Results Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 Stage 8 - Isaac del Toro completes turnaround with dominant stage and GC double on final climb
Cycling
Isaac del Toro turned the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes upside down on the final climb to Plateau de Solaison, winning stage 8 and the overall title as Luke Tuckwell finally cracked in yellow.
The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider began the final stage 49 seconds behind Tuckwell, with Matteo Jorgenson second overall at 42 seconds and Juan Ayuso also within range at 1:06. On a 120.1km route from Beaufort to Plateau de Solaison, the final 11.5km ascent became the decisive battleground.
UAE took command at the foot of the climb, with Del Toro still supported by team-mates as the early break came back into range. Tuckwell was soon distanced, with Maxim Van Gils dropping back to help his Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team-mate, while Cian Uijtdebroeks also lost contact from the favourites’ group.
Del Toro then attacked with 9km still to climb. No one could follow the Mexican, who surged across to the remnants of the early break and quickly opened a gap that put him into the virtual race lead.
Del Toro rides away from GC rivals
The final stage had started aggressively, with Laurens De Plus, Carlos Rodriguez, Georg Steinhauser, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Harold Tejada and Clement Afonso Braz among those who went clear over the opening climbs. Afonso Braz used that early phase to secure the mountains classification, while De Plus later led over the Col des Aravis before the long descent towards the final ascent.
Lidl - Trek had controlled much of the middle phase in support of Ayuso, but once the race reached Plateau de Solaison, UAE took over. Paret-Peintre tried to move clear from the break before the favourites arrived, with De Plus chasing behind, but the GC battle soon swallowed the front of the race.
Del Toro’s attack immediately changed the balance. Mattias Skjelmose led the chase behind for Lidl - Trek, with Ayuso and Jorgenson together at first, but the gap kept growing. Once Del Toro’s advantage reached around 35 seconds, Tuckwell’s hold on yellow was slipping away.
Ayuso launched his own move with 5km still to climb. Jorgenson initially followed, but then cracked, while Tobias Halland Johannessen and Rodriguez were also unable to match the Spaniard. Ayuso continued alone in pursuit, but Del Toro was already moving further clear up the road.
Seixas abandons before decisive climb
Paul Seixas’ race ended before the final GC battle began. The Decathlon CMA CGM Team rider started the day sixth overall after his bruising crash and long chase on stage 7, but struggled at the back of the peloton, lost contact after visiting the medical car and then abandoned early in the stage.
His withdrawal removed one of the main pre-stage storylines, leaving Decathlon without their GC leader on a day where Paret-Peintre and Leo Bisiaux had both been placed in the early move.
Tuckwell’s surprise spell in yellow ended on the upper slopes of Plateau de Solaison, where Del Toro turned a 49-second deficit into overall victory with one devastating attack. After winning on the Grand Colombier on stage 7, the Mexican delivered again on the final day, closing the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with back-to-back mountain victories.
Carlos Silva is a writer for CyclingUpToDate.com, where he contributes race reports, interviews, analysis pieces, and live coverage of the international cycling calendar. Holding a degree in Sports from the Jean Piaget Institute, he combines academic knowledge of performance, training, and competition with hands-on journalism experience in professional cycling.
Throughout his career, Carlos has conducted interviews with leading figures in the sport, including Alberto Contador, Joaquim Rodríguez, Óscar Pereiro, João Almeida, Isaac del Toro, Derek Gee, John Degenkolb and Geraint Thomas. These conversations reflect direct engagement with Grand Tour winners, Classics specialists, and emerging talents.
He has provided on-site coverage at major events ranging from the Vuelta a España to the Tour de France, alongside stage races such as Vuelta a Andalucía, Volta ao Algarve, Volta a Portugal and O Gran Camiño. Covering the mythical climbs of the Giro d'Italia remains one of his professional ambitions.
Carlos is responsible for liveblog coverage of all major WorldTour races and beyond, including the Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. His reporting integrates verified data from ProCyclingStats to ensure statistical accuracy, contextual depth, and analytical precision.
A lifelong cycling enthusiast, he approaches storytelling across written, photographic, and video formats with a focus on credibility, tactical insight, and informed race interpretation.
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- 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
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