Lyon: Isaac Del Toro delivered another climbing performance to take victory atop the iconic Grand Colombier on Stage 7 of the Tour Auvergne-Rh´ne-Alpes, marking his first professional win on French soil. The penultimate stage featured one of the most demanding finales of the race, culminating with the ascent of the Grand Colombier. The day was animated by an early breakaway, but the battle for the stage victory ultimately came down to the favourites on the final climb.
According to Emirates News Agency, a key moment occurred when Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) launched a long-range attack on the lower slopes of the Grand Colombier. Although Ayuso built a significant advantage, Del Toro paced his effort expertly behind. With the support of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates, the Mexican gradually reeled in his rival before making a decisive move inside the final two kilometres. Del Toro caught and passed Ayuso with approximately 1.7km remaining, powering clear to the summit for a solo win.
The stage was marked by misfortune for one of the race's other leading contenders, Paul Seixas, who suffered a heavy crash with around 93km remaining. Despite his effort to fight back into the race, the incident impacted his overall ambitions.
For Del Toro, the victory continues a season that has already included overall wins at the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico. The Mexican demonstrated his climbing prowess on one of French cycling's famous ascents and now heads into the final stage with a strong opportunity to improve his overall standing.
Isaac Del Toro expressed: 'It was a very hard day and a very hard climb. It's hard for me to manage these long climbs but I'm adapting and feeling better in every race. I really wanted to try and take the win today. The team did an incredible job all stage to keep me in position and control the race. I'm really hungry for the racing and I'm very motivated for everything still to come this season. To win on a climb like the Grand Colombier is something really special.'
Stage 7 results saw Del Toro leading with a time of 3:41:41, followed by Juan Ayuso at +24', and Tobias Johannessen at +38'. In the General Classification after stage 7, Luke Tuckwell leads with a total time of 25:59:09, followed by Matteo Jorgenson at +42' and Del Toro at +49'.