“He’s so much better than Pogacar was at 20 years old” - Bruyneel, Hincapie and Martin heap praise on Paul Seixas after Il Lombardia
Cycling
Paul Seixas' victory at Il Lombardia has taken the comparisons with Tadej Pogacar to another level, with Johan Bruyneel, George Hincapie and Spencer Martin arguing that the Frenchman has already built a superior one-day record to the Slovenian at the same age.
Seixas became the youngest winner in Il Lombardia history on Saturday, riding clear on Civiglio and finishing 48 seconds ahead of Enric Mas in Como. It added a first Monument victory to a 2026 season in which he has already finished second at Strade Bianche and Liege-Bastogne-Liege and won La Fleche Wallonne.
Speaking on The Move podcast, Bruyneel ran through the results that have put Seixas in that company. “He starts off the season, he gets second in Strade Bianche, behind Pogacar,” said Bruyneel. “Then the next one, Pogacar's not there, Fleche Wallonne, he wins. Three days after, Pogacar's there, second to Pogacar. And now the other Monument that Pogacar's not there, he wins.”
Bruyneel did not need the rest of Seixas' season to make his point. “It's pretty impressive, man,” he continued. “I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting other one-day races, but just to name those four, that's like, okay, you can basically hang your whole career on those results.”
Paul Seixas crosses the line at Il Lombardia 2026
“It's not even a competition”
Hincapie then raised the age-for-age comparison directly. “You can almost say that might be even better than Pogacar at 20 years old,” he suggested.
Martin's response was immediate. “Oh, it's not even a competition,” before he went further still: “He's so much better than Pogacar was in one-day racing at 20 years old.”
The four races highlighted by Bruyneel are not the full picture either. Seixas also finished second at the GP de Montreal in September, losing out to Isaac del Toro after helping to break apart the favourites on the final ascent of Camillien-Houde.
By the time he arrived in Lombardia, Seixas had already accumulated major one-day results across the spring and autumn against several of the strongest riders in the world. The win in Como was the first time that run had produced a Monument victory.
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And then there is the Tour
What makes Seixas' season harder to judge purely through the Classics is everything he has done between them. He won the Itzulia Basque Country overall in April, taking three stages along the way, after already winning a stage and finishing second overall at the Volta ao Algarve earlier in the year.
Then, still only 19, he finished fourth overall on his Tour de France debut and became the youngest rider ever to finish inside the race's top five. Martin brought that result back into the discussion. “And then Johan, in the middle of all that, he gets fourth in the Tour de France.”
Lombardia has now given Seixas his first Monument victory to go alongside that Tour de France top five, with the Frenchman only having celebrated his 20th birthday in September.
Pogacar had not yet won a Monument at that age. Seixas already has one.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- Rather than me describing the technology at length on here, If you google. Line-scan cameras. They are also sometimes called Slit-Scan cameras. Either search will fill you in. You can read all about how they. work. Enjoy! Just to be clear the cyclist is saying he wants to see exactly where the digital finish line is in relation to the actual physical finish. At this point we only have the word of the authority that the digital line corresponds to the exact starting edge of the physical finish line. That seems like a reasonable request to me.Prorodsandstuff11-10-2026
- 100% @Jumpyjohn, good point well raised.anonymouscyclist11-10-2026
- The media keep stirring the soup.. or spitting in it
leedorney11-10-2026 - Yes, he has won many races... second class races. He isn't the real deal... Seixas is the real deal. Capish?PogiSloFans11-10-2026
- What are you talking about? I'm not the one you guys are spitting on. I'm a Slovenian Pogi fan, that's all... the guy you're talking about is a Croation Ustasha. Capish?PogiSloFans11-10-2026
- It would be epic if Seixas came to UAE. 3/4 of the commentators on this site would stop watching cycling... ha ha ha ha ha ha...PogiSloFans11-10-2026
- UAE's problem is Seixas wants to beat Tadej.Renz11-10-2026
- You are blinded by your infatuation with Pogi. IdT has done crazy good stuff. One of the strongest ever first three years in the peloton. poor showing in his last couple of races btu I don't think he is quite washed up yetmobk11-10-2026
- Absolutely not. The guy has finished so many races 2nd to Pogi so absolutely not a shocker that when Pogi isn't there he wins a fewmobk11-10-2026
- GOATmij11-10-2026
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