{"id":1973324,"date":"2026-06-04T13:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1973324"},"modified":"2026-06-04T13:41:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T10:41:08","slug":"no-vingegaard-no-pogacar-the-dauphine-could-be-this-summers-most-exciting-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1973324","title":{"rendered":"No Vingegaard. No Pogacar: The Dauphin\u00e9 Could Be This Summer’s Most Exciting Race"},"content":{"rendered":"
Paul Seixas and Isaac del Toro are racing for victory this week, Tour de France dreams next month, and perhaps cycling\u2019s future over the next decade.<\/p>\n
The newly rebranded Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes \u2014 formerly the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 \u2014 has long been cycling\u2019s most reliable Tour de France crystal ball.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s edition (June 7-14) is even more tantalizing as it delivers a front-row seat to cycling\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Neither Tadej Poga\u010dar nor Jonas Vingegaard will be hogging the podiums. The Dane is recovering after winning the Giro d\u2019Italia and UAE kingpin is cooling his jets for the Tour de Suisse.<\/p>\n
Their absence leaves a rare opening for every budding GC rider in the peloton.<\/p>\n
And it could make the former Dauphin\u00e9 this summer\u2019s most exciting race.<\/p>\n
Taking center stage are two of cycling\u2019s most talked-about young talents: Seixas of Decathlon CMA CGM and Del Toro of UAE Emirates-XRG.<\/p>\n
Both will make their Tour de France debuts next month. Both have generated extraordinary hype.<\/p>\n
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And for the first time, they will face off in the French Alps, on the same brutal climbs where Tour de France dreams are made and broken.<\/p>\n
Seixas: \u2018Aiming for victory\u2019<\/h2>\n
The Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes \u2014 contested in eight stages across the French Alps \u2014 has always mattered because it reveals both cycling\u2019s present and the future.<\/p>\n
With the peloton\u2019s Tour kings sitting this one out, the spotlight shifts away from the sport\u2019s reigning giants and onto the riders who could shape cycling\u2019s next era.<\/p>\n
Seixas comes with confidence and a strong team, including American climber Matthew Riccitello.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m approaching this race with high ambitions after three weeks of altitude training,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m aiming for victory and to further refine the strategies we\u2019ve developed since the beginning of the year with the whole team in preparation for the Tour de France.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet neither Seixas nor Del Toro arrives carrying the same narrative from six months ago.<\/p>\n
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The French teenager has spent the 2026 season blowing away expectations \u2014 from challenging Poga\u010dar directly at Strade Bianche and Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge to winning the Itzulia Basque Country.<\/p>\n
Can he do it again across eight stages over the French Alps?<\/p>\n
Del Toro back in the saddle<\/h2>\n
Standing in his way is Del Toro, whose season was derailed by a stage 3 crash at the Itzulia Basque Country that left him with a thigh muscle tear, hip contusions, and road rash. The Mexican has not raced since.<\/p>\n
While Del Toro recovered, Seixas was smashing KOMs across Spain and France.<\/p>\n
The Mexican vows to come out swinging.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe level of racing will be high, no doubt, as a lot of the peloton are preparing for the Tour, but I think we are ready. It\u2019s been a while now since my last race and I\u2019m excited to pin a race number on again,\u201d Del Toro said.<\/p>\n
Del Toro will want to take full advantage of racing without his boss in the bunch.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI\u2019m excited for the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes. It\u2019s my first time at the race and I hope it will be the start of a beautiful summer of racing in France for me,\u201d he said. \u201cTraining has been going well, and things are going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
UAE is also bringing Jo\u00e3o Almeida as a protected GC option, reducing the pressure on Del Toro as he returns from nearly two months away from racing.<\/p>\n
If Almeida is racing for GC, Del Toro may hold back early and go all-in for stages in the closing weekend and set up the Seixas showdown everyone wants to see.<\/p>\n
Where the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes will be won<\/h2>\n(Photo: ASO)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Of course, Seixas and Del Toro are not the only two racing in France.<\/p>\n
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek), K\u00e9vin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley (Netcompany-Ineos), and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) headline the loaded start list.<\/p>\n
Jorgenson, a Dauphin\u00e9 runner-up in 2024, and Ayuso both return from injury, eager to remind the peloton they belong in this conversation too.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s not going to be an easy race. There is some tough competition, so I\u2019m sure it will be an exciting race for people to watch. I hope to be a key animator for the GC battle,\u201d Ayuso said. \u201cMy 2026 season has been a mix, as I got some good results and then suffered because of crashes and illnesses. These couple of months without racing have given me the opportunity to really reset.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is cycling\u2019s next wave assembled in one place, many of them racing not only for victory but for their own position in the sport\u2019s reshuffled hierarchy.<\/p>\n
The eight-stage course starting Sunday in Vizille is an ideal testing ground. The first real selection will come in Tuesday\u2019s 28.4km team time trial around Perreux before the race turns decisively toward the mountains.<\/p>\n
Three summit finishes on the final weekend, including the Grand Colombier and Plateau de Solaison, will offer a clear indication of where everyone stands ahead of the Tour de France.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how to watch it happen.<\/p>\n
GC wide open in the French Alps<\/h2>\n
This could be one of the most fun and exciting stage races of the season.<\/p>\n
With neither Poga\u010dar nor Vingegaard to snuff out the drama, the Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes is suddenly up for grabs. Remco Evenepoel is also staying away, opting for a radical race-free approach to July.<\/p>\n
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For riders like Del Toro, Seixas, Jorgenson, Ayuso, and a handful of others, opportunities like this do not come around often.<\/p>\n
The winner atop the Plateau de Solaison next weekend won\u2019t just claim the biggest victory of their season, they\u2019ll also seize the momentum heading into the Tour de France.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s part of what makes this year\u2019s new-look Dauphin\u00e9 so fascinating.<\/p>\n
The Tour de France ultimately crowns cycling\u2019s champions.<\/p>\n
The Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes may tell us who is next in line.<\/p>\n
2026 Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes stages<\/h2>\n
Stage 1:<\/strong> Mountain, June 7 \u2014 Vizille to Saint-Ismier, 146.2km<\/p>\n
Stage 2:<\/strong> Hilly, June 8 \u2014 Saint-Martin-Le-Vinoux to Le Puy-en-Velay, 234.3km<\/p>\n
Stage 3:<\/strong> Team Time Trial, June 9 \u2014 Perreux to Perreux, 28.4km<\/p>\n
Stage 4:<\/strong> Hilly, June 10 \u2014 Le Puy-en-Velay to Montrond-les-Bains, 167.4km<\/p>\n
Stage 5:<\/strong> Hilly, June 11 \u2014 Saint-Chamond to Villars-les-Dombes, 195.8km<\/p>\n
Stage 6:<\/strong> Mountain, June 12 \u2014 Saint-Vulbas to Crest-Voland, 182.3km<\/p>\n
Stage 7:<\/strong> Mountain, June 13 \u2014 La Bridoire to Grand Colombier, 133.6km<\/p>\n
Stage 8:<\/strong> Mountain, June 14 \u2014 Beaufort to Plateau de Solaison, 120.1km<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/del-toro-vs-seixas-2026.jpg”] Andrew Hood Updated June 4, 2026 12:48PM Paul Seixas and Isaac del Toro are racing for victory this week, Tour de France dreams next month, and perhaps cycling\u2019s future over the next decade. The newly rebranded Tour Auvergne-Rh\u00f4ne-Alpes \u2014 formerly the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 \u2014 has long been cycling\u2019s most reliable Tour […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,71],"class_list":["post-1973324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-velo-outsideonline-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1973324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1973324"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1973324\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1973324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1973324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1973324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Tour](\"https:\/\/velo-cdn.outsideonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/dauphine-720x516.jpg?width=1920&auto=webp&quality=75&fit=cover\")