Tadej Pogačar 'will probably have to shorten his vacation' to prepare for battles with Paul Seixas next season, says Marc Madiot

Groupama-FDJ United president Marc Madiot has said that Tadej Pogačar "will probably have to shorten his vacation" to prepare for next season after watching Paul Seixas triumph at Il Lombardia.

The French racer has enjoyed a phenomenal rise to the top of the sport this season, winning La Flèche Wallonne, Itzulia Basque Country, and the Italian Monument, as well as finishing fourth on his Tour de France debut.

Still just 20, Seixas became the youngest Il Lombardia winner in history and the youngest winner of any Monument since 1945 on Saturday, and looks set to rival the all-conquering Pogačar in the coming years.

"I had a thought yesterday for Pogačar, who will probably have to shorten his vacation to prepare for next season. So that promises us some great races next year," Madiot told RMC Sport podcast Les Grandes Gueules du Sport after Il Lombardia.

"I'm convinced of one thing: he spent the afternoon in front of his TV on his couch over in Monaco, and he must have said to himself, 'Oh boy! We'd better shorten the vacation rather than extend it.'"

With no Pogačar on the start line in Bergamo on Saturday, Seixas started the second Il Lombardia of his career as one of the top favourites.

He duly delivered on that status, leaving behind Vuelta a España champion Enric Mas, European champion Remco Evenepoel, World Champion Brandon McNulty, and others, 18km from the finish to solo home and win.

The triumph ranks as the biggest of the eight in Seixas' career to date, but Madiot said it doesn't change anything about his soaring trajectory; rather, it's a confirmation of what we already knew.

"[The win] doesn't change anything. It's the continuity, the confirmation of what we assumed: that he is an exceptional talent, extremely precocious. He often hits the target right in the centre, so this is continuity. It's the validation of a first season at the highest level," Madiot said, before adding that the manner of Seixas' victory was reminiscent of Pogačar.

"To win, he had no choice. We know that if he comes to a sprint, it's pretty complicated with the candidates remaining around him. But he put the peloton under pressure – well, what was left of the peloton – and then, as soon as he got a 5-metre gap, we knew it was over.

"It's a bit reminiscent of the Pogačar methodology: you put them under pressure and ultimately make the last remaining leaders explode."