Van Aert heads in right direction with strong sprint but denied by breakaway at Dauphiné

Stage 4 of the Critérium du Dauphiné lived up to its billing as a tense game of cat-and-mouse between the breakaway and the peloton. With a challenging opening 110km giving way to a flat run-in to Montrond-les-Bains, the route was tailor-made for a strong escape group to build an advantage and try to hold on in the finale. 

This scenario materialised with a twelve-man breakaway forming after 60km of action. The group maintained an advantage of 20 seconds heading inside the final 5km, leaving Visma | Lease a Bike to lead the chase in the peloton as Wout van Aert waited to pounce. 

Ultimately, it wasn’t to be for a sixth career Dauphine stage victory for Van Aert in a fast and furious finish as the breakaway narrowly held off the charging peloton with Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) sprinting to victory. 

Van Aert led home the bunch in eleventh, just four seconds behind the American champion, and despite the disappointment of a near-miss, Van Aert was satisfied with his team's performance. 

“Well, I felt good in the final and could do a good sprint. I think I won the sprint from the bunch, but a few guys stayed in front,” Van Aert told reporters including CyclingPro.net. “So yeah, it's always unfortunate for us at least, but we raced for it, and I'm happy with it.”

Winning the sprint from the bunch provided a boost of positivity for Van Aert, who had questioned his form after being dropped just 8km into Stage 3's team time trial.

Despite his struggles in the team time trial, and a mechanical for Ben Tulett, Visma | Lease a Bike still won the stage, and Van Aert highlighted the immense strength of his teammates and how having his teammates support him the following stage gave him a boost. 

“I mean the team is going really well. We didn't need to show that today again. I think yesterday was quite the example with me dropping out so early and then Ben [Tulett] having a flat and still winning that time trial; that's pretty insane,” explained Van Aert.

“So yeah, if you have these guys pulling for you, you want to do your very best, and that's what I did, but we came up just short,” concluded Van Aert. 

Stage 5 looks, on paper, most likely in the 2026 edition to end in a bunch sprint. With a lack of pure sprinters on the start list, it’s likely that many of those who featured towards the sharp end of the results, including Van Aert, could be in the mix once more.