"If you don’t let it out, it builds up inside you" - Paul Seixas stands by his Montreal frustrated comments as he hopes to bounce back at Il Lombardia
Cycling
Paul Seixas knows that his self-critical remarks in the aftermath of the Montreal World Championships were a bit much, but stands by them nonetheless. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider believes that wearing his heart on his sleeve helps him move on from moments of disappointment.
Leading the France team, Seixas was one of the driving forces in the group of favourites over the six-hour rainbow jersey race. However, as Brandon McNulty got away and the contenders stalemate grew, Seixas paid the bill for his earlier efforts in the final lap.
Cramps arrived inside the final two laps for Seixas, but the 20-year-old dropped out from the favourites group in the final kilometres as the pain became too much. In interviews after the race, Seixas had harsh words about his own performance as he labelled his actions a 'disgrace' and blasted a 'rookie mistake' of cramping in the finale.
“Yeah... I don't really feel like talking about it. What I did today is a disgrace,” Seixas said.
“Cramping like that is a rookie mistake; I've never had cramps in my life on the bike. Today, I made a stupid mistake.”
Paul Seixas
Seixas had harsh words for his performance in Montreal
“I’m extremely disappointed—obviously for myself, but mostly for all of France and for the whole team, who did an incredible job and didn't deserve a leader like this,” he added.
Two weeks removed from the World Championships, Seixas addressed the comments as he claimed that releasing his post-Worlds frustration is part of his process of putting the result behind him.
Admitting that he lets his emotions take control at times, he believes that releasing the pressure stops key moments of his career affecting his future plans or tactics.
“I think sometimes it’s about letting the frustration out, and if you don’t let it out, it builds up inside you,” Seixas said ahead of Il Lombardia.
“And that helps you to move on too. Sometimes I take things a bit to heart, but then I think about them, and after a while you’ve got to move on. It helps me as well.”
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Seixas previews Il Lombardia
Looking ahead, Seixas is in with a major chance of winning his first monument at Il Lombardia on Saturday. With the majority of the World Championships protaginists at the start, he knows it won't be easily won.
Comparing it to Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which he came second only behind Tadej Pogacar in April, Seixas hopes that it will suit his strengths.
“I don’t think there’s any Monument that’s easy to win – I mean, I’m actually quite sure of that – but I think it’s between Liège and Lombardia as the one that suits me best,” Seixas said.
“The routes are more or less the same, so to speak, in terms of suiting my strengths. I perform well on the repeated efforts at Liège, but the longer climbs at Il Lombardia suit me too. Once the effort lasts four or five minutes or more, I think it all suits me.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- Why? The other guys skipped it, maybe they decided the rest would give them a better chance now so they’re not really racing on equal terms.Jumpyjohn10-10-2026
- Just want to see him riding again, anywhere! Come back soon Pogi!Lozza10-10-2026
- Multiple incidents in just one week in Italy is ridiculous!Lozza10-10-2026
- A victory of 2 minutes after 80h is a heck of a lot closer than in a one day race. Let’s keep things in perspective. It’s also often the result of one good day or a good team effort. In itself it doesn’t really provide much information for comparison of two riders.Jumpyjohn10-10-2026
- Yeah, I laughed at that! And Pogi didn’t even race for 2 stages as he was helping Torito!Lozza10-10-2026
- Good for them. The situation is ridiculous.wrsty10-10-2026
- What a ridiculous headline!Lozza10-10-2026
- They are equal in my opinion, which doesn’t make it easier for anyone.Jumpyjohn10-10-2026
- Ok, thanks for replying to that. Seems to have passed very quietly in an environment always trying to make big news out of small details. Am a little surprised as he really wouldn’t have had to exert himself enormously, he had enough time after and it was not exactly miles away so wouldn’t be surprised if there was more to it, which seems to be the case behind everything these days, like the media have discovered the best way to stay relevant is to reveal details as if it was a series, always holding enough back to create more, as if they feared running out of news ;-)Jumpyjohn10-10-2026
- Now that all the top guys are here, Remco has to win this to prove Euro was not a fluke.abstractengineer10-10-2026
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