Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) snatched the overall title at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, producing a commanding display to win his second successive stage and wrestle the yellow jersey from the shoulders of Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) on the final day.
Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) came out on top on another barmy day at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, celebrating alone atop the Grand Colombier to win stage 7. The Mexican caught and passed early attacker Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) 1,500 metres from the summit of the hors-catégorie climb, opening a 24-second gap on the Spaniard, with Tobias Halland Johanessen (Uno-X) finishing third at 38 seconds.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe claimed a knock-out double triumph in a dramatically unpredictable first high mountain stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Friday as Maxim Van Gils outsprinted Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) for a summit finish victory and young Australian teammate Luke Tuckwell moved into the lead.
Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) put to bed any doubts surrounding his form ahead of the Tour de France with a dominant sprint win on stage 5 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in Villars-les-Dombes. The Belgian hit the front and was never passed, looking in full control as he beat Hugo Hofstetter (NSN) and Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) to the line.
Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) sprinted to victory on stage 4 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, surging from a 10-rider breakaway that barely held off the fast-closing peloton. Finn Fisher-Black (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) went second and Mattéo Vercher (TotalEnergies) took third, with GC leader Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) finishing in the chase behind, just four seconds back.
Visma-Lease a Bike overcame some notable setbacks to safely outpower the opposition in the crucial Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes team time trial on stage 3, blasting home nine seconds faster than Netcompany Ineos and 29 seconds on third-placed EF Education-EasyPost.
For the second stage in row, a solo attacker claimed the stage in the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, with Anthon Charming claiming the day. The Uno-X rider did not take over the race lead as EF Education-EasyPost worked to keep Alex Baudin in the yellow jersey ahead of the team time trial.
French rider Alex Baudin took the biggest win of his career on stage 1 of the renamed Critérium du Dauphiné – now the Tour-Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes – surviving in front after more than 120km in the day's early breakaway and 28km solo. Baudin emerged as the strongest rider from a 10-rider group that emerged on the first uncategorised climb out of Vizille on Sunday.
Critérium du Dauphiné - Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes history
The Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is the new name for Critérium du Dauphiné, with organisers claiming it reflects the support of the host regions, than now includes deepr into central France.
The eight-day WorldTour competition, June 7-14, serves as a traditional build-up for the Tour de France and is also a prestigious victory on any riders palmares.
The race was first held in 1947, created by newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré much like the Tour started as a circulation booster for l’Auto. Originally branded as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, ASO took the reins and changed the name in 2010.
Although the Dauphiné is considered a test for the Tour, only 11 riders have won both races, Bernard Hinault the first to do so in 1979 and 1981. Chris Froome won both races across 2013, 2015 and 2016. Since then, Geraint Thomas (2018) and Jonas Vingegaard (2023) have scored the double in the same year. Last year's winner Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) pulled out of the Tour ahead of stage 13 after crashing several times.
The most victories in the Dauphiné by a single rider stands at three: Luis Ocana (1970, 1972, 1973), Bernard Hinault (1977, 1979, 1981), Charly Mottet (1987, 1989, 1992), and Chris Froome (2013, 2015, 2016) are all tied for the record.