"I can leave this Dauphiné happy now" - Tadej Pogacar talks about incredible Dauphiné stage 1 finale

The first day of the Criterium du Dauphiné delivered above every expectations, with the overall classification contenders fighting for victory in the terrain of the sprinters and classics specialists. Tadej Pogacar got away with the win but it was very hard against a Jonas Vingegaard who showed a superb level.

The Slovenian contested the reduced sprint with Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel and Santiago Buitrago, the 5 riders who managed to take the lead over the peloton. There, the world champion managed to take a victory that was not expected at all.

"I didn't expect it at all. We were just thinking about going quickly to the bus at the end of the day and taking a shower. But finally I'm here, with the victory and the yellow jersey," he joked around. He and Vingegaard exchanged some upbeat words right after the finish, and both seemed surprised with the outcome of their attack.

The UAE Team Emirates - XRG rider attempts to already switch the pressure onto his rivals, talking about the unexpected win. : "I can go home happy from this Dauphiné. But it's true that the most important things are still to come, with the time trial and the mountain stages," he added.

"Visma wanted to go for the stage. Luckily, I had good legs to counter all the attacks. Then, at the front, luckily it was all downhill towards the finish, and that was good for us to fight for the victory, because I was able to recover a bit," he added.

Mathieu van der Poel launched his sprint first, but the Slovenian took advantage of a risk in the final kilometer to come away with the biggest prize. "I knew Van der Poel was the fastest of our group. But, after such a hard day, anything is possible, and nobody goes with all their strength. I focused on the sprint when I saw we had the chance, and it worked".