Published on : 06/13/2026
Another mountainous day on the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The 7th stage, linking La Bridoire to Grand Colombier, gave the riders no respite. Sam Maisonobe fought hard until the very end.
He continues to make his mark. At the front of the pack, the day before, during the Crest-Voland stage, Sam Maisonobe battled alongside the best riders on the 7th stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, which ran from La Bridoire to Grand Colombier on Saturday, June 13, 2026. After an explosive start to the stage, Sam Maisonobe remained in the group of favorites alongside Sergio Samitier. The Toulouse native stayed with them all the way to the final climb up Grand Colombier. Finishing 21st at the summit, Sam dropped three places in the general classification but remains on the verge of the Top 15. He will aim for a Top 15 finish tomorrow, which would cap off a great week for our 22-year-old rider.
The reaction
Bingen Fernandez, sports director:
"Today was a short, tough stage where we knew the general classification contenders were out to win and try to take the yellow jersey. It was completely different from yesterday’s stage, where we had 59 riders at the front.
We were keeping a close eye on how the race was starting, to see if there were any large groups attacking. We had Sergio Samitier up front to help Sam Maisonobe in the final stretch—since he’s well-placed in the general classification—to support him as best as possible on the final climb. Sergio tried to break away in a group of 12 riders at the front, but behind them, the peloton rode hard and didn’t let the breakaway go. After that, he did his best to help Sam, and Sam finished 21st. He’s 16th in the general classification. We had great team spirit today, and tomorrow, we’ll see. We’ll see how our Sam responds."