Tour General: Pogacar Outperforms Elite Riders
Tadej Pogacar Shocks the Cycling World at Criterium du Dauphiné
Get ready for the Tour de France, folks! The top cyclists are warming up, and the Criterium du Dauphiné is where it's at. It's the first real clash between the big favorites, and it didn't disappoint. Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard set the pace from the get-go.
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, the reigning Tour de France champion, showed off his skills from the start of the Criterium du Dauphiné. In an epic 195-kilometer race from Domérat to Montlucon, Pogacar edged out Vingegaard by a slender margin. Mathieu van der Poel finished third in a sprint for the stars.
"I wasn't expecting this. I thought I'd be in the shower by now," Pogacar said before the awards ceremony: "The Dauphiné is already a success for me. My form is obviously good, but the real test is still to come in the mountains." Thanks to bonus seconds, Pogacar, representing the UAE Emirates-XRG team, leads the Tour de France warm-up (starting July 5) by four seconds over Vingegaard.
Pogacar, the world champion, has already demonstrated his exceptional form in the spring classics. A few kilometers before the finish, he effortlessly followed an attack by two-time Tour winner Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). In the final meters, van der Poel started his sprint too early, allowing Pogacar and Vingegaard to pass him. "Tadej was simply faster," Pogacar said. "Congratulations to him. This might be the first time I've finished second in a mass sprint. I'm still very satisfied," said Vingegaard.
As for van der Poel, he's no stranger to the podium. The Dauphiné is a traditionally tough race, and the stars use it to test their form before the big event: the Tour de France. In southeastern France, there are eight stages, with 204.6 hilly kilometers from Prémilhat to Issoire on Monday.
Pogacar's victory in the first stage was a tactical masterclass. He capitalized on a late breakaway that included Remco Evenepoel and Santiago Buitrago. Evenepoel's efforts to bridge the gap were crucial, but he lacked the final sprint power to compete with Pogacar and Vingegaard. In the coming stages, Pogacar will face challenges, including a crucial time trial stage. Stay tuned as we continue to follow the action leading up to the Tour de France.
[Sources: ntv.de, tsi/sid]
Tadej Pogacar showed his dominance in the first stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné, out-sprinting Jonas Vingegaard and Mathieu van der Poel. The stage, initially expected to be a bunch sprint, transformed into a more competitive race. Jonas Vingegaard's aggressive move on the final categorized climb, the Côte de Buffon, was noteworthy, but Pogacar's tactical sprint secured him the stage win and the leader's jersey. Pogacar's victory was a testament to his tactical prowess and sprinting ability, although challenges await in later stages of the race, including a crucial time trial stage that could further test the riders' abilities.
"I'm not going to be able to maintain this pace in all future sports events, especially in the time trial stage of the upcoming Tour de France."
"Despite the success in the first stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné, sports like the Tour de France require more than just sprinting and tactical prowess."
