“As a neo-pro, man, I could never expect this” - Luke Tuckwell stunned by Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes breakthrough after final mountain survival

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.

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.”

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.