Pogacar may be offering Vingegaard and Evenepoel an opening ahead of Dauphiné and Tour de France battle

Pogacar returns after a long training block in Sierra Nevada, among other places, where he found peace at altitude after the classic spring and laid the foundation for the hunt for his fourth Tour de France victory. After two stages and the overall classification in the UAE Tour, victories in Strade Bianche, the Tour of Flanders, the Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and impressive podium places in Milan-Sanremo, Paris-Roubaix, and the Amstel Gold Race, he seems ready for part two of his season.

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"Of course, I've thought about that ahead of this race. The competition in the Dauphiné is great, almost the same as in the Tour, and there are some tough stages and a time trial. I have to remind myself that I'm coming off a long training period and that we're preparing for the Tour. If something goes wrong and I don't win the Dauphiné, I must let that pressure wash over me."

"I know the pressure is on me, but I must enjoy it and see how my legs feel. I'll try to win, but the Dauphiné hasn't always been an indicator for the Tour de France. Let's hope it all goes smoothly, without stress and pressure, and that we get some good battles."

"Of course, you analyze a race like that and conclude for yourself because a lot happened in the Giro. It was a great opportunity to watch the race because it will sometimes be similar in the Tour de France. Everyone in cycling follows the Giro and learns something from it. It was a great race, and you learn from every race you watch."

"I believe we can be proud of how the team finished the Giro. They were phenomenal despite some ups and downs with illness and crashes. That is part of cycling. Isaac was a surprise to many; he had almost won the Giro. I supported him and the team every day. On a long training day, I often listened to the last two hours of the race or watched the last hour. It was great to see the team riding so well."

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"The metrics were good. They're always good for me, maybe just a little less in November, haha. I'm happy with my metrics."

"We had about the same plan this year as in 2023 when I broke my wrist in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. That meant I couldn't train as I would have liked for the Tour. So this is the first time I've come out of the spring classics in good shape. I was in Sierra Nevada quite early, where I was able to train well and do some high-quality work."

"Of course, you always want to do more, but overall, I trained well for the Dauphiné. In the race, I'll get some speed in my legs and see if there are still things I can improve or relax more. Maybe I need to work on my time trial or do other things differently, but we'll find out soon enough."

"Everyone knows I've trained differently with a new coach for the past two years. I'm not saying this is better for me, but after four years, the change was good. It gave me room for improvement, although I can't compare 2025 to 2024 because I rode the Giro d'Italia then. Back then, I mainly needed to rest and recover, and I already had legs for the big tours, but riding the classics this year meant I was a bit behind in that respect. However, I trained well in Sierra Nevada, and the heat also helped me adapt to the high temperatures."

"I must eliminate the idea that I must win the Dauphiné because it's my first stage race since the UAE Tour. We did things differently because I wanted to discover new things and not do the same thing every year. I wouldn't last long in this sport if I had to keep doing the same thing. We adjust the program a bit every time, although I am committed to the Tour every year, haha."

"Change is good, at least for me. It benefits me because I gain a lot of experience riding in different pelotons, at different speeds, and on different terrains. If you only do stage races, it's always the same. The classics are more interesting for me."

"I'm definitely looking forward to it. From what I've seen, Jonas is in good shape, so we can expect him to be at a very high level. He had a difficult spring, but I think he'll be very good, and I hope we can battle it together. But of course, I'm not just focusing on Jonas, but also on the other competitors, such as Remco. It'll be fun on TV and hopefully also in the race."

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])