Mirco Maestri he was wrong by 24 hours. "Tomorrow Tadej will say: today I'll show him." "That today" arrived precisely one day later. The standard-bearer of the Polti-Kometa He had commentated the race for us and that day Pogacar took it from Remco Evenepoel, but above all from his number one rival: jonas vingegaard.
Today, at the first stage of the Criterium du Dauphine, with his innate competitive spirit, the world champion has returned to impose his law. A stage, a jersey, and above all, a clear demonstration of strength. The standings now read: Pogacar first, Vingegaard second at 43 seconds, Lipowitz third at 54 seconds, and Remco fourth at 1'22".
The king has already returned
Let's analyze the race of Pogacar and his UAE EmiratesThe team runs compactly around its leader, even leaving the burden of the race to the Visma-Lease a Bike which pulls on the penultimate climb. Pogacar's attention is at its maximum and he even sends Narvaez to nibble away the second of time bonus left at the intermediate sprint.Details that speak of a maximum, almost ferocious, ravenous concentration.
On the Cote de Domacy he put the team to pull. He fragmented the group and in a particular curve, the one where Vingegaard was flying up in 2021 and he was instead "struggling" (with two big quotation marks since he finished second), it sank even harder.
That open account with the past
On the Domancy tear, Pogacar at the Tour de France two years ago, precisely taken from the Dane. Since that day Tadej has worked like never before. At the end of that Tour, he changed coaches and training. And today he served up this slow-cooked revenge.
“We had our plan,” Pogacar explained while he was on the rollers to cool down, “but Visma decided to give it their all on the climb before the finale. This climb brought back some "good" memories (The reference is to the 2023 Tour de France, in fact, ed.). I have to thank and praise Tim Wellens, Jhonatan Narvaez, and Pavel Sivakov; they were incredible. I felt good, we decided to take control from the first meters of the climb, I had nothing to lose.
«I felt really good and I had to hurry because I wanted to see my wife arrive at the Tour de Suisse – the Slovenian joked in a swashbuckling way – when I attacked, I knew I had to give it my all and that there were 15 minutes of effort left to go. The feeling was good, the legs were turning well, it was fantastic to be in front».
And here Pogacar's competitive spirit shines through. "It was fantastic to be in front," as if it hadn't happened to him in ages... He's never satisfied, and in fact, he himself returns to the time trial.
«I would like to know where I wasted timeIt's a challenge for me and the team to try to improve further in time trials. Our form is good, but we also need to save some energy for the Tour."
Jonas and Remco…
Vingegaard, for his part, seemed to be careful not to overrev. Ultimately, he never had a crisis, and the fact that Pogacar overtook him when he wasn't on the pedals, but at pace, means that The limiter was there. We'll have to see how far it pulled the plug before overrevving. That's the key point.
Even Pogacar, however, didn't seem to go beyond certain limits. Perhaps today's difference was truly made by motivation, by the desire for revenge. Or even the heat. Upon arrival, the Dane seemed to be the one most affected by the summer heat. It was over 30 degrees, despite the mountainous areas.
"Pogacar was the strongest today," said sports director Grischa Niermann. "The gaps at the finish were significant. Of course, We were hoping Jonas could stay closer on the final climb. Being so short and explosive, this stage suited Tadej perfectly. and it was clear from the beginning that the UAE had a plan. When someone is stronger, you can't help but accept it and congratulate them on the victory. But I'm keeping my team spirit."
And Remco? Perhaps Evenepoel was also expecting something more. Instead he was separated from three men from Visma-Lease a Bike and three from UAE Emirates. And the team itself is perhaps the darkest chapter for Remco.
Of the thirty who approached the final climb he was the only one of the Soudal-Quick StepHe fought, he tried to manage himself, perhaps he even had some objective impediment due to the fall, but the fact remains that in the end Lipowitz caught him and dropped him.
"I felt great on the penultimate climb," the Olympic champion said without making excuses, "but perhaps I hadn't recovered enough from that effort in view of the finale. I don't know… They started the last ramp as if the finish line was two kilometers away"And finally, laconically, he added: "With every kilometer I was getting slower and slower."
Soudal to be reviewed
True, Landa and Cattaneo, and Louis Vervaeke retired (and most likely will not be fit for the Grande Boucle), but against these giants we need more. Besides, Landa isn't guaranteed to be back at his best right away after his nasty fall on the opening stage of the Giro. I think the Soudals will have to rethink some priorities. And perhaps they'll have to ask themselves whether Merlier, who needs at least two riders, will be so necessary at the Grande Boucle.
«We expected to be a little further ahead – commented the sports director Tom Steels a CyclingFlits - It's a bit like last year. We still have to recover those small percentage gains, But the road to the final week of the Tour is still long. We still have work to do, but it's certainly not a dramatic undertaking. We must stay calm and keep working." However, there was no mention of the team. In Belgium, and these are the words of Brussels TV, it's already a hot topic.
