“This is one of the best days of my career,” said Van Gils: “Winning here in a region that I really love – my girlfriend is from here – makes me very happy.” Van Gils was part of a large breakaway group in which Mathieu Kockelmann also rode with three other teammates. Lotto-Intermarché drove an offensive race as a collective, but in the end was unable to reward themselves with a top placement. Kockelmann crossed the finish line in 90th place, 20:31 minutes behind the winner.
Tuckwell took over the yellow jersey from the overall leader in the follow-up race of the Critérium du Dauphiné. “This is my first year as a professional, I just have to enjoy it. I went into this race without any great ambitions for good results, I want to have fun,” said the 21-year-old, who is 1:12 minutes ahead of Frenchman Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike) and 2:00 minutes ahead of his compatriot Guillaume Martin (Groupaa-FDJ). There are still two mountain finishes on the program until Sunday.
The Englishman Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos) experienced a moment of shock when he fell on the short descent between the two final climbs of the day. Onley was able to continue, but he crossed the finish line almost half an hour behind and, according to his team, is now undergoing a medical examination.
Van Aert won the stage in a sprint on Thursday, but then withdrew from the dress rehearsal for the Tour de France. The Paris-Roubaix winner continues to complain about pain from an elbow injury.
Van Aert will travel to his homeland for further investigations, it said. The all-rounder is one of the most important helpers of the two-time overall tour winner Jonas Vingegaard on the Tour of France (July 4th to 26th).
In women’s cycling, the Italian Martina Alzini (Cofidis) won the 1st stage of the CIC Tour Féminin des Pyrénées (2nd Pro) on Friday. She won the sprint ahead of her compatriot Federica Venturelli (UAE) and Marie Le Net (FDJ United-Suez) from France. Liv Wenzel (Tirol) and Gwen Nothum (Minimax) both crossed the finish line in 33rd and 38th place in the same time as the stage winner.
The second stage of the Saarland Trofeo (2nd Ncup) was won by Dutchman Liam Brugman on Friday. The best result from a Luxembourg perspective was achieved by Ben König in 71st place, 1:19 minutes behind the winner. Just like the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées, the race in Saarland lasts until Sunday.
At a glance
78th Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes in France, 6th stage: Saint-Vulbas – Crest-Voland (182.3 km):
1. Maxim van Gils (Belgium/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) 4:06:34 hours, 2. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Norway/Uno-X Mobility) same time, 3. Luke Tuckwell (Australia/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) 0:06 minutes back, 4. Pablo Torres (UAE Emirates-XRG) 0:13, 5. Raul Pierna Garcia (both Spain/Movistar) 0:33, 6. Yannis Voisard (Switzerland/Tudor Pro Cycling) same time, … 90. Mathieu Kockelmann (Luxembourg/Lotto-Intermarché) 20:31
DNF Kevin Geniets (Luxembourg/Groupama-FDJ)
Standings in the overall ranking after 6 of 8 stages:
1. Tuckwell 22:14:55 hours, 2. Bruno Armirail (Visma-Lease a Bike) 1:12 minutes back, 3. Guillaume Martin (both France/Groupama-FDJ United) 2:00, 4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) 2:34, 5. Cristian Rodriguez (XDS Astana) 2:37, 6. José Felix (both Spain/Caja Rural-Seguros) 3:04
