UAE Team Emirates-XRG takes its climbing talents to the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

As defending champions, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will head to the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes with a squad packed to the rafters with climbing talent. Celebrating its 78th edition this year, the race formerly known as the Critérium du Dauphiné will welcome the Emirati squad and the WorldTour peloton on Sunday, 7 June.

Running over eight stages through to Sunday, 14 June, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes presents one of the toughest climbing tests of the season, and serves as an ideal tune-up for those with an eye on the Tour de France. A prestigious scalp in its own right, however, the week-long stage race was won by UAE Team Emirates-XRG for the first time in team history last season.

It was Tadej Pogačar who claimed that prize with three stage victories along the way. Before the two-time world champion, Emirati stage wins at the Dauphiné had come through Dan Martin (2018), Davide Formolo (2020), and Mikkel Bjerg (2023).

Hoping to guide the squad to further success at the race now known as the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Sports Directors Fabrizio Guidi, Tomas Gil and Marco Marzano will take the reins for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

At their disposal will be a wealth of climbing talent, including Grand Tour podium finishers João Almeida and Isaac del Toro. For Almeida, Del Toro and their teammate Pablo Torres, this year’s Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will present a race debut and the opportunity to hit the ground running after injury and fitness lay-offs.

For prior experience at the eight-day stage race, the trio only need to look for their teammates for the coming week, with the full UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad as follows:
– João Almeida (Por)
– Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra)
– Isaac del Toro (Mex)
– Ivo Oliveira (Por)
– Pavel Sivakov (Fra)
– Pablo Torres (Spa)
– Kevin Vermaerke (USA)

Benoît Cosnefroy last raced in the UCI 2.UWT event back in 2020, and is a man bang in form. The Frenchman added four victories to his name in the month of May alone, with a win at the Grand Prix du Morbihan followed up by standing on the top step of the podium at the Tour de Hongrie and the Boucles de la Mayenne. At the latter, the 30-year-old saw off stiff competition to land his first GC victory in two years.

With his explosive punch, Cosnefroy is a valuable weapon in the Emirati squad’s arsenal, as seen in his support of Pogačar’s Liège-Bastogne-Liège victory in the spring.

With 36 wins thus far in 2026, UAE Team Emirates-XRG will certainly hope to add to this number at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, where Del Toro will pin on a number for the first time since his ill-fated Itzulia Basque Country in April.

Prior to crashing out of Itzulia Basque Country, Del Toro had won his first two stage races in 2026, taking at least a stage win apiece from each. First up was the UAE Tour in February, where the Mexican delivered a thrilling display on the Jebel Hafeet climb to seal the title. After taking a podium place at Strade Bianche, Del Toro then followed suit at Tirreno-Adriatico by adding another prestigious title to his palmarès.

Taking time to recover after his Basque Country exit, the 22-year-old will be raring to go in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.

Del Toro: “I’m excited for the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It’s my first time at the race and I hope it will be the start of a beautiful summer of racing in France for me. Training has been going well, and things are going in the right direction.

“The level of racing will be high, no doubt, as a lot of the peloton are preparing for the Tour, but I think we are ready. It’s been a while now since my last race and I’m excited to pin a race number on again.”

As for the parcours itself, this year’s Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes presents a particularly mountainous challenge for the peloton. There is 22,673m of climbing across its eight stages, totalling 1,207km of racing. For the general classification contenders, there is no time to ease into the race, either.

Right from the gun in Vizille on the opening day, the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes heads to the mountains with a selective route that will no doubt create the first gaps amongst those with an eye on the podium. Heading to Saint-Ismier after 146.1km, stage 1 includes five classified climbs, the last of which tops out with just 20km to ride. It is no easy test, either, with the Côte de Rousset averaging 7.6% for 8.2km.

There will be no rest for the wicked on stage 2, with the day’s route between Saint-Martin-Le-Vinoux and Le Puy-en-Velay the longest of the week, at 233.9km. Although, despite accumulating to 3,741m of elevation gain, none of the five climbs is overly difficult, which could swing this stage in favour of a breakaway victory.

The last climb, the Côte de Saint-Vidal, rises for 2 kilometres at 7.4% before the finale flies downhill for a little over 10km.

Back to the general classification battle, stage 3 will be earmarked by all. Taking the form of a team time trial that begins and ends in Perreux, the stage 3 TTT follows the same rules as what will await the peloton in Barcelona at the Tour de France. Namely, the riders will head off the start ramp in teams, but it will be individual times that are taken at the finish of this 28.3km course.

Although the stronger riders may look to dart off on their own towards the end, teamwork will certainly be important across a rolling parcours with 426m of elevation gain.

After a dearth of opportunities for the sprinters across the first three days, the fast men may get their chance to shine on stage 4. Running from Le Puy-en-Velay to Montrond-Les-Bains, the 167km-long stage may include six categorised climbs, but none of these lies within the final 50km, which is flat as a pancake.

The last of the day’s climbs is the Côte de Roch-en-Forez (2.1km at 4.5%). Beyond its KOM marker, the road continues to climb and tops out with 52.5km to ride. From here to the finish, we can expect to see the teams with a sprinter to coalesce a chase of whatever breakaway is up the road.

Should they not get their way in Montrond-Les-Bains, the sprinters will almost certainly be at the forefront on stage 5. Clocking in at a little under 200km, the route between Saint-Chamond and Parc des Oiseaux has a pair of category four climbs within the first 10km, but beyond this, the route looks fairly straightforward for a sprint finish.

To the final three days, then, where the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes heads to the mountains for a trifecta of summit finishes to determine the winner of the yellow jersey.

First up is stage 6 to Crest-Voland, which looks to be the so-called easiest of the three, all things considered. The route from Saint-Vulbas is not too technical, with a long climb midway through the stage serving as an appetiser for things to come.

The last 21km of racing will see the riders climb the Côte d’Héry-sur-Ugine (11.5km at 5.1%), descend for 3km, and then begin their approach of the climb to Crest-Voland. The final 5.9km of racing average 7.7% to the finish line.

A familiar test will await the race’s best climbers on the penultimate day, with stage 7 climbing towards the summit of the Hors Catégorie Grand Colombier.

There are a trio of shorter climbs to begin the day, none lasting for more than 5.5km, before the race settles into its groove for 40km and heads towards the longer tests. The Lacets du Grand Colombier is up first, standing at 8.4% for 7km, before the Col de Richemond (7.7km at 6%) further softens the legs.

From the summit of the Richemond to the foot of the final climb is a 14km descent, before the riders are challenged by the 8.4km-long Grand Colombier ascent. Taking the riders up to 1501m of altitude, the last climb averages 10.2%.

If that wasn’t enough, stage 8 on Sunday, 14 June serves as the Queen stage of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (née Dauphiné). There is a whopping 3,816m of climbing packed into a final day of racing that stretches for just 120km from Beaufort to Plateau de Solaison.

Right out of the blocks, the riders will tackle the 6.9km-long Col du Pré, with an eye-watering average gradient of 10.1%. Soon will follow the Montée de Bisanne (11.4km at 7.7%) and the Col des Aravis (7km at 6.8%), before a 30km stretch of mostly downhill will lead the peloton into the last climb of this year’s race.

Heading up to the Plateau de Solaison, the final ascent averages 9.1% for 11.3km. This is where we will see the final blows delivered in the 78th edition of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, and Tadej Pogačar’s successor crowned.