Tadej Pogacar delivered a harsh lesson to his rivals and at the uphill finish in Combloux, he took both the stage and the yellow leader's jersey in the Criterium du Dauphine.

"We had our plan, but then Visma started going full gas uphill - he explained after the finish line - Actually, before the start, I didn't know, but I had already ridden this climb, and it brought back some beautiful memories".

Pogacar didn't give his rivals time to respond to his attack and at the finish, Vingegaard was 1'01" behind and Evenepoel arrived 1'50" back.

"The team was really strong. Pavel and Johnny were truly incredible today, the entire team actually was, and in the end, yes, I felt good and I attacked".

Pogacar and his team's strategy worked perfectly, and his change of pace came at the start of the final climb. "We told each other we would start from the beginning of the climb, in the steepest part, and we would push because we had nothing to lose and could only gain, and in the end, that's how it went".

Tadej Pogacar also wanted to joke at the finish, explaining that he wanted to hurry to watch the stage finish of the Tour of Switzerland, where his partner Urska is racing. "It was a hot and tough day and I wanted to hurry to see Urska's finish at the Tour of Switzerland and luckily I made it just in time".

Once again, we saw Pogacar climb with extreme ease and leave all his rivals behind. "I felt really good. And when I attacked, it was a total effort, and then I knew there were still about 15 minutes after the Côte d'Amancy to the top, so I had to manage myself after the attack, and the feeling was good and the legs were turning well. Today I definitely found a positive response to last Wednesday's time trial".