“You almost just have to confirm things he already knows” - Decathlon boss reveals Paul Seixas had Il Lombardia-winning attack mapped out in advance
Cycling
Paul Seixas had already picked out where he wanted to make his move on Civiglio before Il Lombardia even started, with Decathlon CMA CGM sports director Julien Jurdie revealing how little instruction the 20-year-old needed ahead of his historic victory in Como.
Seixas became the youngest winner in Il Lombardia history after riding away from the favourites on Civiglio and finishing 48 seconds clear of Enric Mas, delivering Decathlon CMA CGM its first Monument victory.
“You almost just have to confirm things that he already knows and wants to hear,” Jurdie told Cycling Pro Net afterwards.
Paul Seixas wins Il Lombardia 2026
Seixas already knew where he wanted to attack
Jurdie had met with Seixas individually before the team's general briefing, with the pair discussing the Civiglio finale they had reconnoitred two days earlier.
“When we talked about the attack two kilometres from the top, he already knew everything,” said Jurdie. “He was saying, ‘Yeah, I know Julien, here it’s two kilometres to go, I accelerate here.’ He knew the Ghisallo as well. We had done the recon two days earlier and he knew where his teammates were going to position him.”
Decathlon then worked through the race around that plan. Jurdie singled out Antoine L'Hote and Jordan Labrosse for their work, while Seixas was kept in position before the Ghisallo and the dangerous move containing Matteo Jorgenson, Quinn Simmons, Brandon McNulty and Christian Scaroni was kept within reach. “We arrived at the foot of Civiglio and it was, ‘Okay Paul, now it’s your turn.’”
Seixas quickly reduced the race to a handful of riders before continuing alone, with Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone among those initially trying to stay closest.
“He took responsibility and he was so strong that everything looked incredibly simple and fluid,” Jurdie said. “It’s crazy to say that because I know how difficult this race is.”
By the summit of Civiglio, Seixas had around 25 seconds over the chase. Ciccone's descending ability was still on Jurdie's mind, but the gap began increasing again once the road flattened out.
“Honestly, once he was at the top of Civiglio with 25 seconds, I had no doubt about the victory,” he said. “The only thing was making sure he didn’t make a mistake with a line on the descent that could have taken this incredible victory away from us.”
“At 20 years old, that’s just incredible”
Seixas' growing influence inside the team has also been noticeable away from the decisive climbs. Jurdie had encouraged him to speak more in team meetings earlier in the season, and that has gradually changed.
“He’s speaking more and more in the briefings and during races as well,” said Jurdie. “That was something I really insisted on at the beginning of the season. Little by little, you can see that he’s a real champion. All the riders listen when Paul speaks and, once again, for someone who is 20 years old, that’s just incredible.”
The Frenchman has already produced enough on the road for Jurdie to feel there is little left to say about his physical ability. “Physically, I don’t even need to talk about it anymore because everyone knows what he can do now,” he said. “He’s a rider who understands all the different parts of cycling, which is what you need to become a great champion.”
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No rush to start planning 2027
Asked what comes next for Seixas, Jurdie was not ready to turn Lombardia into the starting point for another set of targets. “Honestly, no,” he replied when asked whether thoughts had already turned towards next season. “What I want to do now is enjoy this because we mustn’t start treating these things as normal.”
He pointed back to Seixas' victory at La Fleche Wallonne earlier in the season, when another major objective at Liege-Bastogne-Liege followed only days later and limited the opportunity to celebrate.
“We’ll stay restrained in Como as well, but the whole group really needs to enjoy this because you cannot start treating victories like this as normal," he concluded. “It’s still a Monument. Every rider dreams of winning a Monument one day and we know there are very few riders who ever get to realise that dream.”
Lombardia was Seixas' eighth victory of the season and Decathlon CMA CGM's 33rd. With two races still remaining for the wider team, Jurdie said the squad already has a gathering planned to celebrate what has become an extraordinary year.
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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