Did a special fork help Stewart win his Dauphiné stage? "I’m not allowed to say too much about that"

It hadn’t been a smooth day for Israel–Premier Tech, as their designated sprinter Pascal Ackermann was forced to abandon after a crash. But where one rider dropped out, another stepped up, namely Stewart. “This feels so good. It’s a shame Ackermann crashed, but that gave me the opportunity to go for it.”

“It would’ve been a great day for him too, and I feel bad he couldn’t be in the mix for the win,” said the eventual stage winner. “The team backed me, and we went for it, so I’m incredibly happy I could finish the job.”

Stewart had already impressed in stage one, winning the sprint behind the breakaway trio of Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, and Van der Poel, so this victory didn’t come entirely out of nowhere. “I’ve been improving all season. I already won in Dunkirk, which was my first win in a few years. I came close on day one, so I’m really happy to finally get the breakthrough.”

So how did Stewart pull it off? “I followed Milan in the last three kilometers, which got me into a good position to launch my sprint. Lidl–Trek took the inside line, and I grabbed Van der Poel’s wheel, then picked the right moment to go. I got ahead of Milan, and managed to hold him off.”

One thing stood out at the finish: Stewart immediately pointed to his front fork, which looked more like something from a track bike compared to what his rivals were using. So it was logical, he was asked about it. “I can’t say too much about that,” smiled the winner, following his press officer’s orders. The fork in question is part of a new so-called aero bike from supplier Factor.