Tuckwell thanks roadside fan for helping him keep yellow jersey: “That gave me motivation”

Luke Tuckwell still has the yellow leader’s jersey on his shoulders after seven days at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but after Stage 7, the 21-year-old Australian seemed to realize that keeping it on the final day will be anything but straightforward. Tuckwell survived, but he has very little room left to play with before the eighth and final stage.

Young Tuckwell surprised friend and foe on Friday by taking yellow from the breakaway. His advantage over the main general classification contenders was also a big one, which meant he started Saturday’s stage 7 with a sizeable buffer. Matteo Jorgenson of Visma | Lease a Bike was the first realistic threat, sitting 2:34 behind.

At the start of the stage, Tuckwell was clearly enjoying himself in the mixed zone. “I didn’t sleep in the yellow jersey, but it was next to me, so that was close enough, haha. I’ve had so many messages that I’m still replying to them. The support has been overwhelming; it’s really special.”

“I was really happy with my performance yesterday,” he continued, referring to Friday’s ride. “That gives me a lot of confidence with what’s coming today and tomorrow. I’ll try to keep the yellow jersey and then we’ll see what the gaps are. I like the final climb, even though it’s the first time I’ll do it. On paper, it should suit me.”

In the flash interview. Tuckwell looked a little more serious. The Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe climber had just lost 2:33 to stage winner Isaac del Toro of UAE Emirates-XRG, and that was a significant blow. “The goal was to do everything I could to defend the jersey. It was a really hard day and the final climb hurt. So I’m happy I still have yellow.”

“I had a nice lead in the general classification, so I didn’t really have to respond and could just ride my own pace,” Tuckwell said as he analyzed his performance. “I was really struggling, but toward the final kilometer someone shouted that I was only one minute behind, so that gave me motivation. I went full gas to the finish and had enough left.”

On the final day, his 2:34 advantage over Jorgenson has been reduced to just 42 seconds, while Del Toro is now 49 seconds behind. Tuckwell knows that winning the race overall will be difficult. “We’ll see. It’s going to be another crazy day. I’ll recover as well as I can and then fight for it. It’s my first year as a pro, and I’m still finding my limits and learning what I need to work on. I’m looking forward to Sunday’s roads.”

In the mixed zone, Tuckwell added: “I was afraid it wasn’t going to be enough, because I was really suffering. But I found my legs again a bit in the final kilometers.”

Author: David Bavin-Hobbs - [email protected]