Pogačar will have liked what he saw from Del Toro and Seixas in Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes mountain stage
CyclingSaturday, 13 June 2026 at 16:28
Isaac del Toro won stage 7 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The 22-year-old Mexican proved the strongest of the GC riders on the brutally steep Grand Colombier, although Juan Ayuso, with an attack, and Paul Seixas, after a 70-kilometer chase following a crash, also made a major impression. Luke Tuckwell of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe lost time, but kept the yellow jersey.
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After an unbelievable number of riders who were ill, weakened or otherwise struggling failed to make it to the start, the action began even before the official start. Daniel Felipe Martínez of Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Alex Diaz of Caja Rural-Seguros RGA and Gal Glivar of Alpecin-Premier Tech all hit the deck during the neutralized section, after which Glivar was forced to abandon.
Once Martínez and Diaz had returned after medical attention, the start signal could finally be given. Because the race immediately began with the Col du Banchet, a second-category climb averaging just over five percent, several well-known climbers were instantly on the attack. Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal Quick-Step and Kévin Vauquelin of Netcompany INEOS were among those brave early attempts.
Together with mountain classification leader Clément Braz Afonso of Groupama-FDJ United, the two Frenchmen crossed the summit, but the peloton was never far behind. Braz Afonso also picked up the mountain point on the Col de la Crusille, but was brought back when he tried to continue alone toward the Côte de Saint-Maurice-de-Rotherens. The pace was so high that riders such as Luke Plapp of Jayco AlUla were already being dropped at the back of the peloton.
Luckily for the dropped riders, the organization intervened when it became clear there was gravel on the road during the descent after the third climb of the day. That was deemed too dangerous, so the peloton descended in neutralized formation. Once at the bottom, six riders were given a small advantage, which they had earned before the neutralization.
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Seixas crashes and is forced into chase mode
With 103.6 kilometers to go, the race officially resumed, and there was immediately more drama. While attacks were flying at the front, the white young rider’s jersey of Paul Seixas was suddenly on the ground. The Frenchman from Decathlon CMA CGM had crashed hard onto his knees and needed a moment to recover before he could continue after a quick check.
Seixas was immediately three minutes behind the peloton, as the battle to form the breakaway was still in full swing. Decathlon therefore had to drop riders back to help him. Daan Hoole and Stefan Bissegger were the first to do so, but they could not prevent the deficit from growing from three minutes to four. Once the road began to climb again on the Lacets du Grand Colombier, however, Seixas appeared to find his rhythm.
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Seixas makes it back after strong breakaway finally gets away
The climb began with 65 kilometers still to race, and there was still no breakaway. That was bad news for Seixas, who was being helped uphill by Aurélien Paret-Peintre. When a strong group finally went clear on the fourth climb of the day, it immediately changed the situation. UAE Emirates-XRG tried to calm the peloton down a little, and Seixas quickly reduced his gap to the bunch to one minute.
At the front, the group eventually consisted of Quinn Simmons of Lidl-Trek, Laurens De Plus, Carlos Rodriguez of Netcompany INEOS, Valentin Paret-Peintre of Soudal Quick-Step, George Bennett of NSN and Clément Berthet of Groupama-FDJ United, with Berthet having taken the mountain points. Simmons, however, dropped back to set the pace in the peloton for Lidl-Trek.
In that sense, Seixas returned just in time, thanks also to another big effort from Léo Bisiaux. The Frenchman could finally take a breath, while UAE, Lidl-Trek and Visma | Lease a Bike all organized themselves and began chasing the breakaway. Heading toward the Col de Richemond, De Plus, Rodriguez, Paret-Peintre, Bennett and Berthet had only 55 seconds left.
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GC battle turned upside down on Grand Colombier
At the foot of the Col de Richemond, 7.7 kilometers at six percent, there were still 30 kilometers to ride, with everyone knowing the real fight would explode on the Grand Colombier. By that point, the breakaway had already been caught, as the GC teams immediately went full gas. The pace was so hard that Tuckwell and Seixas briefly struggled to breathe, although both managed to return.
Visma | Lease a Bike set the tempo with Ben Tulett for Matteo Jorgenson, but it was Ayuso who surprised everyone with an attack seven kilometers from the top. The Spaniard from Lidl-Trek initially had Tulett with him, but quickly shook him off. Seixas and Tuckwell were dropped again, leaving only five chasers: Jorgenson, Tulett, Isaac del Toro, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Cian Uijtdebroeks.
Ayuso opened up a gap of more than 20 seconds on the five, but when Seixas, in the background, found what looked like an eighth wind and began closing in on the chase group, Del Toro rose out of the saddle. The Mexican powered clear, but on gradients above 10 percent, and at times even 20 percent, he too had to dig deep. It was only inside the final two kilometers that he finally caught Ayuso.
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Del Toro accelerates as Seixas reaches his limit
Everyone could see what was about to happen, and it happened exactly that way. Del Toro left Ayuso behind, and suddenly the gaps started growing. Johannessen and Uijtdebroeks rode clear of Jorgenson, but by then they were already 50 seconds behind Del Toro. Seixas, after a truly bizarre day, was completely on the limit. The Frenchman was going to lose a significant amount of time, just like Tuckwell.
When the stopwatch was pressed at the top, Del Toro was followed by Ayuso at 24 seconds. Johannessen finished third at 38 seconds, while Jorgenson and Uijtdebroeks crossed the line together, 41 seconds down. Seixas may well have been the hero of the day despite finishing seventh, 1:21 behind the winner.
Results of Stage 7 of the 2026 Tour d'Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Author: David
Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]
IDL-productions
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Latest Comments
- - Van Aert saying this was his last realistic chance before the mountains and then delivering is peak Wout. If he’s already sprinting like this, can’t wait to see what he does on those punchy mountain finishes later in the week.raceready711-06-2026
- - Interesting contrast with stageyesterday’s break survives, today the teams don’t give them an inch. Bahrain, Tudor, and Visma clearly learned their lesson. Reinderink looked lively though — Soudal are getting him in the right moves.tourdeforce911-06-2026
- - Feel a bit bad for INEOS there — Tarling had the legs but that move totally boxed in Godon. Classic chaos in the final kilometre. Still, Hofstetter sneaking into second was impressive given how Visma controlled everything.sprocketspiny11-06-2026
- - What a clinic from Visma | Lease a Bike. Affini’s lead-out was ice-cold and Van Aert finished it off perfectly. You can tell he’s sharpening up for the Tour — picking his moments, staying patient, then boom. Also, shout-out to Armirail for that monster pull with 3 km to go.velodromevirtuoso111-06-2026
- - Quinn Simmons deserved the win—break had real horsepower—but I’m already excited for the next stages. If Visma gets their preferred scenario (smaller break), Wout’s right there for a proper shot. Great read, thanks Gauthier!pedalpowe2910-06-2026
- - The honesty from Wout is refreshing. Asking the team to trust him in the morning, then paying it back with legs in the finale—even if it’s only for 11th—says a lot. Paris-Roubaix winner doesn’t need to prove anything, but this shows the engine is back online.jennifer1910-06-2026
- - That was a textbook “too many in the move” scenario. Pairs up the road and half the peloton missing it—no way you bring that back without full cooperation. Still, Visma did a massive pull and Wout finished it off with the bunch sprint. Encouraging signs.bikebuffj10-06-2026
- - Loved seeing Wout smiling again. Winning the bunch sprint after the TTT struggles shows the form is coming. If he keeps building like this, the next real chance could turn into a win. Break was just stacked today.tourdeforce910-06-2026
- - The management changes are big news, but I like his perspective: day-to-day is about riders, DS, and coaches. Still, saying he’ll miss Guercilena shows maturity. If he keeps showing this level after his altitude block, I don’t see how they leave him off the Tour roster.robert6510-06-2026
- - Interesting that Wednesday wasn’t even his target stage. Sometimes the best wins come when you’re not forcing it. If Lidl-Trek is taking Ayuso and Skjelmose for GC, a Simmons in this kind of form feels like a perfect engine for break stages and tough transitional days in July.andrewf10-06-2026
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