“It quickly became clear” - Visma boss admits Paul Seixas blew apart their multi-pronged Il Lombardia challenge
Cycling
Team Visma | Lease a Bike arrived at Il Lombardia with several cards to play, but none was enough once Paul Seixas took control on Civiglio.
Victor Campenaerts had been active from the break, Matteo Jorgenson attacked on the Madonna del Ghisallo and, behind him, Davide Piganzoli and Ben Tulett remained in contention for the steeper finale around Como. By the time Seixas made his move, however, Visma’s options had quickly narrowed.
“It quickly became clear on the Civiglio that Ben and Davide did not have the legs to fight for the victory,” Head of Racing Marc Reef said in the team’s post-race release.
Matteo Jorgenson crosses the line at Il Lombardia 2026
Jorgenson move was part of the plan
Jorgenson’s attack on the Ghisallo was not improvised. Louis Barre helped launch the American from the reduced peloton, with Brandon McNulty, Quinn Simmons and Christian Scaroni joining him as the race began to split.
“Our plan was to try something with Matteo,” Reef explained. “Louis gave him a good lead-out, but in the end, we were unable to make the difference.”
Jorgenson had already pointed to the same tactical thinking immediately after the finish. “We tried some fun tactics and we weren’t favourites for the race because it’s just such a hard and honest race,” he told Cycling Pro Net. “So we had to go long.”
The move was eventually brought back before the first passage of San Fermo della Battaglia, with Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe helping to control the race for Remco Evenepoel. Visma still had Piganzoli and Tulett in the group, but Civiglio exposed the gap to the strongest riders.
Seixas raised the pace, Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone were among the last able to stay close, and the rest of the contenders were quickly spread across the climb. “The finale was very honest,” Reef said. “It quickly became clear on the Civiglio that Ben and Davide did not have the legs to fight for the victory.”
Piganzoli eventually finished 16th and Tulett 18th, while Seixas rode on to victory ahead of Enric Mas and Ciccone.
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Reef still took positives from the wider Italian campaign despite Lombardia ending without a top-10 finish. “I look back on the past week with a positive feeling, as we have shown ourselves to be a strong team,” he said.
Piganzoli was Visma’s first rider home in Como and brought his first season with the team to a close after a year in which he had clearly moved forward. “I look back on the season with a very positive feeling,” said Piganzoli. “I have made huge strides, and the collaboration with all the riders and staff members has been very good. I am looking forward to continuing to develop myself next season.”
The Giro dell’Emilia winner had arrived in Lombardia as one of Visma’s stronger late-season options, but the team never found a way back into the fight once Seixas took over on Civiglio.
For Visma, the final Monument of the season was a reminder of both the depth they had built and the gap Seixas created when the race reached its decisive climb.
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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