"I lost 4 seconds to Pogacar" - Demanding Jonas Vingegaard not happy with time loss to main Dauphiné rival Pogacar

The first day of the Criterium du Dauphiné 2025 ended up being brutal. Jonas Vingegaard launched the winning attack and then had a terrific sprint on the flat, but ultimately is disappointed with having lost time to Tadej Pogacar.

The Dane took advantage of the stalemate after the top of the Cote de Buffon to accelerate, and could only be followed by Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel initially. Santiago Buitrago and Remco Evenepoel showed the legs to then bridge across, and the group would collaborate into the final straight.

"To be honest, I had a great day on the bike. So, I'm happy with the result of the stage, because I was able to make a difference. It might be the first time I finished second in a reduced sprint. Pogacar was simply faster than me, so congratulations to him for the win," Vingegaard began by noting.

As already mentioned, Jonas Vingegaard managed to take bonuses in the general classification after finishing second. With those 6 seconds, he minimizes the damage of the 10 seconds gained by Tadej Pogacar by winning the stage, but he starts the race behind his rival who also carries the yellow jersey.

"It's true that the finish was strange. I was the least cooperative of the 5 because I knew I was the weakest in a sprint. I lost 4 seconds overall to Tadej. Obviously it's not ideal, especially since I thought I could get to the finish with the same time. But my 6 seconds gained is also good," concluded Vingegaard.

This stage however has shown an aggressive and very strong in-form Vingegaard, who will likely be a big threat once the race reaches it's decisive days. With a time-trial and three mountain stages to come, the Dane has given the best feedback after three months away from the peloton.