Tadej Pogacar triumphs at Critérium Dauphiné's queen stage with a stunning display
Critérium du Dauphiné 2025: Tadej Pogacar Crushes the Competition
After a psychologically challenging few minutes on Friday, Tadej Pogacar showed once again why he's a force to be reckoned with. Attacking at 12 kilometers, he left all his adversaries trailing behind, crossing the finish line victorious atop Valmeinie. A 14 second lead over Jonas Vingegaard, along with bonus seconds, practically seals the Criterium Dauphine 2025 for the Slovenian champion.
Pogacar's third stage win increases his lead in the General Classification to a commanding 1 minute and 1 second over Vingegaard. Florian Lipowitz remains in third place, 2 minutes and 21 seconds back.
Pogacar's blistering pace saw him complete the 131.6-kilometer ride in a lightning-fast 4 hours and 10 minutes—only achievable by a cyclist who can maintain an average of 31.6 km/h. Vingegaard and Lipowitz followed closely in second and third. Remco Evenepoel, who had previously led, lost ground, finishing 2 minutes and 39 seconds behind Pogacar. The Spanish duo of Enric Mas and Carlos Rodriguez finished 3 minutes and 49 seconds adrift.
The day's other notable performance came fromRomain Bardet, who rode solo for much of the stage, drawing the attention of his family and friends. Before Bardet's solo adventure, 12 riders had escaped, with the best-placed rider, Kuss, lagging 6 minutes and 24 seconds behind. The UAE team effectively quashed Visma’s plans.
At 12 kilometers from the top, Pogacar attacked, leaving Vingegaard struggling in his wake. Only managing to hold onto Pogacar’s wheel for 100 meters before being dropped.
Pogacar, seemingly unaffected by the exertion,displayed an impressive lack of suffering on the bike, in stark contrast to his rivals, who were clearly struggling.
"The team wanted to control the entire climb, but Visma tried repeatedly with attacks. I'm extremely pleased with Sivakov's performance and the entire team's effort. We had to defend ourselves against attacks from all Visma's riders. In the end, I launched an attack at 12 kilometers from the finish and maintained a solid pace until the top. I'm delighted to have been able to defend the jersey in this fashion," Pogacar stated at the finish.
The final stage, an 8th and decisive stage of 133.3 kilometers between Val-d'Arc and Plateau du Mont-Cenis, is set to be disputed on Sunday. A mountainous stage with six climbs and an ascending profile that will significantly impact the final podium standings. The final battle for the podium will take place in a climb that reaches an altitude of over 2,000 meters after 9.6 kilometers at an average gradient of 6.9%.
Tadej Pogacar's consistency in sports is evident as he maintains an average speed of 31.6 km/h, significantly faster than his competitors, in the Critérium du Dauphiné 2025. Despite the competition in sports, Pogacar continues to dominate in average pace, fostering an average lead over his rivals.
