'A bit complicated' - Seixas stays in the hunt after 'strange' day at Dauphiné

Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is the new overall leader after he was part of the 60-strong break that ultimately fought out the spoils on the Côte de Crest-Voland, while Seixas’ Decathlon CMA CGM teammates were forced into a day-long pursuit to ensure Dauphiné didn’t spiral beyond their control.

The front group had four minutes on Seixas and the GC favourites at the foot of the final climb, where the Frenchman sprang into action with a long, searing acceleration that only Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) could ultimately match.

Seixas placed 21st on the stage, 3:15 down on winner Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull) and he now lies seventh overall, 3:06 behind Tuckwell.

“It was a bit of a strange race today,” Seixas said, according to L’Équipe. “The breakaway caused a bit of chaos, and we got caught out a bit, but the team was really solid, and we gave it our all to keep the gap down. I’d like to tip my hat to Stefan [Bissegger] and Dan [Hoole], who did more than 100km on the front between them.”

The finale saw two category 1 ascents in quick succession, with the steady climb of the Côte d'Héry-sur-Ugin followed by the steeper 6km haul to the line. Seixas accelerated with 5km to go, bringing Del Toro and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma) with him.

Jorgenson was burnt off inside the final 3km, but the American limited the damage well, conceding just 13 seconds at the summit. In the overall standings, he is still 32 seconds clear of Seixas.

Del Toro, meanwhile, was able to stick with Seixas all the way to the finish and he led the 19-year-old across the line. The Mexican remains a threat for final overall victory, lying just 16 seconds behind Seixas.

“We’d said we’d test ourselves on the climb,” Seixas said. “It was a bit short to make any real difference, but we made up time on all the favourites except Del Toro, so that’s a good thing. It was a good test. At first, he didn’t want to take any turns at the front, but when he saw that Jorgenson was no longer there, he did some turns, and I think he put in a great climb.” 

Seixas started this Dauphiné with ambitions of final overall victory, and he is still firmly in contention despite conceding three minutes to a potential dangerman in Tuckwell. The Australian neo-pro placed a fine sixth at the Tour de Romandie in May and he was 10th overall at last year’s Tour de l’Avenir, won by Seixas.

“Now we’re really going to have to make the race hard,” said Seixas. “There are six of us left in the team, including two big rouleurs, so it’s a bit complicated, but we’re doing what we can. We’re really heading into something interesting.”