Ahead of the race, Mathieu van der Poel predicted that this stage would almost certainly end in a bunch sprint. However, in the end, the Dutchman rode away, with Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, and Tadej Pogacar still in contention. In the end, the star of Alpecin-Deceuninck was defeated in the sprint by the world champion. Still, he cannot complain about a disappointing performance in the first stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, especially considering the circumstances of his return. With the 'big three' and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious), van der Poel broke away in the last 6 kilometers. "Honestly, I didn't expect we would go with a group,” he told
Cycling Pro. “I expected a controlled pace, but they really attacked from the bottom, which was quite a hard climb, and then Jonas went at the top, and I knew I had to follow. Until the finish, I wasn't sure we would make it."
The peloton arrived just too late, but Pogacar was too strong in the sprint for van der Poel. Vingegaard surprisingly overtook him as well. "I just didn’t have the legs anymore. As I said before the start, this is what I could not train in the last few weeks," he said, referring to his sprint. His wrist injury in a mountain bike crash somewhat restricted his training in recent weeks. "I felt I was at my limit at the top of the climb, and I hoped my legs would recover a bit before the sprint, but that wasn't the case. But to be honest, I'm quite happy with my performance.2
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Van der Poel: "Was in a different weight class there"
We saw van der Poel at the front 40 kilometers from the finish, and he was also very attentive on the final climb. "I just tried to stay at the front on the climb to see what would happen. Staying in the bunch was also an option, but when Vingegaard attacked, and Tadej followed, I had to go too. That's how we got away with a small group. He seemed to have what it takes among the climbers. "I was in a different weight class there," he laughs. “But I'm glad I was in the decisive move. I'm a little disappointed I couldn't finish it, but I'm happy with how I performed today."