Tadej Pogacar won the sprint on the first stage ahead of Jonas Vingegaard and seizes the yellow jersey

The explanation between the favorites will not have waited long on the Dauphiné. From the first stage, Sunday, June 8, between Domérat and Montluçon, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) won the sprint in front of its main competitors Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike), Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Remco Evenepoel (Sudal Quick-Step). The world champion seizes the yellow jersey.

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Sprinters, who hoped to win on the first step, must be disappointed. The attack by Axel Laurance (ineos-grenadiers) in the final ascent of the Côte de Buffon eliminated them from the race for victory. Only the favorites managed to follow the Frenchman, before an attack by Jonas Vingegaard created a break. His group, composed of Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious), Mathieu Van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar and Remco Evenepoel, sailed with about five seconds ahead of the last five kilometers. But seeing the peloton come back, Mathieu Van der Poel launched the sprint early, surely too early, since the Dutchman was preceded by Pogacar and Vingegaard.

“I was thinking of going back to the bus faster to take a shower, I did not expect to be in the place of the winner, The world champion was surprised. I followed the movement in the last bump, I managed to respond to Jonas' last attack. The final was down so we were able to go to the end. I started thinking of the sprint two kilometers from the finish but I thought Mathieu Van der Poel was the fastest among us “. According to the Slovenian, his runner -up is “Already successful”even if the real tests will arrive later in the week, with the Alpine passes at the end of the course.