Tadej Pogacar’s key domestique, Isaac del Toro, heads to the Tour de France on the back of a prestigious victory. The Mexican stage race specialist claimed overall victory in the gruelling Tour Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes, formerly better known as the Critérium du Dauphiné. Del Toro also won Sunday’s mountain finish on the Plateau de Solaison, having already triumphed on the Grand Colombier the day before.
The French prodigy Paul Seixas, however, was forced to withdraw on Sunday after suffering a serious fall during a descent in the French Jura Mountains on Saturday. Despite this, he had still managed to finish the stage there, albeit with grazes and a deficit of 1 minute and 21 seconds.
Tuckwell must hand over the yellow card
Del Toro won on Sunday after 120.1 kilometres, finishing a minute ahead of the Spaniard Juan Ayuso in a solo breakaway, thereby taking the yellow jersey from the Australian Luke Tuckwell. However, the Red Bull professional still secured second place overall, 54 seconds behind.
“It’s absolutely brilliant to have secured this victory. It’s incredible,” said del Toro: “Winning this race means a great deal to me.”
Del Toro, who finished second in the Giro last year, is set to be the main support rider for four-time champion Pogacar in the Tour. He says he will support his team leader “full throttle”. The Mexican is tipped to one day succeed the exceptional Slovenian rider.
Copyright 2026, dpa (www.dpa.de). All rights reserved
