With two Alpine stages to come, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) overhauled the general classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné on Friday, winning stage six’s summit finish in Combloux, and putting himself in pole position for the overall.
The world champion attacked with 7km to go – still seated in the saddle – dropping the race leader Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), both of whom he had lost time to in Wednesday's time trial.
The sight of the Slovenian in yellow was a familiar one for cycling fans in Combloux. Having started the day in seventh, 38 seconds adrift, Pogačar now leads the race by more than 40 seconds.
"I was feeling really good, and when I attacked, it was an all-out effort," the Slovenian said afterwards. "I knew that it was still around 15 minutes from the Côte de Domancy to the top – I had to pace myself after the attack. The feeling was there, the legs were turning, and it was just in my favour to be in the front and gain some time.”
Pogačar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG team-mates set the pace into the final climb, teeing the three-time Tour de France winner up to attack on the steepest ramp. Vingegaard initially followed, but the Dane quickly found himself in pursuit, crossing the line a minute later.
The seconds ceded in stage four's time trial ultimately proved trivial for Pogačar. Still, he said, his losses against the clock are "definitely a concern".
"It’s a challenge for me and the team to improve. The legs are there, the shape is good, we need to hold our horses for the Tour.”
Evenepoel, having worn the yellow jersey, now finds himself fourth in the GC. The Belgian was bunnyhopped by Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's Florian Lipowitz, who finished third on the stage, and likewise now sits third overall.
How it happened
Hunting for a swansong victory in his final race, Romain Bardet (Picnic PostNL) joined the breakaway on stage six, which brought the first summit finish. The Frenchman was joined by seven others, including green jersey wearer Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin Deceuninck), who began the day just 14 seconds down in the GC.
With such a short stage – just 126.7km in length – the breakaway struggled to gain a comfortable buffer. Any hopes they had were left in tatters with 45km to go, when Visma-Lease a Bike towed the peloton at pace into the foot of a category-one climb, hoping to take control of the finale.
An initial dummy attack from Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) was countered by Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), but no GC moves stuck so far from the line. Up ahead, escapees Michael Leonard (Ineos Grenadiers) and Alex Baudin (EF Education-Easypost) survived the climb as the only remnants of the breakaway.
The final climb to Combloux – split into two category-two kickers, stacked on top of each other – began with just under 9km to go. It was here, in 2023, that Vingegaard blistered to a time trial victory that sealed his second Tour de France title. On Friday, Leonard and Baudin began their ascent with a one-minute head start. They’d both be tagged within 3km.
Set up by UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and without having to lunge out of the saddle, Pogačar accelerated away from the bunch with around 7km to go. Evenepoel immediately dropped away, and while Vingegaard followed momentarily, the Dane too soon found himself alone against the gradient.
"I had to hurry up to see the finish [of my girlfriend] Urška [Žigart] at the Tour de Suisse," Pogačar smiled afterwards. His winning margin on the day stood at one minute and one second – enough to claim the yellow jersey, and give him a gap as the race heads into the mountains this weekend.
Crucially, too, he was able to watch his partner score a top-15 at the Tour de Suisse. "I was just in time, so all good," he said.
Results
Critérium du Dauphiné, stage six: Valserhône > Combloux (126.7km)
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 2:59:46
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:01
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +1:22
4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:30
5. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:50
6. Alex Baudin (Fra) EF Education-EasyPost, +1:56
7. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, +2:03
8. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty, +2:04
9. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike
10. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, both at same time
General classification after stage six
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, in 21:35:08
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +43s
3. Florian Lipowitz (Ger) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +54s
4. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:22
5. Matteo Jorgenson (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +1:41
6. Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Jayco AlUla, +2:28
7. Louis Barré (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty, +2:39
8. Paul Seixas (Fra) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +2:49
9. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X, +3:21
10. Ben Tulett (GBr) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3:26
