Pogačar Wins: Vingegaard Closing the Gap?
- Tadej pogacar achieved a important milestone Saturday, notching his 98th career victory adn surpassing all other riders in the current professional cycling field.
- Before the stage, he was tied with sprinters Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Démare.
- Sunday presents another opportunity: winning the final mountain stage and the General Classification (GC) would bring him to 100 career wins. This is a remarkable achievement for a...
Tadej Pogacar triumphed at the Critérium du Dauphiné, securing his 98th career victory, with jonas Vingegaard closing the gap. The intense competition between the two cycling titans sets the stage for an action-packed tour de France. news Directory 3 has the story. Vingegaard,returning after injury,proved his form,while Pogacar’s team strategy revealed a defense against rival attacks. What impact will Pogacar’s upcoming team support have on the final showdown?
Compelling headline in sentence case
Updated June 17, 2025
Tadej pogacar achieved a important milestone Saturday, notching his 98th career victory adn surpassing all other riders in the current professional cycling field. The win came at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Before the stage, he was tied with sprinters Alexander Kristoff and Arnaud Démare. His solo victory at Valmeinier 1800 in the Dauphiné elevated him.
Sunday presents another opportunity: winning the final mountain stage and the General Classification (GC) would bring him to 100 career wins. This is a remarkable achievement for a 26-year-old cyclist.
After a dominant performance Friday, where he gained 1:01 on Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) over 7.5km, Saturday’s stage was closer. Pogacar’s attack with 12km remaining resulted in a 14-second lead at the finish.
“I couldn’t follow his attack, but to be honest I think I did quite a good job,” Vingegaard said. “I just did my own tempo, didn’t lose much so I think I can be happy with how things went today.”
Vingegaard, who won the 2022 and 2023 tours de France, is Pogacar’s main rival for this year’s race. A concussion sustained in Paris-Nice led to a racing hiatus. The Dauphiné marks his return after nearly three months.
“I tried to follow and just like yesterday I had to slow down,” he said, describing his reaction to Pogačar’s solo attack.
“But I think I still did a very, very good performance. I can be happy with how I did today. I could see the numbers and it was quite good numbers, to be honest.
“Again today Tadej was just better so congrats to him. He really deserved to win.”
Time gaps provide only a partial view. Pogacar’s Friday performance aimed to counter his unexpected defeat in Wednesday’s time trial, where he lost 49 seconds to Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Speedy-Step) and 28 to Vingegaard.
His Friday performance was a statement of power, gaining significant time on both Vingegaard and Evenepoel.
Saturday’s stage saw a different approach. Pogacar launched a searing attack but seemed to ease up later,savoring the moment rather than pushing for more time.
“For sure today Jonas was really strong. But I also didn’t want to go too deep for myself,” he said.
“It was super hot and a long climb. Luckily I had enough time to ease up the last kilometer a little bit and to recover.”
Vingegaard appeared to exert more effort, his face reflecting determination and pain, unlike Pogacar.
Comparing times between the two days may be misleading.
Pogacar will analyze the data and footage to assess his form against his Tour de France rivals.
“of course you look at the performances,” he said. “You know at the Tour they can be even stronger, but also our team will get two more climbers [João Almeida and Adam Yates – ed.]. So I am looking forward to that.”
Team strength is crucial for the Tour. UAE Team Emirates, particularly Pavel Sivakov, supported Pogacar considerably on Saturday.
Visma lease a Bike attempted the same for Vingegaard, perhaps crossing a line, according to Pogacar.
“They attacked towards the top of la Croix de Fer,” he said. “Actually I think they wanted to drop me on the downhill, they went a little bit hazardous the first couple of kilometers of the downhill. I did not like that, but it is modern cycling.
“But then when Pavel came back and he took over the control again and it was all fine.
“On the last climb Pavel said he could not do much longer and he prepared me for an attack. I just committed as I didn’t want any attacks from behind.
“It [the attack] was sort of a defense not to get attacked by everyone with Visma. So I launched it and I maintained a good pace to the top. I was really happy that I could defend the jersey like this.”
Tadej Pogacar attacks during stage 7 of the Critérium du Dauphiné.” width=”730″ height=”487″/>Pogacar is highly likely to secure overall victory Sunday. His GC success, along with multiple stage wins, establishes him as a Tour favorite.
Vingegaard remains optimistic. His struggles in last year’s Tour stemmed from a crash in Itzulia Basque Country. The 2024 Tour marked his return after a two-month absence.
This year, his crash in Paris-Nice occurred earlier, allowing him to compete in the Dauphiné and regain sharpness.
He believes he can improve. “I hope that this race can help me to get better. Hopefully I can be even better in the Tour than I am now,” he said.
He acknowledges Pogacar’s strength. “Let’s just say he was very, very strong yesterday and also today,” he said of Pogačar. “He deserves to win these two days for sure, so congrats to Tadej.”
Pogacar has the advantage,but Sunday’s race could shift the momentum.
What’s next
Cycling fans worldwide eagerly anticipate the final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné and the implications for the upcoming Tour de France. Will Vingegaard find a way to challenge Pogacar’s dominance, or will Pogacar continue his winning streak?