In Monday's second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Kevin Vermaerke came oh-so-close to winning his first pro race. The rider from Team DSM from the United States slipped into the day's winning move, and the break narrowly held off the pack to compete for the victory.
Vermaerke was upset at the finish line as his legs ran out of energy and he finished fourth in the stage. “I am pretty disappointed, to be honest. We had a plan to get me into the break and we thought it would be a good stage for the break to go. The team set me up to be in there and the break cooperated all day.I am really disappointed I didn’t have a sprint there in the end, because you don’t get many chances to win a stage at the Dauphiné, I let that one fall through my hands. That’s going to sting for a while.” he told to Velonews.
“We knew it was pretty technical coming into the last ‘K’ and maybe if I started in the back I could have come in better, but it was touch and go in the moment, I am just disappointed right now. There was a headwind, it was pretty hard in the last 20km. We knew it was going to be close when we had one minute. We just made it, but it wasn’t good enough for the win,” Vermaerke said at the line.
With the mountains looming later this week in the Alps, the Team DSM rider knew his best chance to help himself was to go on the march. The cyclist was not only pursuing a stage victory, but also a chance to start the Tour de France. Vermaerke has said that he is on the long list to the Grand Boucle.
Vermaerke did get some consolation in the form of the best young rider shirt, which he will wear in the third stage on Tuesday.
claps 1visitors 1
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- He is boring
leedorney08-11-2026 - To Twoje przemyślenia te bla, bla :)
Dariusz08-11-2026 - Uwielbiam patrzeć, jak wyjeżdża na czoło peletonu i zaczyna się rzeź...Dariusz08-11-2026
- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- What a race! I didn't expect Vanthourenhout to collapse like that, and Wyseure did take the fight to Nys, but there was no doubt at the end. I also wonder what Aubin Sparfel would be capable of were he to race in the elites now. In the U23 ranks he is making good work of Giel Lejeune, who himself is among the better riders in the elites, and a top 10 contender in the big races (3rd at Kleebergcross, 8th at Berencross and 5th at Heerderstrand). In the French Cup, Sparfel is significantly better than Romain Debord (8th at Koppenbergcross and 10th at the Euros) and Rémi Lelandais (12th at Koppenbergcross and 19th at the Euros).
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment