Biggest surprise in France comes from ‘silver’ Tuckwell: “Maxim Van Gils saved me”

With only two teammates left around him, neo-pro Luke Tuckwell began what looked like an impossible task in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. In the final stage, Isaac Del Toro ultimately proved far too strong, but the young Australian still did something few had thought possible: he rode to second place in the final general classification. And that would not have happened without teammate Maxim Van Gils.

Tuckwell had taken the yellow jersey in the sixth stage, won by Van Gils, and managed to keep his lead through the penultimate stage. But before the start of the final day, he already knew it would be extremely difficult to hold onto yellow. “It’s going to be really tough,” he told CyclingPro.net. “It’s going to be one of those days where the legs have to do the talking. I’ll do everything I can and ride as hard as possible uphill, and then we’ll see what the result is.”

The 21-year-old climber was therefore not really focused on trying to win the overall classification. “The goal is to ride as well as possible and get the best possible result, whether that’s with the jersey, a podium place, a top five or a top ten. I think I can already be more than happy with how I’ve ridden this week. This jersey already feels like a victory to me. I have nothing to lose.”

And so Tuckwell set off on a mission impossible. With only Van Gils and Gianni Vermeersch by his side — the rest of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe had already abandoned — he held on until nine kilometers from the finish. Then he was dropped, but he never cracked. He crossed the line in eighth place and kept just enough of an advantage to stay ahead of Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) in the battle for second overall.

When he was told after the finish what he had achieved, Tuckwell could hardly believe it. “Really? Oh my god!” he shouted, exhausted, during the post-race interview. It was partly thanks to Van Gils, who dragged him up almost the entire climb. “I knew from the bottom what pace I had to ride. But Maxim saved me. Without him, I would have had a much harder time. It has been a team performance this week. I can’t describe it.”

Tuckwell has only just turned professional. Last year, he finished second in the Giro Next Gen, where he was also ridden out of the leader’s jersey on the final stage. But in the pro ranks, he had already finished sixth in the Tour de Romandie in May. “I don’t think I realize it yet. I need some time to let it sink in. It’s crazy. As a neo-pro, I could never have expected this.”

So what is the secret behind the young Australian? Despite his strong performances at under-23 level, he still seems to have come from almost nowhere. “I keep improving without doing anything special,” he explained. “I enjoy my time at home, and I haven’t done any altitude camps. Just being at home in a good mental state has made the difference.”

That mental state undoubtedly helped him in his fight on the Plateau de Solaison. Tuckwell himself thought he would lose far more ground. “I knew I had a minute on Ayuso and forty seconds on Jorgenson. I wasn’t too worried about the lead, because I knew Isaac was so strong. To lose only one place is unbelievable.”

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]