Jonas Vingegaard 'the real winner' of thrilling stage 1 at the Dauphiné: "We didn’t see that version of him last year"

In what was a truly sensational opening to the 2025 Criterium du Dauphiné on Sunday afternoon, the stars came immediately to the fore as the likes of Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel battled it out for the stage win. Although Pogacar was the stage winner, was Vingegaard 'the real winner'?

That is at least the thought process of Dutch ex-pro turned expert analyst Thijs Zonneveld. “I’d say Vingegaard was the real winner today,” argues Zonneveld in his post-stage reflections for the podcast In de Waaier. “First off, the team: I haven’t seen Team Visma | Lease a Bike this sharp in the final of a World Tour race all year. The sheer number of yellow jerseys at the front — it was genuinely impressive. And that’s without Van Aert! It bodes very well for the Tour de France.”

“I loved it. He was the one who launched the attack and formed the lead group. In previous years, he’d have focused solely on sticking to Pogacar’s wheel. Now he’s the one initiating moves. You only do that if you’re feeling really good in yourself," Zonneveld continues. "When I see that — so explosive, so sharp — we didn’t see that version of him last year. Understandably so, of course.”

As mentioned though, Vingegaard was far from the only attacker, with all the big names coming to the fore on stage 1. “Vingegaard crashed in March and hasn’t raced since due to a concussion. Evenepoel had setbacks over winter and hasn’t raced in some time either. Van der Poel broke his wrist — frankly, it’s a miracle he was even at the start. And Pogacar has already torn everyone to shreds this spring," says the Dutchman. "You’d think they wouldn’t go all out in the very first race of their Tour prep, wouldn’t you?”

“There’s something playful about it, something naïve, almost childlike. As if Pogacar were walking down the street with a ball under his arm, ringing doorbells — ‘Mate, fancy coming out to play?’ — and Mathieu, Jonas and Remco come bounding out to join him,” Zonneveld laughs. “It’s also relentless psychological warfare. All year long, it’s a contest of who’s the biggest dog — constantly putting pressure on each other.”

“They’re all gambling with the possibility of being brought down. But mentally, they’re unafraid to ride that close to the edge," concludes the analyst. "That’s part of cycling’s nature — always trying to keep one card up your sleeve for a final move.”