Unexpected criticism for Pogacar: "He may have made his first mistake just weeks before the Tour"

On day one of the Dauphiné, a sprint was expected in the town of Montluçon. Vingegaard caused a sprint between Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), and himself for the first leader's jersey. The world champion won that sprint, but afterward, we saw the Slovenian sharing a nice moment with Vingegaard.

The two opponents shook hands and congratulated each other in a brief interaction. Commentator José De Cauwer also enjoyed that moment. "The openness and sportsmanship between Pogacar and Vingegaard... A smile that I have rarely seen between them, looking openly into each other's eyes as we would do without any jealousy or hostility. They were actually two newcomers who, after crossing the finish line, said to each other that what they had done was good. I thought that was a wonderful image,“ said the Belgian then.

After a very sporting week, during which we saw even more friendly interactions between Pogacar and Vingegaard, criticism of the world champion came from a somewhat unexpected corner via X. Philippe Gilbert shared his opinion the day after the Dauphiné. “With just a few weeks to go before the Tour, Pogacar may have made his first mistake in his career by not being humble towards his opponents,” said the Belgian former rider.

“It's a mistake of a youngster that can be easily rectified because I'm sure that his true nature will quickly return, and his positive image will also return,” Gilbert added. It is unclear on what basis the Belgian came to this conclusion.