Three Brutal Summit Finishes: Seixas, Jorgenson, Del Toro and Cycling’s New Guard Get Their Shot

Now things get serious at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Three brutal summit finishes stacked up in the Alps will decide not only who wins France’s second-biggest stage race, but who carries momentum into the Tour de France.

With Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard sitting this one out, the kids finally have the playground to themselves.

That’s what makes this weekend so interesting. Cycling’s young guns — Del Toro, Ayuso, Seixas, Jorgenson, Onley, and Vauquelin — finally get a chance to race for victory instead of fighting over third behind Pog and Vingo.

If you want to see who’s coming for the yellow jersey in the post-Pogačar era, the Dauphiné’s closing weekend is a pretty good place to start.

“All three are real mountain stages, but Friday is the least challenging of the three, but that doesn’t mean it won’t hurt,” Jorgenson said. “I feel good. I’m happy to make it to the weekend in the Alps in the sunshine.”

Several of them will arrive at the Tour de France next month already packing genuine podium ambitions.

Surprise leader Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost) still sits atop the standings, while only three seconds separate Kévin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley (both Netcompany-Ineos), and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) among the main contenders.

“I think Friday there will not be huge gaps between the favorites,” said Baudin, who’s led since his stage 1 raid. “The final climb is not super long, but the fireworks for the GC will definitely start.”

Some say the new-look Dauphiné is a Tour de France preparation race. No way for these guys. They’re racing for the win.

The Alps will decide more than the Dauphiné

After five slow-simmer transition stages, the GC is packed tight among the top pre-race favorites. For once, no one crashed, got sick, or abandoned.

Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) sits 35 seconds back, while Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) and Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) are all within a minute.

One good climb could change everything. Del Toro is trying to tamp down the hype.

“We have to think about the final stages of the week. We’ll need to have the best legs there and we’ll have to race aggressively,” Del Toro told IDL.com. “Hopefully we can really race at the end of the week.”

If the racing wasn’t enough, there are plenty of storylines bubbling beneath the surface.

Perhaps the biggest surprise so far is Seixas. The French phenom lost time on the opening stage and again in the team time trial. He was always expected to attack in the mountains, but now he has no choice.

Jorgenson, a two-time winner at Paris-Nice and runner-up at the 2024 Dauphiné, is looking strong after coming back from a broken clavicle at the Amstel Gold Race.

This weekend will reveal how long he can stay with Del Toro and Seixas when the flares light up in the high Alps.

The Ineos duo of Vauquelin and Onley will want to prove they can finish the job in their new roles as team leaders after a team time trial mixup created a few awkward moments.

“I’m in a good place for the coming days,” Onley said. “We’re in a nice position to be in right now. We got a decent buffer over some of the other GC guys. Jorgenson is only three seconds behind, and if I have the legs to follow Seixas, Del Toro and the Trek boys, I will try.”

Ayuso and Del Toro will want to erase frustrating spring campaigns and prove they’re more than cycling’s princes-in-waiting.

Three stages to decide the crown

The race has been simmering all week. Now come the climbs everyone has been waiting for.

Friday’s stage 6 to Crest-Voland should begin the weeding out process. The 182.3km route packs nearly 3,000 meters of climbing before a relentless uphill grind in the final 20 kilometers.

As Baudin said, Friday is the easiest on paper. Sparks will fly, but the strongest will probably stay close together, unless someone uncorks a massive attack.

“I hope it controlled and we can just ride up the final,” said Jayco’s Luke Plapp. “I hope I can get to the bottom of the last climb and see what’s the best 15-minute effort I can do.”

Saturday’s stage 7 cranks up with a short, savage mountain stage that squeezes more than 3,700 vertical meters into just 133.6km. The day ends atop the legendary Grand Colombier.

Then comes Sunday’s queen stage. The peloton faces a whopping 4,051m of climbing across only 120.1km, with a string of endless climbs before the final showdown atop the spectacular Plateau de Solaison.

“We have three stages ahead of us, so we are looking at three chances to gain back time,” Seixas said. “Today is a 15-minute effort, so it will be a good test for everyone. We will see who has the legs.”

With nearly 11,000 meters of climbing, this is full-gas racing at its crackling best.

Will this new generation follow Pogačar’s playbook and light the fuse from a distance?

Or will they stick to cycling’s old blueprint and wait for the final climb?

Our hunch? The attacks will fly.