As expected, the Col de la Loze lightened the ranks, and the situation, much better than the five days that preceded this major test, which was the first real contact with the high mountains for some of the Tour de l’Avenir competitors.
This high-altitude finish explored by the Tour de l’Avenir in 2019 and which has already become a spot on the Tour de France revealed a 19-year-old Mexican talent, Isaac Del Toro, who had already come second on stage 4 in Evaux-les-Bains, where he had given a first glimpse of his repertoire. The young Mexican, who was looking forward to the mountains with great appetite and who signed his country’s first victory in this genuine Tour de France for young riders, beat American Matthew Riccitello, the new CIC yellow jersey and now a candidate to succeed Greg LeMond, winner in 1982.
Matthew Riccitello, 20 years old and currently a trainee with the Israel – Premier Tech team, announced that he had signed up with the team at World Tour level until 2025.
The Mexican and the rider from the United States quickly emerged above the pack, while only Italian Davide Piganzoli limited the gap to under a minute (30 seconds), which means that he now occupies 2nd place overall, 25 seconds behind the new leader, just ahead of the day’s winner, Isaac Del Toro.
Denmark’s Simon Dalby, the previous leader, made a respectable ascent (13th), but it wasn’t enough to save his yellow jersey, while France’s Mathys Rondel, until now his runner-up, remains in a good 4th place (38 seconds behind) in the overall classification thanks to his climbing skills, validated by his 8th place at the summit.
All of them will once again have to contend with each other twice over the coming day, which will be a particularly tough one, as stage 7 is divided into two sectors, with a mountainous individual time trial (11.1 km) on the slopes leading up to the resort of Les Karellis, followed by a road sector between Les Karellis and the Col du Mont – Cenis (69.6 km).
