Baudin Survives Solo From The Break To Win Stage 1 And Take The First Yellow Jersey Of The Rebranded Dauphiné
The race once known as the Critérium du Dauphiné opened a new chapter on Sunday under its new name, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and it was Alex Baudin who wrote the first headline. The Frenchman of EF Education-EasyPost bridged into the day's breakaway and then went clear alone, holding off the chase to take the biggest victory of his career and the inaugural yellow jersey of the rebranded eight-day race.
From the Vizille start the move of the day formed quickly on the rolling roads, and Baudin proved the strongest of the escapees. On the final categorised ascent towards Saint-Ismier he distanced his remaining companions and committed fully to the run-in, time-trialling the closing kilometres while the bunch hesitated behind. He crossed the line 32 seconds clear of his nearest pursuers, with the GC favourites content to let the breakaway settle the stage.
For Baudin it is a richly deserved reward after years as a hard-working climber and breakaway threat. "To win a stage here, on home roads, and to pull on this jersey — it is everything I have worked for," he said at the finish. The result hands EF Education-EasyPost an early lead and the burden, and privilege, of defending yellow into the opening week.
The 2026 edition is a notably youthful affair. With Tadej Pogačar opting for the Tour de Suisse, Jonas Vingegaard not racing again before July, and Remco Evenepoel building directly towards the Tour, the general classification has been left to the sport's rising generation. France's own Paul Seixas headlines a contender list that includes Isaac del Toro, Juan Ayuso and Oscar Onley, while Wout van Aert returns to competition as part of a powerful Visma-Lease a Bike squad.
That GC battle will have to wait. The opening days favour the breakaway and the puncheurs before the race tilts decisively towards the mountains, building to a queen stage over the Col du Pré, the Montée de Bisanne and the Col des Aravis before the summit finish on the Plateau de Solaison on 14 June.
For now, though, the spotlight belongs to Baudin, the first man to wear yellow in the new era of one of cycling's most important pre-Tour proving grounds. Whether he can hold the jersey through the rolling second stage to Le Puy-en-Velay is another question — but the breakaway has struck first, and a home rider leads the rebranded Dauphiné.