"It’s once in a lifetime almost" - Luke Tuckwell moves into yellow jersey at Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes after chaotic stage

Luke Tuckwell and Red Bull BORA Hansgrohe couldn't believe the situation unfolding during stage 6 of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes as Luke Tuckwell rode into the yellow jersey and Maxim Van Gils took victory in a chaotic Friday of racing.

The 21-year-old Australian, in his first season at WorldTour, now leads the prestigious race as a 60-rider breakaway flipped the general classification battle as a host of riders spoiled the party for Paul Seixas, Isaac Del Toro and co. to form a new GC order.

As a huge break went up the road, Tuckwell found himself as the highest placed among them, and quickly into the virtual lead in a day that saw Alex Baudin lose the yellow jersey, and the pre-race favourites denied a chance to fight for the win.

“Yeah, I mean, we couldn’t quite believe it either,” Tuckwell told Cycling Pro Net. “We were actually expecting the breakaway to have a really big fight, like the other day where it took an hour and a half. Then this really big group went.”

Uno-X Mobility led much of the affairs for the break, with Tobias Halland Johannessen later contesting the win with Tuckwell's teammate Van Gils. With the break practically assured to fight it out for the stage with 20 kilometers and two long climbs to come, Tuckwell knew he could seize yellow with a measured effort.

“I saw a few Uno X guys jumping as well, and I remember what they did in Basque Country on the final day,” he said. “I was there and I was suffering, so I saw this as a good opportunity to jump across.”

“I knew pretty quickly that I was the closest on GC in the group,” he added. “But I tried not to think about it and spend too much energy thinking about it. The gap went from two and a half to three, to three and a half, and then I started to think about it. But not until we got to the final climb with four minutes, I thought: right, now I just do a time trial from the bottom to the top.”

Tuckwell admitted the breakaway stage fight worked out perfectly for the German team, noting that managing his overall ambitions and Van Gils' successful stage hunt worked in their favour as Johannessen and Pablo Torres were bested in the sprint to the line.

“I think we both knew how strong we were. The situation played perfectly. He was able to go with Johannessen and Torres, and they were attacking each other, hopefully using some energy. Then I saw the right moment to jump across.”

Paul Seixas and Isaac Del Toro emerged strongest from the fireworks in the peloton behind. But even so, Tuckwell now holds a gap of 2:34 to the nearest of the pre-race favourites in Matteo Jorgenson with just two stages to go. After celebrating the coup, the youngster will assess how he can defend the jersey.

“I came into this race not looking to get any results and just have fun really,” he said. “I spoke with my DS before this week and he said: mate, just have fun and enjoy it, try something crazy, and if something crazy happens, that’s a great opportunity.”

He added: "I’ll have to see how much faster they went up that climb than me today, and then I can reassess where my level is. But for sure, with two days to go, it’s a really nice advantage. I’m just going to enjoy it, to be honest. It’s once in a lifetime almost.”