For any other 19-year-old rider, riding not only their first Il Lombardia but their first Monument of any kind, finishing seventh and becoming the youngest Monument top 10 finisher in over 100 years would be a huge achievement.
But for Paul Seixas, who achieved exactly that on Saturday, bettering riders like Egan Bernal and Jay Vine to finish where he did, there was still some disappointment at the end of his extraordinary first professional season.
Only turning 19 at the end of September, the prodigious Seixas has immediately rubbed shoulders with the best in the WorldTour in 2025, only dipping into under-23 level once to win the Tour de l'Avenir, and most recently finishing third at the European Championships behind only Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel.
With such impressive results to his name, and a lot of expectations on his shoulders – both from outside and from within – it was clear that the Frenchman's ambitions are higher than finishing seventh.
"I'm a bit disappointed because I was in the right group, but then I was done, and the riders in front were stronger," he told the media at the finish of Lombardia. "I fought until the end, I gave everything, and that's what I wanted to do today."
His immediate reaction was to point out the moments that could have gone better, as he suffered in some of the key moments towards the end of the race.
"I felt like my legs were a bit better than last week," he said, referencing the European Championships.
As pointed out by L'Équipe, finishing seventh at 19 years old makes Seixas the youngest rider in a men's Monument top 10 since 1917, when Luigi Cuppi finished fourth in Milan-San Remo at 18.
Seixas pointed out the length and difficulty of his first-ever Monument at still only a teenager as something that perhaps limited him on Saturday.
"In the end, maybe it was the distance and the high pace, but I got caught out a bit on a descent, positioning was hard, and at the last moment before the descent, I got caught a bit far back, and the effort I had to put in to get back probably cost me a bit," he said.
"Then, honestly, I felt good even on the last climb, like I said, maybe a bit better than last week, either way, really good, and I did what I could with the legs on the day. I'm a bit disappointed to have ended up alone [at points] because I was pretty knocked out on the descent, and being alone didn't help. But then I rejoined a small group, and I managed to recharge a bit for the finish."
However, after his initial dissection and some reminders from the assembled press that he had just finished seventh in his first-ever Monument, Seixas did start to reflect positively on what he had achieved.
"At the end I was spent, I gave everything to get the best result, and seventh already is really good," he said.
"It's really great, and also I was too far back to fight with the group that went for the podium so it's a great way to end the season."
Seventh in Lombardy is indeed a high point to finish Seixas' debut season where, particularly in recent weeks, he has proved his worth against the very best riders in the world, and he pointed to that mental belief and confidence as just as important as the physical performances.
"I've passed a physical milestone but also a mental milestone, where I can now tell myself that I have a place [amongst the best riders] and I'm managing to hold on a little better," he said. "That's all the work of the whole season paying off, and I'm happy to finish off on a good note."
