Tadej Pogacar underlined his credentials as a favourite for the 2025 Tour de France with victory for the first time in the eight-day Critérium du Dauphiné in south-eastern France.
Lenny Martinez from France won the final stage on Sunday between Val-d'Arc to Plateau du Mont-Cenis.
The 21-year-old Team Bahrain Victorious cyclist finished the 133.3km stage in three hours, 34 minutes and 18 seconds.
Jonas Vingegaard from Team Visma–Lease a Bike was second – 34 seconds later – and Pogacar finished third to take the overall prize.
The 26-year-old UAE Team Emirates XRG won three of the stages and completed the 1199.6km course in 29 hours, 19 minutes and 46 seconds. Vingegaard was 59 seconds behind. Florian Lipowitz was third.
“It’s been a really amazing week,” Pogacar said. “Once again, the team did a great job. We managed to defend the [yellow] jersey and we can go home happy and prepare for the Tour de France.”
During the final stage, Pogacar reacted with ease to Vingegaard's last-ditch attack for glory on the final climb to Col du Mont-Cenis.
Attack in mountains
After winning the opening stage by outsprinting Vingegaard and Mathieu van der Poel, Pogacar made his move in the mountains.
He took charge by winning the sixth stage on Friday when he climbed to the finish line alone to beat Vingegaard by 61 seconds and take an overall lead of 43 seconds over the 28-year-old Dane.
Pogacar captured the seventh stage on Saturday between Grand-Aigueblanche and Valmeinier 1800 in similar fashion. He finished the 131.6km stretch in four hours and 10 minutes.
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“There’s a lot of positives from this week and we turned all the negatives into positives, so it’s all good,” said Pogacar, who claimed a 99th career victory in the 77th edition of the competition.
“There’s not much to do ahead of the Tour de France," he added. "I will rest a bit, maybe do some extra work for the time trial, and then I’m ready."
The 2025 Tour de France runs from 5-27 July. It starts with a 184.9km race around Lille and culminates three weeks later with a 132.3km surge from Mantes-la-Ville to the Champs-Elysées in Paris.
Pogacar will attempt to become only the sixth man to win four or more Tours in the 123-year history of the race.
