'The feeling is phenomenal' - Tadej Pogacar celebrates Dauphiné perfection ahead of Tour de France

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) sealed the general classification of the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné after an emphatic performance over three tough stages in the Alps, which confirmed the world champion as the man to beat ahead of the Tour de France. It was a mission success for Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates-XRG as the Slovenian became the first rider in 44 years to win three road stages at a single edition of the Dauphiné. 

"The feeling is phenomenal, I finally ticked this one off in my career goals after 2020," said Pogačar after securing the overall victory. "I remember how hard that week was. To come back after so many years with this shape just before the Tour de France, I'm really happy, and it was a nice victory."

When asked if beating Vingegaard boosts his confidence heading into July, Pogačar acknowledged the psychological advantage. "Yeah, for sure, it helps morale, motivation for the Tour because that's the biggest goal of the season, and I think it's a mental boost for all the team."

Despite his dominant display, the world champion believes there's still room for improvement before the Tour starts. "We will see, first good rest, then maybe we'll look a little bit towards the time trial, otherwise I think we shouldn't rush anything."

Pogačar never doubted his ability to overcome the time gaps after the time trial stage. "I mean, obviously I knew it was a big gap, but when you look at the profile for the hard weekend stages, and when we rode it, it was even harder than on the profile," he explained. "I knew that when I saw the profile, it's possible to come back even with these time gaps. I knew it would be hard, but I'm super happy to pull it off."

Looking ahead to the Tour and the three-week gap between now and the start in Lille, Pogačar confirmed he will skip the Slovenian national championships to continue altitude training. "Sadly, nationals are out of the question because we will stay longer at the altitude camp. With nationals, it's always so hard to organise everything," he said.

The world champion also explained his reasoning for missing the nationals: "For me it was a one-time goal, one-time dream to have the Slovenian bands and jersey on me. Now that I have the world champions jersey, I can wait another year maybe, and when I don't have these rainbow stripes anymore, maybe I go for the Slovenian stripes as they are pretty nice."

When asked about young French talent Paul Seixas, Pogačar was full of praise. "He's an amazing kid, also really respectful in the group, rides the bike nicely. I think he is a big machine, and if there is not too much pressure from the French media on him, then he will be a great success."

Pogačar sealed overall victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné by 59 seconds over Vingegaard and 2:38 ahead of Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), who finished third and won the youth classification. Pogačar also sealed the points classification while Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) won the mountains classification. 

The upcoming 112th edition of the Tour de France kicks off on July 5 in Lille, where Pogačar will arrive as the favourite to defend his yellow jersey after another impressive performance in 2025 at the Critérium du Dauphiné.