It was an Il Lombardia for big statements, from a long overdue safety protest to Paul Seixas riding like a real champion – Sean Kelly's Classics column

This year's edition of Il Lombardia felt like a seminal moment. Not least because Paul Seixas scored his first Monument victory in devastating fashion, but also because the riders, amongst themselves, organised a pre-race protest with Remco Evenepoel reading out a statement on the growing issue of rider safety. I'll come back to the Frenchman's victory in a little while, but let's talk about the five-minute protest first. It needed to be done and, honestly, it was long overdue.