster than the horses that ran it more than 150 years ago.
We had half an eye on it, but then caught an update from his EF team, and did the math: 1,650 kilometers in 3 days? That’s…more than 340 miles per day — many of those miles off the paved highway trail. That’s legit.
So while we watch the race season wane, we’ll keep a full eye on Lachlan’s progress at https://www.efprocycling.com/culture/lachlan-morton-s-pony-express. Giddyup!
PEZ VIDEO
It’s Lombardia Week here on PEZ – Italy’s season closing Monument around the shores of Lake Como. Richard loves riding here – and you can see why in this video…
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The post EUROTRASH: No Looking Back for Seixas appeared first on PezCycling News.
