Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) has won an action-packed stage 7 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, as Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) holds onto yellow.
The 133.6-kilometre mountain stage featured almost 4,000 metres of climbing, culminating on the Grand Colombier. Approached from its shorter, steeper and lesser-visited side, this 8.4-kilometre climb has an average gradient of 10.2%, with slopes of over 20%.
The stage had proven dramatic from the outset, with more than 10 riders abandoning before the start and GC favourite Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) crashing early on.
But by the foot of the Grand Colombier, a hard-fought five-man breakaway had been neutralised, with the peloton —including Seixas— back together.
Seixas’ efforts, however, had taken their toll. The French rider, along with Tuckwell, was distanced just over two kilometres into the climb.
Capitalising on the gap, Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) attacked with 6.7 kilometres remaining, initially marked by Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike) but then going solo.
Del Toro, sitting on the wheels of a chasing Matteo Jorgensen (Visma-Lease a Bike) launched his own attack just over four kilometres from the summit. He quickly distanced the American rider, and, not long after, caught —and immediately passed— the lone Ayuso.
Del Toro finished with a lead of 24 seconds, moving up to third place on the general classification. Ayuso claimed second place, with Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) completing the podium.
Tuckwell, meanwhile, retained the yellow leader’s jersey, finishing 2 minutes and 33 seconds behind Del Toro.
More to follow…