Decathlon complicated the race yesterday, but today the best Seixas is expected at the Grand Colombier

The seventh stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 promises to be one of the great moments of the season for Paul Seixas before his debut in the Tour. The stage between La Bridoire and the Grand Colombier, spanning 133.6 kilometers, will start this Saturday at 12:15 PM and finish around 4:00 PM, with an explosive conclusion on one of the toughest and most iconic climbs in French cycling. A setting that seems designed for the young talent from Decathlon CMA CGM to launch his major offensive in the general classification.

After yesterday's chaos, Seixas seeks to deliver a definitive blow to the Dauphiné

The situation, however, is more complicated than it seemed just 24 hours ago. The first mountaintop finish of the race confirmed that Seixas is probably the strongest climber among the favorites, but it also left his team in a delicate position after a chaotic day that allowed Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) to don the yellow jersey with a lead of 3:06 over the Frenchman.

A tactical error that affected the entire stage

The sixth stage left one of the strangest situations of the race. A breakaway of nearly 60 riders managed to gain a gap from the first kilometers, and Decathlon CMA CGM was the only team in the peloton that failed to place any rider in the front group.

This forced the French team to take on the responsibility of chasing for hours. Stefan Bissegger and Daan Hoole made a huge effort to keep the gap under control, but the wear and tear was considerable and ultimately took its toll on both the team and Seixas's options.

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While the Decathlon men worked at the front of the peloton, Tuckwell took advantage of his presence in the break to gain precious time. The Australian not only helped Maxim Van Gils secure the stage victory but also became the new leader of the race.

Seixas left the best possible message in the mountains

Beyond the final result of the stage, the Frenchman's performance was probably the most important news for the battle for the general classification.

On the climb to Crest-Voland, Seixas increased the pace from the base of the ascent and eliminated rivals one by one. Only Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma Lease a Bike) were initially able to respond to his acceleration.

As the kilometers passed, even Jorgenson had to give way to avoid a greater crisis. Juan Ayuso and Mattias Skjelmose also could not keep up with the pace set by the Frenchman, although they managed to limit their losses to just over twenty seconds.

The feeling left by the stage was clear: Seixas was the strongest climber among the favorites. The problem is that the advantage accumulated by the breakaway significantly reduced the impact of his display.

The Grand Colombier arrives at the perfect moment

If the final climb on Friday served as a first test, today's stage represents a much more serious exam for all the contenders for the final victory.

The route includes five categorized climbs and two passes over the Grand Colombier. The final ascent will be tackled from Virieu-le-Petit, a particularly demanding slope with 8.4 kilometers at an average gradient of 10.2% and long sections above double digits.

On paper, this is a much more favorable terrain for Seixas than the finish at Crest-Voland. The difficulty of the climb and the preceding mountain chain should allow the Frenchman to fully exploit his qualities as a climber.

That is why many believe that this Saturday could see the first major blow from the young French rider in the general classification.

Del Toro will be his main rival

The other major conclusion from Friday's stage was the excellent level shown by Isaac Del Toro.

The Mexican was the only rider who responded with apparent ease to Seixas's changes of pace and confirmed that he is going through one of the best moments of his career. His victories this season in the UAE Tour and the Tirreno-Adriatico had already demonstrated his progression, but now he seems ready to battle toe-to-toe with the great French phenomenon.

Behind them are riders like Matteo Jorgenson, Juan Ayuso, or Mattias Skjelmose, although all of them showed certain difficulties when Seixas increased the pace in the first alpine finish.

A decisive weekend for Seixas's story

After Friday's stage, Seixas himself made it clear what the strategy of Decathlon CMA CGM will be for the weekend.

"Now we really have to toughen up the race", explained the Frenchman after the stage.

It will not be an easy task. The team has reached this point in the race with only six riders in competition, and several of them are specialists more suited to flat terrain than high mountains. Even so, the French leader knows he has no other option if he wants to recover the lost time.

The good news for him is that the terrain seems to play completely in his favor. Yesterday, Decathlon CMA CGM complicated the race on a day that required enormous collective effort. Today, however, a climb capable of making significant differences arrives, and a perfect setting for Paul Seixas to confirm what he already hinted at in Crest-Voland: that he is the strongest man in this Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.