Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes 2026 Preview: Seixas Headlines A Next-Generation GC Battle With Del Toro, Ayuso And Almeida — And No Pogačar In Sight

The race the cycling world still calls the Dauphiné returns from 7 to 14 June, now officially badged the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. As ever it doubles as the most important warm-up for the Tour de France, and this year the eight-day route is more mountainous than almost any recent edition — but the headline is who is racing, and who is not.

Tadej Pogačar will not be on the start line, the Slovenian instead sharpening his form at altitude in Davos. His absence throws the GC open to the sport's rising generation, and the man with a target on his back is Paul Seixas. The Decathlon CMA CGM prodigy treats this as his biggest test before a hugely anticipated home Tour debut, and he will be supported by a strong block including Matthew Riccitello, Aurélien Paret-Peintre and Léo Bisiaux.

If anyone can deny him it is Isaac del Toro. With Pogačar absent, the Mexican leads a deep UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad and arrives as arguably the favourite for overall victory, backed by the returning João Almeida. Juan Ayuso, now at Lidl-Trek and finally healthy after three months managing an injury, is the wildcard of the race alongside podium contender Mattias Skjelmose.

The supporting cast reads like a Tour GC long-list. Matteo Jorgenson leads Visma | Lease a Bike on GC, returning from injury with Wout van Aert alongside him after the Dutch team reshaped its pre-Tour plans, while Santiago Buitrago heads Bahrain Victorious after his Giro withdrawal. INEOS Grenadiers bring a full Tour block in Oscar Onley, Kévin Vauquelin and Carlos Rodríguez, with Alex Baudin, Georg Steinhauser, Cian Uijtdebroeks, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Daniel Martínez, Luke Plapp, Tobias Johannessen and Harold Tejada all in the mix.

The parcours leaves nowhere to hide. The opening stage from Vizille to Saint-Ismier packs 3,200 metres of climbing into 146 kilometres, with the Côte de Rousset cresting just 21 kilometres from the line — a high-mountain day that could detonate the GC immediately. A brutally hilly 28.4-kilometre team time trial around Perreux on Stage 3 then doubles as a rehearsal for the Tour's opening team test.

It is the final weekend that will define the race. Stage 7 climbs the fearsome north side of the Grand Colombier — 8.5 kilometres averaging 10% with ramps near 20% — before Stage 8 serves up a genuine queen stage: 4,000 metres of climbing in just 120 kilometres, finishing atop the Plateau de Solaison, a climb the Tour itself will use later this summer. Pacing, recovery and explosivity will all be examined under race conditions.

For Seixas, the week is as much a measuring stick as a result. Win it and the pressure heading into the Tour will be enormous; come up short on the long final climbs and the questions will sharpen. Either way, with Pogačar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel all preparing elsewhere, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes offers the clearest live look yet at the chasing pack who hope to trouble them in July.

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