Evenepoel could sprint for stage win in Dauphiné thanks to van der Poel: "That was a bit strange"

"Everything went well," said a positive Evenepoel, beginning his story to VeloPro. "It was a bit of a surprise that I could sprint for the stage win in the final, but that's modern cycling for you. You never know what to expect in a final like that. In the end, it was a great race. I think Buitrago and Mathieu started their sprint early so we could go for the stage win. Otherwise, I think the peloton would have caught up with us."

Evenepoel was ultimately unable to compete in that sprint. "There was a headwind. Normally, Mathieu is the fastest in these kinds of groups, but he started at about 250 meters. So, with the headwind, it was pretty challenging to stay in the front, and then Tadej and Jonas took off in the end. I think that's why the sprint ended the way it did," the Belgian reflected on the spectacular finish.

The reason why the great talents of contemporary cycling – and not the sprinters who were present – could sprint for the stage victory is mainly thanks to Vingegaard. The Dane accelerated in the final and opened a gap with the peloton. "I don't think the point where he attacked was really where he would normally attack," Evenepoel said, looking back. "He attacked at the top, at the roundabout. It was a bit strange. I stayed calm, but I had to come from behind. Fortunately, I had the strength to close the gap fairly quickly," said the Belgian, after riding in one go to catch up with Vingegaard, Pogacar, Van der Poel, and Buitrago in the final.

And so the final became incredibly exciting, even though that was not Evenepoel's intention beforehand. "I wasn't planning to attack at the end or go for the stage win today, but you must always be ready for any situation. This morning on the bus, we said that you always have to be ready for certain situations, and this was one of them. So you must always be ready and stay focused," concluded the double Olympic champion.