Six takeaways from the Critérium du Dauphiné - Domestique Debrief

Stage 1 set the tone for the week, bringing us yet another Pogačar win – something we’ve all become quite accustomed to in these past two years – but this time in a sprint against the rest of the general classification favourites. He then followed this up with another of his usual solo victories on stage 6, after dropping Vingegaard on the Côte de Domancy with around seven kilometres to go, and this catapulted him into the lead of the general classification, which he held for the rest of the race. He wasn’t satisfied with only the general classification, however, as he won stage 7 with another solo move on the final climb and ended up claiming the points jersey too.

One thing we did learn, however, is that the world champion is not entirely infallible. On stage 4, he delivered a puzzling individual time trial performance, which he attributed to bad pacing, finishing in fourth place, almost a minute down on the winner. This shows that whilst Pogačar is known to be pretty consistent, he may not be able to sustain his level of dominance day-in day-out across the rest of the season, which could still leave a gap for something unexpected to occur in the races to come.

Whilst it’s clear that Pogačar is in top form right now, the Critérium du Dauphiné has shown us that fans still can’t count Vingegaard out. In stage 1 – his first race day back since he left Paris-Nice earlier this year following a crash and consequent concussion – he started with a bang. He attacked from the peloton inside the final six kilometres and made it to the end with the front group, beating both Evenepoel and van der Poel in a flat sprint, and only narrowly losing to Pogačar – not bad for a rider who critics often say ‘lacks punch’.

This form continued throughout the week, as he easily beat a shaky-looking Pogačar in stage 4’s ITT, coming second only to Evenepoel, the Olympic and world champion in the discipline. Whilst he was dropped by Pogačar on stages 6 and 7, he still held on for second place in both, and kept up with the Slovenian on stage 8, allowing him to secure second place in the general classification, and firmly solidify his position as ‘best of the rest’.

Whilst it’s likely that, if they both remain healthy and upright until the end, both Pogačar and Vingegaard will make it onto the podium of this year’s Tour de France, exactly who will take that final podium place is still up in the air. Following his performance at the Tour last year, the most obvious pick would be Evenepoel; however, with his pre-season preparation hampered by a crash in training, it’s uncertain whether this year will be his year, and his performance in this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné has arguably demonstrated this.

In stage 1, he showed that he’s still pretty strong, as he bridged across a sizeable gap on his own to get to the front group, however, he was still out-sprinted by Pogačar and Vingegaard, as well as Van der Poel and Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates XRG) at the finish, showing that his effort out in the wind had affected him. He then crashed on stage 5, and whilst he secured fifth place on stages 6, 7 and 8, he was dropped by the riders ahead, and lost significant time in the general classification, leading to him ultimately losing the final podium spot to Florian Lipowitz (Red-Bull-BORA-hansgrohe).

His time trialling skills remain sharper than ever, as he easily won the ITT on stage 4 by a healthy margin, but it’s clear that his mountain legs could do with some more warming-up. It therefore remains to be seen what he can do in this year’s edition of La Grande Boucle, and whether he can replicate or even improve upon his performance last year.

In this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) continued to add to his victory count and build his case for being this season’s best sprinter, by winning the bunch sprint in stage 2 easily (after coming back from being dropped earlier in the race) and claiming fifth place in the sprint on stage 5 on a course riddled with hills.

His performance in this less-than-sprinter-friendly stage race seems to indicate his readiness to contest the Tour de France sprints – but winning at the Tour won’t be easy for him, as the two other prime candidates for ‘Best Sprinter’, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), will be lining up alongside him. 

Despite the absence of this year’s Giro d’Italia maglia ciclamino winner, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and double stage-winner, Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike), having the current sprinting ‘Big 3’ there in such good form guarantees that we’ll be treated to a sprinters’ ‘Battle Royale’, and one thing is for sure: by the end, the battle for the title of ‘Best Sprinter’ will be settled once and for all.

Iván Romeo (Movistar Team) took his first WorldTour win and the opportunity to wear the leader’s jersey on stage 3, after riding all day in the breakaway before attacking solo with less than six kilometres to go. The young Spaniard has been a ‘rider to watch’ for a while – having previously shown promise in the under-23 category – but he took another step up this year, winning a stage at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and earning top-5 places in the general classification of the UAE Tour, as well as in stages in both Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie. He’s shown that he’s gradually becoming more consistent at the top elite level, and this latest win is the cherry on top – it’ll be interesting to see where he can go from here.

Another 21-year-old who made his mark in this year’s race was Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious). The young Frenchman, who has been impressive at the elite level almost as soon as he joined the WorldTour in 2023, has been in good form this year, having already won a stage at both Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie. He’s now backed this good form up by claiming the final stage win ahead of both Vingegaard and Pogačar after riding all day in the break, showing his strong climbing skills and ability to consistently win at the top level. It’s anticipated that he’ll participate in his second Tour de France this year, and if his form in this race is anything to go by, he might be able to pick up some impressive results.

Whilst it remains unclear as to who will come out on top at the Tour de France, one thing is certain: Romain Bardet will be missed. The Frenchman announced last year that he would be retiring from professional road cycling following this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné – his favourite race in the calendar – before moving over to gravel racing for the rest of the year. This means that we won’t get to see the four-time Tour de France stage winner in action in this year’s Tour, and his road racing career has now come to an end.

He certainly made the most of it, enjoying a special celebration in his honour at the start of stage 3 in his hometown of Brioude, and launching attacks on stages 2 and 7, animating the race and giving him the chance to ride out solo in front for the last time. Whilst Bardet didn’t get the fairy tale win in this year’s Dauphiné, his presence in the race was felt, and he topped it off by making a special announcement: we’ll have one last chance to see him feature in a road race at this year’s Tour, but in a slightly different capacity. The charismatic rider, known for his intelligence and insightful nature, will be on the TV moto for Eurosport France during the second week to give his insights and analysis into the race – the perfect way to continue his involvement in the cycling world and show up for his fans outside of competing.