Strava thinks Seixas was “on a motorbike” at Il Lombardia and rejects eight of his efforts

The historic victory of Paul Seixas in Il Lombardia continues to leave surprising figures. The 20-year-old Frenchman not only conquered his first Monument but also recorded a faster ascent to Civiglio than that registered by Tadej Pogačar in 2022. His performance was so extraordinary that Strava went so far as to exclude eight of his segment records, considering they could have been achieved with some form of external assistance.

The episode became known after the Decathlon CMA CGM rider shared the data from the activity with which he became the youngest winner in the history of Il Lombardia last Saturday. A victory he achieved solo, with a 48-second lead over Enric Mas, and whose analysis is now revealing the true dimension of his attack.

Strava rejects eight records of Paul Seixas after his exhibition in Lombardia, where he broke a Pogačar record

The platform excluded eight of Seixas's efforts from the segment rankings because its automatic system detected values it deemed unlikely for an activity performed without assistance.

RECOMENDADO

The Seixas phenomenon makes his MTB debut: 66th at the Roc d’Azur CIC, won by Sarrou and Maxwell

Pogačar has an heir at Il Lombardia: 20-year-old Seixas wins as Enric Mas surprises in second

The Tour, Giro and Vuelta reject plans to cut the Grand Tours to 16 days

Michael Vanthourenhout and Lucinda Brand win as the Belgian cyclocross season gets underway

100 kg of mussels for the winners: the Belgian cyclocross season gets underway

Strava uses automatic detection systems to prevent activities performed on electric bikes, motorized vehicles, or with incorrect GPS records from altering its rankings.

In fact, the platform itself explains in its documentation that it can exclude certain efforts without invalidating the rest of an activity. That is precisely what happened with Seixas, whose most notable records in Civiglio remained visible.

460 watts average and 38 seconds less than Pogačar in Civiglio

Beyond the Strava anecdote, Seixas's numbers in the decisive climb of Il Lombardia reflect an exceptional performance.

According to data collected by Velon, the Frenchman completed the ascent to Civiglio in 11 minutes and 54 seconds, reducing Pogačar's 12:32 recorded in 2022 by 38 seconds.

The estimated power values from that acceleration, on a climb of approximately 4.1 kilometers and an average gradient of 9.8%, would be as follows:

• Climb time: 11:54.
• Average power: 460 watts.
• Maximum power: 620 watts.
• VAM: 2,031 meters of elevation per hour.
• Difference compared to Pogačar in 2022: 38 seconds.

If we take an estimated weight of 64 kg, the 460 watts would equate to about 7.2 W/kg for nearly 12 minutes, although this relationship should be considered approximate.

The segments recorded on Strava also allow for a direct comparison of the performance of both riders.

In one of them, Seixas set a time of 8:45, compared to Pogačar's 9:09 from 2022. Giulio Ciccone, who finished third in the race, completed that same stretch in 9:04. In another segment of the ascent, the Frenchman recorded 7:08, improving on the Slovenian's 7:29.

An attack that decided much more than a record

The ascent to Civiglio was the decisive moment of Il Lombardia 2026. Seixas took the initiative about 19 kilometers from the finish and increased the pace until he left his main rivals without response, one by one. What is known as a textbook attack. 

Evenepoel and Isaac del Toro were the first to lose contact, while Tom Pidcock and Giulio Ciccone held on a bit longer before finally giving in.

The Frenchman had initially planned to wait a bit longer to attack but ended up making his move earlier, considering the group's pace was not demanding enough.

That decision ultimately provided him with his first victory in a Monument and a place in the history of the Italian classic.

The data also allows us to put his performance in perspective. Although his climb to Civiglio was extraordinary, it does not necessarily represent the greatest effort of his entire season. In the Faun Ardèche Classic in February, he had already shown a capacity to sustain higher relative powers for longer.

What distinguishes his performance in Lombardia is that it came after competing in the World Championship 7 days prior and he made his move after more than 200 kilometers of competition, in the last Monument of the calendar and against some of the best riders in the world.