Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) phenomenally denied Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) the Critérium du Dauphiné opening stage victory in a bunch sprint.
In what was meant to be a slower opening day on the bike, the titans of the sport broke away with 6km to go alongside Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step), and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain - Victorious), creating a spectacular and surprising end to a long day.
As Van der Poel led out the sprint to the line, Pogacar timed his attack to perfection, getting the better of the Dutchman to take the top spot and add yet another epic clash to their history together. The Slovenian was followed by Vingegaard, who pushed Van der Poel into third.
Anticipation was rife at the start of the opening day of the 8-stage race, which would see riders take on 195.8km from Domérat to Montluçon, as well as numerous Cat. 4 climbs culminating in a sprint finish to secure the yellow jersey.
But a day full of out-of-character and yet stand-out performances proved that this Criterium will be nothing other than unpredictable. And so if this stage is anything to go by, fans are in for not only an exciting Criterium du Dauphiné but an even greater Tour de France in a month's time - consider our appetites whetted!
How it happened
There were bold breakaways from the outset, as within the first 15km, Paul Ourselin (Cofidis) and Pierre Thierry (Arkéa) had already extended their advantage to 4 minutes ahead of the peloton.
This two-man breakaway held its advantage for the whole first 100km of the race, only having their lead reduced to 2 minutes 15 seconds following a strong shift from Lidl-Trek in the peloton.
Côte de Sainte-Thérence, the first climb of the day, arrived with 90km to go, and the 2.5km climb at a 4% incline saw the two-man group stay ahead of the peloton, but their lead had been chipped away to less than 2 minutes for the first time in over a 100km.
In the next 30km, the controlled peloton reeled in the men to bring them within a minute, with Ourselin tapping out after collecting almost all of the seven climbing points on offer and rejoined the group to leave Thierry riding solo with only 15 seconds' advantage.
After 15 lonely kilometres for Thierry, he was joined by an attacking Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) to double efforts in the breakaway as the peloton breathed down their necks, with only a 10-second advantage and two more climbs inbound.
This pairing only lasted a short time after the Brit bridged the gap, as Thierry returned to the comfort of the peloton after a day at the front, leaving Wright to try to hold off the peloton for another 10km before being reeled in before the racing fully started.
After the final categorised climb of the day came in a 600m steep ascent led by Axel Laurence (Ineos Grenadiers), Matteo Jorgenson made a small move to breakaway, but it was cancelled out by a preying Van der Poel.
But it was Vingegaard who made the decisive move 5.5km from the finish as he attacked and was followed by Pogacar, Van der Poel and Buitrago, with Evenepoel bringing up the rear.
From there, it was a test of nerve (and fitness) for a recently returned Van der Poel, who attacked first on the flamme rouge, leading out the sprint ahead of the breakaway, who were mere seconds clear of the chasing peloton.
As Van der Poel’s sprint waned, Pogacar sprang to life, coming around the side to pip his rival and ride clear across the line with Vingegaard closely following.
It was reminiscent of the sprint finish at Milan San-Remo, where Van der Poel got the better of the Slovenian on the line, as Pogacar utilised the opening day Criterium du Dauphine to enact his revenge and add a new chapter in their rivalry.
Results
Criterium du Dauphine 2025 Stage 1 Domérat > Montluçon (195.8km)
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 4:40:12
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Visma Lease a Bike
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
5. Jake Stewart (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
6. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarche-Wanty
7. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale
8. Clement Venturini (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels
9. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis
10. Paul Penhoet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, all at the same time
Criterium du Dauphine 2025 General Classification after Stage 1
1. Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 4:40:02
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Team Visma Lease a Bike, +4s
3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Deceuninck, +6s
4. Nico Politt, (Ger) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +9s
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step +10s
6. Jake Stewart (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
7. Hugo Page (Fra) Intermarche-Wanty
8. Bastien Tronchon (Fra) Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale
9. Clement Venturini (Fra) Arkea-B&B Hotels
10. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Cofidis all at the same time
“That one was painful”: Tadej Pogacar celebrates his surprising Criterium du Dauphine bunch sprint victory
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