Vingegaard and Evenepoel's race tactics raise eyebrows with De Cauwer: "I’m not saying he didn’t make an effort, but..."

De Cauwer didn’t necessarily expect Pogacar to be this ruthless. Then again: “With him, you always expect something, but the rest had also risen in the rankings. We saw that in the poll we did for overall victory in the Dauphiné.” At the Belgian broadcaster, Pogacar had only been ranked third.

Despite the world champion’s dominance, De Cauwer pointed out that it was Visma | Lease a Bike who first took control of the stage. “You see the Visma guys riding full gas on the penultimate climb, clearly trying to make the race hard. And then they’re still left with three riders, Tulett, Jorgenson, and Vingegaard himself as a kind of field general.”

When Pogacar launched his attack on the final climb, Evenepoel was already nowhere to be seen. The Belgian opted to ride his own tempo to the summit. “By the time Pogacar went, most riders had already played a few cards,” said José De Cauwer. “There was this collective moment of: phew. That acceleration must’ve been incredible, even though he did it from the saddle.”

According to the Belgian commentator, it wasn’t just Evenepoel, Pogacar’s searing saddle attack left all of his rivals scrambling. “Normally, we’ve seen Vingegaard hang on for longer. I’m not saying he didn’t try, but he gave in fairly quickly, he didn’t want to blow himself up completely. You saw Evenepoel do the same, just sticking to his own rhythm. But that rhythm was simply too slow. Same for Vingegaard.”

While Visma | Lease a Bike's team director already admitted the stage was tailor-made for Pogacar, Saturday’s stage could prove even tougher. Can Evenepoel claw anything back? “There are three long climbs on Saturday,” said Belgian analyst José De Cauwer. “When a rider loses time, we always look for reasons. Was it yesterday’s crash? His time trial was solid, so maybe there’s more in the tank.”

“And then suddenly, today he’s less again,” De Cauwer added. “That’s the Pogacar story. You have to assume, he’s the best rider right now. Has been for three, maybe five years, even though Vingegaard won the Tour twice. So, is Pogacar beatable? Normally you'd say no. But Vingegaard is Vingegaard, and Evenepoel is Evenepoel. They’ll have their moments. We always look for opportunities, and so do they.”

Looking ahead to the next mountain showdown, De Cauwer remained cautious: “We might see a different race tomorrow. I wouldn’t dare say it’ll play out the same way, even though that would make sense. Pogacar will control things now, but on those long grinding climbs, Vingegaard and Evenepoel might perform better. It’s all up or down, so what can your domestiques really do for you then?”

Still, José De Cauwer believes Friday’s performance doesn’t warrant drawing big conclusions just yet. “Two days ago (Wednesday, ed.), Pogacar still had work to do. We were saying Vingegaard looked ready, maybe better than ever. Evenepoel was at his optimal weight and riding faster than ever. So… where do we stand now?”

It’s a question with no clear answer, just like the uncertainty surrounding Evenepoel’s Tour de France team after Louis Vervaeke’s withdrawal. On Friday, the Belgian was isolated early on, which doesn’t bode well for the Tour. But De Cauwer isn’t overly concerned about that either. “We’re assuming he won’t have to control the race in the Tour. So to already say the team isn’t up to par? No. I did expect more from Schachmann though.”

All in all, Friday offered cycling fans a clear preview of what’s to come in the Tour de France. But what stuck with De Cauwer most from Dauphiné’s sixth stage? “How quickly they dropped back, even Vingegaard. And that after they themselves had animated the race in the middle section of the stage.”