Paul Seixas takes blame for 'idiotic' crash before fightback at Tour Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes - 'No excuse ... it was entirely my fault'

The 19-year-old French prodigy, experiencing a breakthrough season before a potential Tour de France challenge in July, saw his momentum abruptly interrupted on Saturday when he went down just 30km into Stage 7 - the second of three decisive mountain days.

Seixas was left almost four minutes adrift after the crash on the descent of the Cote de Saint-Maurice-de-Rotherens but, despite visible injuries and a heavily battered white young rider’s jersey, he fought his way back into contention through a determined team effort from Decathlon-CMA CGM, eventually rejoining the peloton with around 35km remaining.

The damage had already been done, however, and by the lower slopes of the Grand Colombier, Seixas had been distanced again, later digging deep to limit his losses as the stage fractured around him and was eventually won by Isaac del Toro of UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

Reflecting on the incident, Seixas did not shy away from taking responsibility.

"It was an error on my part. I have no excuse. I went into a corner too quick," he said. "I'd become used to overtaking riders on descents to move up without using energy, and voila, that's not necessarily a risk-free strategy. Today I paid for it. I took too many risks.

"I misjudged the corner. I was going around the outside of one rider, I apologise to that rider and to the others around me who I put in danger. It was entirely my fault. There was a ditch on the right and gravel on the left and for a while my wheel was in between the two, and then it gave way."

Recalling the impact of the crash, he added: "I went tumbling like a toboggan and I went sliding first of all on my hands at 70 kilometres an hour. For a moment, I didn’t believe I'd be able to get going again. I was really beat up and I could barely hold the handlebars."

Despite the setback, Seixas produced a remarkable show of resilience on the Grand Colombier, clinging on for as long as possible before ultimately finishing seventh on the stage, 1'21'' down on winner Del Toro.

Even in defeat, he credited his team-mates for their unwavering support after what he openly called his own mistake.

"I’m not proud of myself, no; I'm proud of my team,” Seixas said of his hard-earned damage limitation. ”They worked 100% for me after my idiocy, which was all my fault, and honestly, I made the whole team pay today.

"I said to myself, 'It’s over, I’m never coming back' but what my team-mates did today was crazy. I could barely hold the handlebars. But on the final climb, I said to myself, 'I'm going to give my all until the end for these five guys who sacrificed everything for me.'

"They could have left me behind and I would have had no complaints because it's what I deserved. Just chapeau to them. They can know that I love them all."

The composed nature of Del Toro's victory further underlined his growing reputation with a decisive late move.

”I’m getting better and better after every race,” the UAE rider told TNT Sports after the stage. "I’m not full of confidence but I really wanted to try to take the win today."

Del Toro now sits third in the general classification before Sunday's final stage, a 120km journey from Beaufort to Plateau de Solaison–Brison, 49 seconds behind leader Luke Tuckwell (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) with Matteo Jorgensen (Visma-Lease a Bike) second at 42". Seixas is sixth, 1'54" behind.

"I’m still hungry, so it’s something that will keep me alive for the next races. [Winning the GC] was always the goal," Del Toro added.

"It’s crazy to be in this position sometimes and when [the team] starts to help me, it feels super special,” he added. ”You don’t know how special it is to see Mexican fans on the side of the road and have all their support. It’s simply incredible.”

While Seixas’ hopes were left hanging in the balance, he was not alone in being left licking his wounds after a day of chaos.

Oscar Onley (Netcompany Ineos), Joao Almeida (UAE), Per Strand Hagenes (Visma), Jorgen Nordhagen (Visma) and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) were among 10 riders who did not start Saturday's stage.

There was then a further crash involving Dani Martinez (Red Bull), Alex Diaz (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) and Gal Glivar (Alpecin-Premier Tech).

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