In France he has been a star since he was a simple boy, tall and very thin, who took his first steps on a bicycle with that lightness that only great champions have. But now, in the world of two wheels, everyone has noticed him: Paul Seixas, at 20 years old, has transformed from a 'child prodigy' to an established champion.
"Seixasonnail" was the headline for L'Equipe, which in addition to being the main sports newspaper across the Alps is the 'bible' of cycling. The consecration came yesterday with the victory in the Giro di Lombardia. The youngest ever to win this 'Monument' race, the first of a career that promises to be full of successes. The 'cousins' from beyond the Alps make important comparisons such as Bernard Hinault, five-time winner of the Tour de France from 1978 to 1985 or Jacques Anquetil, the first rider in history to win five Tours between 1957 and 1964.
A dream for a nation that hasn't produced great champions on two wheels for years. Italy places its hopes on Lorenzo Mark Finn. Born in Liguria on 19 December 2006, in 2024 and 2025 he won the road world title in the Juniores and Under-23 categories respectively, while in 2026 he became the second cyclist ever to win the Giro Next Gen and the Tour de l'Avenir in the same season.
Who knows if the two will follow in the footsteps of Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel: the former defined as a phenomenon since he was a child, the latter as soon as he moved from football to cycling. Extending the discussion to other sports, Italian attention is focused on 16-year-old Kelly Doualla: born in Pavia on 20 November 2009, she has already become European champion under 20 in the 100 meter dash and the 4x100 meter relay at Tampere 2025. She holds the best European performances under 18 in the 100 meter dash and 60 meter dash indoors.
In March 2026 she made her debut with the senior national team at the World Indoor Championships in Torun, becoming at 16 years and 121 days the youngest debutant in the blue jersey in an international event. In July he won gold in the 100 m dash at the under 18 European Championships. In August he participated in the under 20 World Championships in Eugene, where he won bronze in the 100 meters and gold in the 4x100 meter mixed relay with the new under 20 world record.
There are many athletes who have been promising in sport since they were very young, but very few have kept them. With social media, videos of small 'phenomena' on football fields or basketball and volleyball arenas have multiplied; thousands of reports from talent scouts of new 'Maradonas' or 'Michael Jordans' around the world. You can count on one hand those who have made the leap due to the difficulty of coping with the pressure of expectations or, simply, the changes in their physique have betrayed these guys.
Just read the list of champions who were already considered exceptional as children and then made it: Pelé, starter for Santos as a teenager and world champion at 17; Diego Maradona, considered the best Argentine talent already at 15; Lamine Yamal, precocity record with Barcelona and Spain. In tennis how can we not mention Jennifer Capriati, Martina Hingis, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
Formula 1 offers the names of Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and obviously Kimi Antonelli. The secret of all these would seem to have never lost the joy of playing sports. And Seixas seems to be on the right track: after winning the Giro di Lombardia he returned to France to take part in the Roc d'Azur, a mountain bike race on the French Riviera: "I just wanted to have fun", he said at the finish line after finishing 64th, 13 minutes behind the winner.
