De Cauwer saw an even more beautiful moment after Pogacar–Vingegaard duel: "Without jealousy or hostility"

"The aliens are back! It's a big country fair in the opening stage of the Dauphiné," Schotte said, getting straight to the point. De Cauwer was also somewhat surprised. "The men in the GC are already picking up bonus seconds on the first day in a bunch sprint, or at least in the photo. Beautiful, really beautiful! An open race, as one speaks of modern cycling."

In the past, according to Schotte, we sometimes saw big names who didn't push themselves and kept their legs still, but on Sunday, that was not the case. De Cauwer did see something change in the end. "Then Pogacar started to think about winning the stage. As a result, Van der Poel had to do most of the work and ultimately pay the price."

De Cauwer said it was not only the smartest rider who won. "It was also the one who dared to go for it the most. The great thing about the whole thing is that Vingegaard was the one who started it. Then Pogacar and van der Poel had to come, and Evenepoel couldn't stay behind either. The fact that the four of them crossed the finish line just ahead of the peloton is something they couldn't have planned. If someone dared to come up with that, they would say you were exaggerating."

It wasn't just the attacking Vingegaard who caught the eye of the two Belgians; they also saw that van der Poel was in good shape. The Dutch rider suffered a fracture in his wrist in Nove Mesto but proved on Sunday that he had recovered well. "This was one of the days he came here to train for. The time trial and the last three days will be a different story," said De Cauwer, who thought the big three performed well. "We can safely say that Evenepoel, Pogacar, and Vingegaard are ready to battle. The great thing was that all three rode like big hitters."

Evenepoel was good in the end, but after Vingegaard's attack, he was nowhere to be seen at first. As a result, the Belgian from Soudal Quick-Step had to close a big gap on his own, which he did impressively. "It's a slight boost that he closed the gap. If he hadn't, it would have been a bit of a disappointment," said De Cauwer.

While Evenepoel had to close a big gap, Pogacar had much less trouble finding Vingegaard's wheel. The Slovenian was alone early in the final, as no UAE riders seemed to support him. Still, according to De Cauwer, that's no reason to panic. "I don't think this is the Tour team yet. Tim Wellens also had a mechanical problem, but those guys wouldn't have made it to the top anyway. It was a small breakaway by Vingegaard but at a tough moment."

What struck De Cauwer most was the sportsmanship after the race. "I really enjoyed the openness and sportsmanship between Pogacar and Vingegaard. A smile that I've rarely seen between them, looking openly into each other's eyes as we would do without any jealousy or hostility. They were two newcomers who told each other after the finish line that what they had done was good. I thought that was a very beautiful image."