'He's a great champion' - Decathlon celebrate Seixas's historic Il Lombardia victory

Paul Seixas and his Decathlon-CMA CGM teammates and staff let out their emotions as they celebrated victory at Il Lombardia, gathering for a special podium team photo, opening bottles of champagne, drinking a quick beer together and savouring the moment.

At just 20, Seixas was the youngest winner in the history of Il Lombardia, and the fourth-youngest winner of a Monument Classic. He followed Julian Alaphilippe as the last French Monument winner and admitted he was inspired to race after watching Thibaut Pinot win Il Lombardia in Como in 2018.

Seixas is a generational super talent who seems to be creating his own cycling destiny race after race, victory coming quickly after any defeat, out performing even the wildest hopes and ambitions of those around him.

L'Equipe's analyst Alex Roos suggested that Seixas' Il Lombardia victory marked the end of his innocence, with the next step and next goal to go head to head with Tadej Pogačar in other Classics and at the Tour de France.

Seixas genuinely couldn't believe that he had won Il Lombardia when he crossed the finish overlooking Lake Como. His team staff rushed to hug and celebrate with him, all equally overjoyed.

Seixas took a long slug on a bottle of water and then reached for his race radio. "Thanks for everything! We did it guys!" he screamed.

At the same time, sports director Julien Jurdie could not hold back his emotions in the Decathlon team car.

"I can't take it all in," Jurdie said in footage captured by an in-car video camera.

"We did it guys! It's f*cking crazy. He won a f*cking Monument! This is historic. Congrats to everyone. I'm proud of you all," he screamed down the race radio to his riders, before breaking into tears.

Seixas sang the French national on the Il Lombardia podium, struggling to believe he had won a Monument Classic at just 20. His Decathlon-CMA CGM teammates and staff all came to the podium and after the formal podium protocol and photo opportunities they celebrated together.

Later at the team bus there was time to raise a glass in celebration and for a quick speech from Seixas. He had a four-hour drive to France to ride the Roc d'Azur mountain bike event early on Sunday morning but spoke like a true team leader.

"Thanks for all your work, the riders and all the staff, for everything you did here and all season," Seixas said.

"We finished on a high, winning a huge Monument, we all deserve to enjoy this. But it's just the beginning, we'll be back for another great season. Lets hope for more like this."

Loyal domestique and close friend Nicolas Prodhomme joked that he would have to stop calling Seixas 'kid' and opt for a more formal and respectful 'monsieur'.

Tiesj Benoot is the Decathlon road captain and has won two Tour de France with Visma | Lease a Bike and Olympic gold with Remco Evenepoel, but had never won a Monument with a team.

"It's a special moment. It is wonderful to end the season like this," he told Sporza.

Benoot saw Seixas's Civiglio attack on the screen in the second Decathlon team car.

"I saw how Paul set the pace and dropped everyone one by one," he said. "It was really impressive. A goosebumps moment during the race. If you can do that, it's fun, right?

"Paul listens carefully when I say something and he learns very quickly. He's a bit like a sponge. We don't know where it will end for him. He can handle three weeks and he can handle a Monument. He has no limits at the moment, or at least none that we know."