There are every reason to believe that the white jersey of the first Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes will be worth as much as the yellow jersey! With a group rich in contenders under 25 years old this year, the favorites are found more in the recent history of the Tour de l'Avenir than in the Grand Tours. And it even seems that the most recent winner of the prestigious stage race for young riders arrives at the event with the most favorable odds.

After a brilliant start to the season, Paul Seixas, at just 19 years old, appears to be the most credible candidate to break the precocity record set at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 1983 by Greg LeMond, who was then about to turn 22.

Looking at the other young talents, one realizes that Juan Ayuso is the only rider to have beaten the Frenchman this year in a stage race, on the occasion of his season debut at the Volta ao Algarve. The Spanish rider must be considered one of Seixas's most dangerous rivals, but he could pay the price of suboptimal form and race condition after a season start marked by a bad crash at Paris-Nice, followed by a virus that prevented him from participating in the Ardennes Classics.

The greatest danger, therefore, should theoretically come from Isaac Del Toro, who, like Seixas, is continuing his preparation for his first Tour de France. The Mexican champion, winner of the UAE Tour and Tirreno-Adriatico, has suffered very few setbacks this year. But his third place at Strade Bianche was achieved behind leader Tadej Pogacar... and just 9 seconds ahead of the French prodigy. In Netcompany Ineos too, the new generation is well represented, with Kevin Vauquelin and Oscar Onley alternating in excellent performances at the Algarve and Paris-Nice, while their teammate Carlos Rodriguez (25 years old) could have the opportunity to make a mark. At Movistar, it will be the winner of the 2022 Tour de l'Avenir, Cian Uijtdebroeks, who will aim for a good overall result in the Alps; and Australian Luke Plapp, who has just aged out of the white jersey category, will seek to confirm his progress after excellent performances at the UAE Tour (3rd), Tour de Romandie (5th) and Tour of Hungary (3rd).

Facing this array of young riders, the only former winner of the race, Dani Martinez, who has just turned 30, already seems like a veteran. The Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe Colombian showed exceptional form at Paris-Nice, where he finished second behind Jonas Vingegaard, and could take advantage of this opportunity before focusing on supporting his team leaders at the Tour de France. He will certainly have to contend with another strong Visma-Lease a Bike rider, Matteo Jorgenson, who at 26 years old is difficult to classify among the "veterans", but who can nonetheless boast a second place at the 2024 Critérium du Dauphiné, followed by a sixth place last year. The group of experienced riders who should play a leading role can be expanded to include Pello Bilbao and Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious, as well as Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet of Groupama-FDJ United.

TEAMS AND MAIN ENTRIES

Team Jayco AlUla : Plapp, Matthews (AUS)

Bahrain Victorious : Bilbao (ESP), Buitrago (COL), Mohoric (SVN)

Soudal Quick-Step : V.Paret-Peintre (FRA), Hayter (GBR), Lecerf (BEL)

Alpecin-Premier Tech : Houle (CAN), Glivar (SVN)

Lotto Intermarché : Zimmermann (DEU), Veistroffer (FRA)

Decathlon-CMA CGM Team : Seixas, Bisiaux, A.Paret-Peintre (FRA), Riccitello (USA)

Groupama-FDJ United : Martin-Guyonnet, Berthet, Molard (FRA)

Cofidis : Coquard, Rouland, Thomas (FRA)

TotalEnergies : Jegat, Burgaudeau (FRA)

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe : D.Martinez (COL), Van Gils (BEL)

Netcompany Ineos Cycling Team : Vauquelin, Godon (FRA), Onley (GBR), Carlos Rodriguez (ESP)

XDS Astana Team : Tejada (COL)

Team Visma-Lease a Bike : Jorgenson (USA), Van Aert (BEL), Armirail (FRA)

Team Picnic PostNL : Faure Prost (FRA)

Uno-X Mobility : T. Johannessen (NOR), Charmig (DNK)

Movistar Team : UIjtdebroeks (BEL), Romeo, Castrillo (ESP)

Caja Rural-Seguros RGA : Castellon (ESP)

Tudor Pro Cycling Team : Alaphilippe (FRA), Trentin (ITA), Voisard (CHE)

NSN Cycling Team : Bennett (NZL), Hofstetter (FRA)

UAE Team Emirates XRG : Del Toro (MEX), Almeida (PRT), Cosnefroy, Sivakov (FRA)

EF Education-Easypost : Steinhauser (DEU), Healy (IRL), Baudin (FRA)

Lidl-Trek : Ayuso (ESP), Skjelmose (DNK), Skujins (LVA)