{"id":205442,"date":"2026-06-06T05:20:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=205442"},"modified":"2026-06-06T05:25:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T05:25:49","slug":"seixas-takes-on-del-toro-ayuso-in-tour-auvergne-formerly-criterium-du-dauphine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/06\/06\/seixas-takes-on-del-toro-ayuso-in-tour-auvergne-formerly-criterium-du-dauphine\/","title":{"rendered":"Seixas Takes on del Toro, Ayuso in Tour Auvergne (Formerly Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Let\u2019s say, arbitrarily, that the Tour Auvergne\u2013Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes \u2013 the race formerly known as the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9\u00a0\u2013 is the start of preparations for the 2026 Tour de France. It isn\u2019t, of course. Riders targeting the TdF yellow jersey have been preparing for it for months, if not longer. (One could say that Remco Evenepoel started preparing for it when he transferred last year from Soudal Quick-Step to Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe.)<\/strong><\/p>\n

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As this year\u2019s Tour looks to be the most exciting in decades, with four potential winners (let\u2019s call them the Fab Four) \u2013 Tadej Poga\u010dar (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG), Jonas Vingegaard (Visma\u2013Lease a Bike), Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Remco Evenepoel \u2013 this race will be watched with great interest. The primary reason is the 19-year-old Seixas, who has so far lived up to all the hype that accompanied him since his early years on the road.<\/p>\n

The favourite?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Seixas was not originally scheduled to ride the Tour de France, but after victories in\u00a0La Fl\u00e8che Wallonne\u00a0and Itzulia Basque Country, plus impressive second-place finishes behind Poga\u010dar at Strade Bianche and\u00a0Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge, his coaches changed their minds. After that excellent spring, the teenage superstar went to a high-altitude training camp and reportedly<\/a> put up very impressive numbers while riding some 1,500 km, including 37,000 metres of climbing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am looking at this Tour Auvergne\u2013Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes with a lot of ambition after three weeks at altitude,\u201d the confident Seixas said in a press release<\/a>. \u201cThis week is very important for me because I can compare my feelings, especially in terms of recovery, with last year. I was eighth then. It\u2019s the roads I know well, the roads of my home region. I will go for the win, and hope to build further on the foundations we have laid together with the whole team at the start of the year, towards the Tour de France.\u201d<\/p>\n

All eyes \u2013 especially those of French cycling fans \u2013 will be on him when the Tour Auvergne kicks off on Sunday with a tough stage that includes five categorised climbs culminating in a modest uphill finish.<\/p>\n

The other favourite<\/strong><\/h2>\n

His main rival looks to be another cycling prodigy, 22-year-old Isaac del Toro, Poga\u010dar\u2019s<\/a> lieutenant in the Tour and winner of this year\u2019s UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico. He will be supported here by another strong UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG GC rider, Jo\u00e3o Almeida. Or vice versa. Depending on early results, del Toro may be supporting Almeida, who has Grand Tour ambitions of his own.<\/p>\n

Both riders are returning from injuries and have not ridden in two months. But, as <\/span>Jhonatan Narv\u00e1ez showed in the Giro, where he was in the form of his life after missing more than four months of racing, that is no handicap for a UAE rider. So either of them \u2013 though especially del Toro \u2013 will provide a real test for the young Frenchman. Seixas raced against del Toro in the Strade Bianche, where the Mexican sat on his wheel while he was trying to chase down Poga\u010dar, and then appeared to let him beat him to the line as a courtesy. But I think the Seixas riding in the Tour Auvergne will be a much-improved version of the rider we saw in the Strade Bianche.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes (@criteriumdudauphine)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n