Pogačar Wins Surprise Sprint in Style: "I Was All Prepared to Come Back to the Bus"

In a chaotic finale more suited to the peloton’s fastest men, Pogačar defied convention — and his own plans.

“I was not [expecting it],” he admitted after the finish. “I was all prepared to come back to the bus pretty fast after the finish, to take a shower in the bus, take a comfortable seat and enjoy the rest of the day. But I don’t mind being here as well.”

The Slovenian followed a late-race move sparked by Vingegaard atop the Côte de Buffon. When the peloton hesitated, a high-octane breakaway formed, with Van der Poel and Pogačar hot on Vingegaard’s wheel. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step) bridged the gap, creating a heavyweight lead group.

“I followed the moves on the steep part of the climb, and then Visma were clearly going for the stage win,” said Pogačar. “They were trying, with everybody, to attack from the top. And that one was painful. And fortunately, I had good legs and I covered all the attacks. And then, even Jonas for the last one, for the cherry on the top, he attacked.”

As the five-rider group powered under the flamme rouge, Van der Poel made the first move, testing both his sprint and his recovering wrist. But Pogačar — typically a mountain goat rather than a greyhound — rounded him to take the line.

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“Around 2km to go, I was starting to think more about the sprint than just the GC,” he explained. “And I knew that Van der Poel was the fastest, obviously, in this group. But after a finish like this, you cannot count all of the rest out, they can be fast as well after a tough day.”

Despite the surprise, Pogačar stayed grounded.

“It’s a stage win. I can go home from Dauphiné happy already, but yeah, I still want to see how the shape will be in the TT and on the mountain stages. I cannot say that after today, the shape is incredible.”

For Vingegaard, second place came with a sense of amusement.

“I had a good day, to be honest,” he said. “I’m happy with how it went today. Happy that I could make a difference. So yeah, I guess it’s the first time I finished second in a bunch sprint. So I’m happy.”

Stage 2 promises more climbing as the peloton leaves Prémilhat and tackles six categorised climbs en route to Issoire. After the drama of the opener, it’s clear that the Dauphiné is far from predictable — and Pogačar is only just getting started.