Iván Romeo Wins Critérium du Dauphiné⁢ Stage with Late Breakaway

⁣ ⁤ Updated June 10, 2025

Spanish cyclist Iván Romeo, a former U23 time trial⁣ champion, seized victory on stage 3 of the⁢ Critérium du Dauphiné.⁤ The Movistar rider launched a late breakaway, covering ‍the final 6 kilometers to secure both the stage⁢ win and the leader’s jersey.

Romeo’s attack denied Mathieu van⁢ der⁢ Poel,the monument champion,a chance⁣ at⁤ victory on the challenging,hilly course in southeast France. ⁢Jonathan Milan ⁣of Lidl-Trek,who started the day in the yellow jersey,struggled and relinquished his lead to the 21-year-old Romeo.

Romeo now leads the race by 17 seconds over Louis Barré⁣ of Intermarché-Wanty.Tour de France contenders Remco Evenepoel, Tadej Pogačar, and Jonas Vingegaard finished together in the peloton, more than a minute behind romeo.

Team celebration after solo victory for @ivanromeo_03 ☝️

Team celebration after a solo win by @ivanromeo_03 ☝️#Dauphiné pic.twitter.com/Ex880hrNv6

— Critérium du Dauphiné (@dauphine) June 10, 2025

Eddie Dunbar of jayco-AlUla ‍and Florian Lipowitz of⁢ Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe gained significant ground in the general classification after ‍joining the breakaway with van der Poel and Romeo.

“To be honest, I don’t know at the moment, I don’t believe it,” Romeo said⁤ after the stage. “I don’t know what to say, honestly, I think it‍ was one of the toughest days of my life so far.”

Romeo, considered a promising talent as joining Movistar in 2023, secured his first major WorldTour victory. His previous notable achievement was⁣ a gold medal at the 2024 U23 time trial world championships.

Romeo explained his strategy: “I told the team I needed to take the risk and not be very active in the break. So ⁤I waited to the last moment, and I know that if ‍they gave me some seconds, I ⁣can make it.”

Mathieu van der Poel ⁤Post-Stage 3 #Dauphiné:

️”That was one of my hardest days on the bike ever.”

TNT Sports pic.twitter.com/Ud3Aynuwns

‍ ‍ — Domestic (@diestic___) June 10, 2025

Van⁢ der Poel acknowledged the difficulty⁤ of the stage. “It was one of the hardest days I ever ‍had on the bike,” he said. ⁢”I’m super happy with the shape, but it’s super hard to win in this position. Everything needs to be 100 percent correct.”

Van der Poel added, “A lot⁤ of riders were⁣ looking at me, but of course, you have ‍to look at others if you ‍want to win the stage. It’s not up ‍to me to⁣ respond to every single attack. That was the gamble – I responded to several but not all of them.”

Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 3 ⁣Results:

Earlier in the stage, Romain Bardet received a warm farewell⁤ in his hometown of brioude as he nears retirement. Remco Evenepoel and Tadej Pogačar also contested an early intermediate sprint, with Pogačar taking bonus seconds.

What’s next

Stage 4 features a 17-kilometer time trial, which is expected to considerably impact the general classification and provide insights into the form of Tour de France hopefuls. The course ‍includes a challenging 1.8-kilometer climb ⁢with an average gradient of 8.5 percent.