Remco Evenepoel immediately responded to the challenge from his rivals and finished fourth in the first stage of the Dauphiné Tour, taking the white jersey for best young rider. The Soudal Quick-Step leader had thought about the sprinters, because the stage finale was more suited to them, but the general classification riders ultimately decided the day's outcome. "It might have been a bitter feeling for them, considering all the work they did" – Remco said, referring to the sprinters - "It was a truly special and unexpected stage. But this is cycling".

The victory went to Tadej Pogacar, who beat Jonas Vingegaard in a sprint, with Mathieu van der Poel coming in third. Evenepoel finished fourth but due to bonus seconds is fifth in the general classification.

"It's a shame to have lost some bonus seconds. But the fact that I was up front with the other classification riders is an encouraging sign. Now we'll try to carry this feeling with us in the next stages and maintain the same motivation we had yesterday".

Cycling is changing, and we now have riders capable of sprinting in fast finishes and being strong in climbs, which is challenging the specialists.

"I was certainly surprised that we raced for the stage victory in the finale. But this is the direction modern cycling is going. You never know what to expect from a race. It was a beautiful finale. Thanks to the initial attacks by Mathieu Van der Poel and Buitrago, we managed to sprint for the victory. Otherwise, the group would have caught up and taken us back".

Evenepoel is satisfied with his fourth place, but thinks he made a mistake in the finale and lost ground compared to his rivals.
"I believe I came out from Mathieu's wheel a bit too early, especially because there was headwind. Tadej and Jonas came out last, which is why they overtook us. On paper, this stage was suited to a rider like Mathieu, but he attacked from too far out and the victory went to Pogacar. There will be other days, we've just started and we have time to make up for it".