
We've been waiting for their first direct clash and they did not disappoint expectations. The finale of the first stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné, the Domérat-Montluçon of 195.8 km, was truly spectacular and in the end Tadej Pogacar beat everyone in a sprint, defeating Jonas Vingegaard and Mathieu Van der Poel, with Remco Evenepoel fourth and Jake Stewart fifth.
On the final circuit of Montluçon, after Fred Wright's (Bahrain Victorious) attempt just over 5 km from the finish, Vingegaard attacked, immediately followed by Pogacar, Van der Poel and Buitrago, with Remco Evenepoel rejoining the leaders last, with the fast-moving group in pursuit, catching the breakaway riders right on the final straight but unable to contest the final sprint. Stewart, in fact, was the protagonist of an excellent sprint that allowed him to close the gap but not to fight for victory.
The first stage of the Dauphiné immediately shows the difference from the last Giro d'Italia, because races are made by riders and here we have the world's strongest, those who interpret our sport with a different mental approach, because they belong to another class. Those who, perhaps, practice a different sport compared to others.
For Pogacar, this is his 8th victory of the season, the 96th of his career, and his UAE Emirates XRG, already successful today in Slovenia with Ivo Oliveira, reaches 42 victories this season.
to be updated
FINAL STANDINGS
1 TADEJ POGACAR UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG 04h40' 12''
2 JONAS VINGEGAARD TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE
3 MATHIEU VAN DER POEL ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK
4 REMCO EVENEPOEL SOUDAL QUICK-STEP
5 JAKE STEWART ISRAEL - PREMIER TECH
6 HUGO PAGE INTERMARCHÈ - WANTY
7 BASTIEN TRONCHON DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM
8 CLEMENT VENTURINI ARKEA-B&B HOTELS
9 BENJAMIN THOMAS COFIDIS
10 PAUL PENHOET GROUPAMA-FDJ
11 EMILIEN JEANNIERE TOTALENERGIES
12 LAURENCE PITHIE RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE
13 STIAN EDVARDSEN-FREDHEIM UNO-X MOBILITY
14 BEN TULETT TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE
15 ANDERS FOLDAGER TEAM JAYCO ALULA
16 SAMUEL WATSON INEOS GRENADIERS
17 ANTHONY TURGIS TOTALENERGIES
18 SANTIAGO BUITRAGO BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS
19 AURÉLIEN PARET PEINTRE DECATHLON AG2R LA MONDIALE TEAM
20 SIMONE VELASCO XDS ASTANA TEAM