Results Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 Stage 1 | Alex Baudin stuns favourites from the breakaway to take opening victory

Alex Baudin claimed a brilliant solo victory on stage 1 of the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, holding off the reduced peloton after attacking from the early breakaway on the Cote de Rousset.

The 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes opened with a demanding stage from Vizille to Saint-Ismier, as the race formerly known as the Criterium du Dauphine immediately put the climbers under pressure.

The peloton set out from Vizille to kick off the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes on Sunday morning, with the parcours ensuring action was primed from the start. The 146.2-kilometre stage featured no less than five categorised climbs, including a first-category ascent of the Cote de Rousset.

Rousset was expected to be the deciding factor on the medium mountain stage. Its 8.3 kilometres at 7.6% average gradient was sure to prove selective and, with it peaking just over 20 kilometres from the finish, it formed a perfect launch point for attacks for both the stage and the first yellow jersey.

Multiple attacks came from the peloton on a hilly section before the first categorised climb, featuring riders like Leonard Kamna, Georg Steinhauser, Benjamin Thomas and New Zealand champion George Bennett. However, after 20 kilometres of racing there was still no breakaway up the road.

A breakaway established itself before the slopes of the Col de l'Arzelier as ten riders made it up the road. Alex Baudin and Alastair Mackellar of EF Education-EasyPost were joined by Pepijn Reinderink, Raul Garcia Pierna, Georg Zimmermann, Matteo Vercher, Alex Diaz, Nadav Raisberg, Sergio Samitier and Clement Braz Afonso.

The move changed shape on the first major climb, with Raisberg and Bennett at one point riding behind the leaders before Bennett later made his way into the front of the race. Samitier led the break over the Col de l'Arzelier to take the first mountain points of the week, ahead of Zimmermann, Vercher and Mackellar.

The climbs came thick and fast after the Arzelier descent as the race settled into a natural pattern. The breakaway worked well together and maintained a lead of around two minutes with 80 kilometres to go. Soon, there was bad news for Paul Seixas as key mountain domestique Matthew Riccitello was forced to abandon due to sickness.

Netcompany Ineos took the initiative as the race moved towards the next ascents of the day, with Sam Watson among those setting a firm tempo in the peloton. As the pace increased behind, the breakaway gap tumbled to 1:24 with around 55 kilometres to go.

The race soon upped a gear, with riders being shelled out of the peloton including the likes of Joao Almeida, a bandaged Wout van Aert and Dorian Godon. Almeida and Van Aert had already been distanced earlier on the Col de l'Arzelier before returning when the tempo eased, but the repeated pressure underlined the difficulty of the opening stage.

The break, too, blew apart with around 50 kilometres to go as only Baudin, Vercher, Bennett and Braz Afonso remained at the front, with the others either dropping back towards the peloton or left in no-man’s-land between the groups.

The stage was set for the 5.1-kilometre Col de Vence, cresting with around 44 kilometres to go, with a fast descent and small valley respite following before the decisive Rousset test. Vercher was next to drop from the breakaway as Josh Tarling and Benoit Cosnefroy were among the next casualties of the peloton pace.

Braz Afonso led the race over the Col de Vence to take maximum mountain points, while the three leaders of Baudin, Bennett and Braz Afonso carried a lead of around two minutes onto the descent.

UAE Team Emirates - XRG moved towards the front of the peloton as the race approached the final climb, with the Emirati squad expected to play a leading role through Isaac del Toro.

The Cote de Rousset, the hardest climb of the day, began with the breakaway still holding a useful advantage, but the front group did not stay together for long. Baudin attacked from the break and went clear alone, leaving Bennett and Braz Afonso behind as he tried to hold off the peloton for the stage win.

With the climb underway, Baudin’s advantage was initially down to around 40 seconds, setting up a tense battle between the Frenchman’s solo move and the reduced peloton behind. However, the expected attacks from the favourites did not immediately follow.

Pavel Sivakov set a hard tempo for UAE, with Daniel Felipe Martinez among the big names unable to hold the pace. Ben Healy was also distanced from the reduced peloton, despite the opening stage looking well suited to his attacking qualities.

Kevin Vermaerke then tried to go clear for UAE, though the American still had a significant gap to close to Baudin. Valentin Paret-Peintre also accelerated from the peloton, but the move was quickly covered.

Baudin continued to hold firm towards the top of the Rousset and crested first to take the maximum 10 mountain points. That secured him the first mountains jersey of the race, while his long day in the breakaway also earned him the combativity prize.

More importantly, Baudin went over the summit with around 1:20 still in hand over the peloton, giving him a major chance of turning his solo move into victory on the run towards Saint-Ismier.

Baudin’s chances only improved once the road levelled out after the descent. With six kilometres to go, the Frenchman still had 1:11 on the peloton, and the chase behind was running out of road.

Kevin Vauquelin attacked on the flat and drew a dangerous group clear, with around ten riders opening a gap on the main peloton. Luke Plapp, Leo Bisiaux, Oscar Onley and Ramses Debruyne were among those involved, forcing a reaction behind once the peloton realised Onley had made the split.

Seixas and Juan Ayuso took responsibility in the main group and tried to limit the damage, but Baudin was already heading towards the final kilometre with enough of a margin to believe. With two kilometres to go, he still held 50 seconds over the chasing group and 1:17 over the peloton containing Seixas.

The road continued to rise towards the finish, but Baudin had enough in hand. After surviving the final climb alone, he completed the job in Saint-Ismier, winning from the early breakaway to take the opening stage and the first leader’s jersey of the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.