DISCUSSION - Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes stage 7 - Seixas’s nightmare, Del Toro’s victory. Ayuso’s screw-up? Who was victorious at Grand Colombier?

Isaac Del Toro delivered a statement performance on the brutal slopes of the Grand Colombier, claiming victory in Stage 7 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes after a spectacular late attack. The Mexican rider from UAE Emirates - XRG reeled in Juan Ayuso before dropping the Spaniard in the final kilometres to secure a memorable solo triumph.

Ayuso crossed the line 25 seconds later in second place, while Tobias Halland Johannessen completed the podium. Despite losing time, Luke Tuckwell successfully defended the race lead and remains in yellow heading into the final stages of the race.

The 133-kilometre stage featured a relentless route through the Jura mountains, including the Col de Richemond, the Lacets du Grand Colombier and the feared final ascent of the Grand Colombier, averaging a punishing 10% over 8.4 kilometres.

The opening phase was animated but no breakaway managed to establish a significant advantage. Riders were also forced to negotiate a neutralised descent early in the stage after race organisers deemed loose gravel on the road too dangerous for racing.

The day's major turning point came with 96 kilometres remaining when French sensation Paul Seixas crashed heavily. One of the pre-stage favourites suddenly found himself nearly four minutes behind the peloton and facing a seemingly impossible chase.

Refusing to surrender, Seixas launched an extraordinary comeback effort. Supported by teammates throughout the afternoon, he gradually reduced the deficit and eventually rejoined the peloton with around 36 kilometres remaining, completing one of the most remarkable recoveries of the race so far.

A strong group featuring Quinn Simmons, Laurens De Plus, Carlos Rodríguez, Valentin Paret-Peintre, George Bennett and Clément Berthet managed to gain some breathing room over the peloton during the middle section of the stage.

Their advantage reached 40 seconds, but UAE Emirates - XRG controlled the pace behind. As the race approached the decisive final climb, the escapees were gradually reeled in and the favourites began the ascent of the Grand Colombier together.

The steep gradients immediately exposed the damage caused by Seixas' earlier crash and chase effort. The Frenchman quickly drifted to the back of the favourites' group alongside race leader Tuckwell.

With just under seven kilometres remaining, Ayuso made the first major move. Only Ben Tulett was initially able to follow, while Del Toro found himself in a chasing group with Matteo Jorgenson, Tobias Halland Johannessen and Cian Uijtdebroeks.

Ayuso steadily increased his advantage and appeared to be riding towards victory. However, Del Toro had other plans.

Around six kilometres from the summit, Del Toro accelerated clear of the chasing group and immediately began closing the gap. The Mexican produced an impressive display of climbing power, steadily gaining ground on Ayuso despite the Spaniard's determined resistance.

The two riders came together with 1.7 kilometres remaining. Moments later, Del Toro attacked again and this time Ayuso had no answer.

Once clear, Del Toro continued to extend his advantage all the way to the finish, sealing a dominant mountain-top victory and underlining his status as one of the strongest climbers in the race.

Behind the leading duo, Johannessen secured third place ahead of Jorgenson and Uijtdebroeks. Seixas managed to limit his losses after his heroic chase, finishing seventh at 1:22, just behind Mattias Skjelmose.

Race leader Luke Tuckwell endured a difficult climb but successfully defended his overall lead. The Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe rider crossed the finish line 2:33 behind the winner and now carries a 42-second advantage over Jorgenson into the final stage.

Carlos Silva from CyclingUpToDate shared some of his thoughts and reflections at the end of the stage.

What I witnessed today was not what I expected. Crashes are part of cycling, and unfortunately bad luck struck Paul Seixas. The Frenchman went down shortly after the race resumed following the neutralisation imposed by the organisers for safety reasons.

In the blink of an eye, Seixas found himself three minutes behind the peloton, and the gap eventually grew to four minutes. Seixas crashed, and the peloton did not wait for him.

I can understand why the teams chose not to wait for him to rejoin. Fair enough, he was not the race leader. But the main reason was clear: they wanted to put him under pressure and get rid of him. We have to respect that. What it really shows, however, is that they are afraid of him. At just 19 years of age, Seixas is already making rivals nervous.

He spent enormous amounts of energy trying to recover a four-minute deficit and, once on the Grand Colombier, focused on managing his effort and limiting his losses. To be honest, I was expecting a proper showdown with Isaac del Toro.

Among the GC contenders, Del Toro looked like the rider with the best legs and the least desperation to force the issue. Lidl set a fierce pace on the approach to the Colombier before Juan Ayuso launched his attack, riding solo all the way until the final 1.7 kilometres of the climb.

Ayuso may have been a little too ambitious, but that was clearly the plan. It simply did not work out. On gradients like those, with sections touching 20%, it all comes down to legs. And the Mexican rider from UAE was the one who judged his effort best. In the end, he took the stage in style.

Tomorrow is the day of truth. Everything is still up for grabs and the race remains wide open. But I will make my prediction right now: Paul Seixas will win the final stage, while Isaac del Toro will stand on the top step of the podium.

Javier Rampe from CiclismoAlDía was left thrilled by the queen stage on French roads, a stage that seemed destined to belong to Juan Ayuso before victory slipped away in the closing kilometres.

The queen stage delivered everything fans could have hoped for. Drama began from the very start: a crash involving one of the race favourites, a desperate fight to get back into contention, teams eager to take advantage, and just when the outcome appeared settled, a plot twist changed the script entirely.

Isaac del Toro delivered a crushing blow to Juan Ayuso, his former UAE teammate who now rides for Lidl-Trek. The American squad sensed blood in the water, unfortunately quite literally after Paul Seixas’ crash. Lorenzo Verona, Quinn Simmons and Lennard Kämna drove the pace relentlessly, all with the objective of setting up the Spanish rider.

As the breakaway was reeled in on the lower slopes of the Grand Colombier, Ayuso launched his ambitious move. Seixas could not respond to Lidl-Trek’s tempo. It simply was not his day. The French prodigy was still carrying the effects of his crash, although he showed admirable determination to battle his way through the stage. While the race favourite was losing ground, Ayuso, who had been unable to follow Seixas the previous day, looked determined to seize the spotlight.

The Spaniard attacked almost from the foot of the legendary climb. For a long time it appeared as though the stage victory was heading his way. Then an unexpected guest arrived: Isaac del Toro.

The Mexican did not react immediately when Ayuso accelerated. Instead, he maintained his own rhythm, exactly how the greatest climbers approach these mountains, without looking at rivals, without panicking, simply trusting their legs. Del Toro did precisely that. He gradually reeled in his former teammate, who left UAE under less-than-ideal circumstances, and struck the decisive blow the moment he reached his wheel.

Today, Del Toro put aside the memories of the injury that derailed him at the Volta ao País Basco and stamped his authority on the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. With this performance, the Mexican appears to be sending a message to Tadej Pogacar himself: "Ave, Tadej. Here stands a warrior ready to challenge for your fifth Tour de France."

Ruben Silva from CyclingUpToDate offered his usual sharp observations after the stage and did not let one particular issue go unnoticed: the disappointing television coverage of the race.

A proper stage, wasn't it. Sadly we don't have good broadcasting time for this race, effectively meaning we lost a massive breakaway battle on the climbs and then the Paul Seixas crash, a moment that could've marked the season. Luckily, the Frenchman returned to the bike and rejoined the peloton. His was a major story on the day, but the truth is that there were several.

But on Seixas, we must take into consideration that he returned to the peloton also because no-one truly pushed to keep him away, and he did have a few not so sneaky moments following the team car. But in my eyes I do not have a problem with it. Seixas lost time, but he wasn't defeated today, his recovery was highly impressive, Decathlon's work to bring him back was a 10/10, and IF (big if) he is not injured, I would say it was a good day in regards to building character and mental strength.

Along the way, there will be these bad days and crashes, Seixas won't be able to avoid them. Often, away from the heat of the moment, riders and sports directors learn that it is possible to salvage something from the day. It was the case here, he still had legs to do something, and a podium (or GC win, if he really is back to his best tomorrow) are not impossible.

But my argument is that if he won Auvergne dominantly, he would be put as Pogacar's main rival for the Tour in the general media for sure, and he would be held to a standard that he can only prove at the end of the Tour when he proves he can be consistent throughout three weeks.

This crash means he likely will not win Auvergne, but not over bad form or lack of climbing ability, but due to bad luck. Instead, he will finish the race wanting more, and it will keep him in an uphill trajectory towards the Tour. In WWE, you usually have a 'good guy' lose on a smaller event only if he is the victim of bad luck or some sort of cheating. It reminds me of Seixas here, where the results tell us one thing but what he did on the bike shows a very different story, and it will help him pick up momentum.

Away from the Frenchman... Luke Tuckwell defended himself very well. He likely loses yellow tomorrow, but he has grabbed his opportunity with both hands and is on par to finish on the Top10 aside from his yellow jersey, just like Afonso Eulálio at the Giro.

Isaac del Toro is ready for the Tour, he is racing at his best level and I reckon the main favourite for overall win now, he is doing what I expected of him and his measured pacing style allowed him to perform at his best level so far this year, despite not having the team to really do something earlier on.

Matteo Jorgenson, always reliable, always strong... Never the strongest, but a podium seems quite likely and the GC win is within reach, he continues to be Visma's flawless feature. Cian Uijtdebroeks, Tobias Johannessen and Mattias Skjelmose are also showing they are very much ready for the Tour de France with this climbing performance.

Even in the Top-10 we have some under the radar men like Cristián Rodríguez, whilst today we had two Caja Rural men in the Top-10 which is a very good surprise, and just in time for the Tour. INEOS on the other hand are in a complete disaster with Carlos Rodríguez falling out of GC, Kévin Vauquelin having no legs; Joshua Tarling and Oscar Onley now injured... I don't know what the British team will do, but they better start thinking of prioritizing stage wins at the Tour and quick.

Tomorrow may have so many stories still to complete, this race is delivering a lot more tension and drama than I ever expected. It reminds me of a cycling that we don't see often nowadays, usually ruled over by one or two riders who are above the competition.

Three different perspectives, one shared conclusion: this race is far from over. Paul Seixas lost time but not his aura, Isaac del Toro confirmed he is ready to seize the biggest opportunities, and a stage that many viewers barely got to see delivered more drama than anyone could have expected. Crashes, attacks, comebacks and unanswered questions have set up a final showdown where luck, legs and nerve will decide everything. If the queen stage was any indication, the last day promises to be just as unpredictable.