“As a neo-pro, man, I could never expect this” - Luke Tuckwell stunned by Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes breakthrough after final mountain survival
Cycling
Luke Tuckwell lost the yellow jersey on the final climb of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, but still left Plateau de Solaison with second overall and the biggest result of his young career.
The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe neo-pro finished behind Isaac del Toro on GC after a brutal final stage, limiting his losses after being dropped on the last climb and holding off the rest of the podium fight. Del Toro won the stage and overall title, but Tuckwell salvaged second place at 54 seconds after starting the day in yellow.
Speaking to Cycling Pro Net after the finish, Tuckwell was still taking in the scale of what he had done across the week.
“As a neo-pro, man, I could never expect this,” he said after being told he had finished second overall.
“Maxim saved me there”
Tuckwell had started the final stage with a 42-second lead over Matteo Jorgenson, 49 seconds over Del Toro and 1:06 over Juan Ayuso. Once UAE Team Emirates - XRG lifted the pace on Plateau de Solaison, the Australian was distanced, with Maxim Van Gils dropping back to help him limit the damage.
Del Toro’s attack carried him away to both stage victory and the general classification, but Tuckwell’s ride behind was enough to keep him ahead of Ayuso, Jorgenson and Tobias Halland Johannessen in the final standings. “I just really, from the bottom, knew what pace I had to ride,” Tuckwell said. “Man, Maxim saved me there. Really, I think without Maxim, I would have been struggling so much.”
The Australian framed the result as a collective Red Bull effort after a week in which he moved into the race lead and then defended it until the final mountain day. “It’s just a collective team effort this week,” he said. “I can’t describe it.”
Tuckwell admitted the result had not yet fully sunk in. Asked whether he realised what he had done, he replied: “No, I don’t think I have actually. Not at all. I think it’ll take some time to sink in.”
No altitude camps, just home rhythm
Tuckwell’s rise through the race came after a block in which he said he had kept his preparation simple. Asked about his improvement from the Basque Country to Romandie and then into the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, he pointed to a calmer rhythm away from racing.
“I keep improving race on race without doing anything special,” he said. “Just enjoying my time at home, no altitude camps, just being at home in a good mental space. I think that’s making the difference.”
On the final climb, Tuckwell knew Del Toro’s move had changed the race, but his target quickly became saving the best overall position possible. “I knew I had a minute to use. So 40 seconds to Jorgenson,” he said. “I wasn’t too concerned about keeping the lead because I knew Isaac was so strong. I was just trying to focus on getting the best GC result I could.”
That calculation paid off. Tuckwell dropped from first to second, but still finished ahead of Ayuso at 1:17, Jorgenson at 1:36 and Johannessen at 1:46. “To only lose one spot, man, that’s pretty incredible,” he said.
Tuckwell leaves the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with second overall, a breakthrough week in yellow and a final-day mountain save built around Van Gils’ support on Plateau de Solaison.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
claps 13visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He lives in Monaco
Rafionain-Glas03-11-2026 - It's also highly significant for Lorenzo Finn as he won there last year. Also Mateo Ramírez and Henrique Bravo if they goRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- This is a phenomenal course design. I do wish that they'd stretch these tours for the women to at least 2 weeks.RidesHills03-11-2026
- This is an amazing route, honestly. Let's hope that it attracts riders to make it a compelling and competitive race. Side bar amusement: going to Slovenia and passing pretty close to Pogačar's house. I wonder if they were tempting him to get all 3 jerseys at once after winning the Tour and Vuelta. After all, only a very few have ever had all three at the same time (Froome being the last).RidesHills03-11-2026
- He was a child two years agoRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route aswell. Col d'Arpy is a toughieRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- Let Torito have a shot at itRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- A great route, much more exciting than the Tour de France. Monte Livata is an interesting one, because they experimented with it at the 2026 Baby Giro, and it was fantastic. 4 km at 10%, then 10 km at 6.5% made for a great spectacle. The stage 16 is horrible. Montaner is also used in the U23s, in Giro del BelvedereRafionain-Glas03-11-2026
- I remember when Mark went through that. He was really experiencing lows and thought about quiting many times. It took him a long time to recover. I, like many others were overjoyed when he came back. I hope Lafay has been tested. I wish him the best.Paggss03-11-2026
- That sucks for him. I've always wondered what guys like him do after retiring from cycling - go back to uni? He's still a very young manCrashjames03-11-2026
Loading
1 Comments