“I didn’t come here for fourth place” - Remco Evenepoel fails to capitalise on Pogacar absence at Il Lombardia
Cycling
For the first time in six editions, Tadej Pogacar was not standing between Remco Evenepoel and victory at Il Lombardia. Yet the Belgian still missed the podium in Como, fading on Civiglio as 20-year-old Paul Seixas seized the opportunity with a historic solo win.
Evenepoel had started among the leading favourites on a rare Lombardia without its five-time defending champion, and Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe spent much of the race controlling his position before the decisive final climbs. When Seixas lifted the pace on Civiglio, however, Evenepoel could not follow.
He eventually crossed the line fourth, 1:20 behind the youngest winner in Il Lombardia history and outside a podium completed by Enric Mas and Giulio Ciccone.
“I didn’t come here for fourth place,” Evenepoel said afterwards. “But there wasn’t much more in it. I always want to win, but the legs didn’t allow it.”
Evenepoel fades in final hour
For much of the race, Evenepoel felt his day was unfolding as expected. “I felt good all day,” he said. “Everything went according to plan and we had everything under control, but in the final hour of racing I didn’t feel at my best anymore. My legs were filling up.”
By the time Seixas made the difference on Civiglio, Evenepoel was already unable to respond to the strongest riders at the front. “It wasn’t my best day on the bike, but it wasn’t my worst either,” he added. “We have nothing to blame ourselves for.”
Evenepoel still recovered enough to contest the placings behind Seixas, Enric Mas and Giulio Ciccone, but fourth was well short of what he had travelled to Lombardia for.
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There was no attempt from Evenepoel to diminish the performance of the rider who replaced Pogacar at the top of the Lombardia podium. “What Seixas did was incredibly strong,” he said. “It was a deserved victory.”
Seixas became the youngest winner in the history of Il Lombardia after riding clear on Civiglio and holding his advantage all the way into Como. Evenepoel, meanwhile, still has one final appointment before his own season ends. He will line up at the Chrono des Nations next week before finally calling time on a long 2026 campaign.
“It’s already been a long year,” he said. “During the summer I went from some really good days to some slightly worse ones. Next week I’ll give everything one more time for three quarters of an hour, and then it’s done.”
For Evenepoel, Lombardia represented one of the clearest chances in years to win the final Monument of the season without Pogacar standing in his way. This time, it was Seixas who took it.
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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- I watched Il Lombardia today... :) What a loser Remco is!MajorPayne10-10-2026
- Couldn’t agree more, @RidesHills. CyclingUpToDate endeavours to ban him, but he continues to create new accounts. He was banned from CyclingNews. Whilst I used to argue against his negativity, I’ve simply lost interest. He is so utterly boring. I was initially worried he'd bully other fans, but nobody's having it. Most of us simply pay him no mind, anymore. At this point, everybody just scrolls right past him. He is quite a coward though, I’ll tell you that. His toxic comments on this site are nothing compared to what he is able to post on Twitter.anonymouscyclist10-10-2026
- C’mon, don’t follow in Horner’s footsteps. At least he had the courage to post HIS prediction ahead, I didn’t see many others disagreeing or claiming it was ridiculous.Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- @SLO: Your ridiculously rude language about riders makes it really hard to read your consistently condescending comments. "BS losers," how is it ok to talk about people like that? Also, you truly sound like you do not understand that this is a team sport, where del Toro rides for his leader and therefore doesn't follow his attacks. We can all agree that we are watching a once in a generation (really, a once in a century) rider in Pogačar, and that's great, but come on, you don't have to be a jerk when it comes to other riders. It's clear that I prefer to praise the positive in what I see, mostly because I am in awe of what these humans can do (including the ones who don't win), but your negativity about anyone but your idol is just so very very exhausting.RidesHills10-10-2026
- Huh??? You’ve obviously forgotten all the contrary you’ve been trying to sell us the last weeks. Shall I dig some out for you?Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- Doesn’t sound like it from his post-race interview. That old record you’re still playing is starting to jump a bit too often.Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- Sorry but who is this guy? If HE doesn’t know that « much » about Seixas by now, I’m recalibrating my opinion of his finish line questioning. As for PS, the most amazing thing about him so far is not what he’s won or almost won at this age, although that’s already phenomenal, it’s how consistent, numerous and long this seasons’ results have been. I don’t think there’s ever been a 19/20 year old quite as developed. Of course, you can’t expect development at this level to go backwards in time but it’s amazing to witness a rider you assume won’t be able to keep things up forever prove you wrong.Mistermaumau10-10-2026
- I agree, it was a good feeling to end the season this way... and only hope the knee injury held Del Toro back. Some how I have a feeling it wasn't just that... I wish my feelings are wrong.PogiSloFans10-10-2026
- Seixas is an amazing rider. Remco disappointed. Del Toro should rather have withdrawn if he had an injury linked to over-training. Anyway, a satisfying end to the season.Hills3310-10-2026
- History books won't care who had good legs or bad legs, or who did or didn't get laid last night; what the history books say is that Del Toro and Remco are two losers, while Seixas is a Monument winner at the age of 20. Let's not forget who was the only one that could follow Pogi in Strade Bianche. Paul Seixas, not Del Toro. Ad acta!!!PogiSloFans10-10-2026
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