"Was it just an off day or is that his current form?" - French cycling icon intrigued to see Tadej Pogacar's level on final weekend of Dauphiné 2025

Heading into the final weekend of the 2025 Criterium du Dauphiné, one of the big questions is the form of world champion Tadej Pogacar. After a somewhat sluggish time trial by his own high standards, the Slovenian arrives in the mountains trailing both Remco Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard. 

This Friday afternoon, Pogacar and co get the first of three chances to really lay down a marker ahead of the upcoming Tour de France. "It’s a tough finale, made for climbers, with the Mont-Saxonnex (5.4 km at 8.7%), Domancy (2.4 km at 8.6%), and the climb up to La Cry (2.7 km at 8.2%)," explains French cycling icon Bernard Thevenet in his analysis for L'Equipe. "We’ll quickly see how the three key contenders — Remco Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard, and Tadej Pogacar — respond."

As mentioned, it's perhaps the form of Pogacar that is most in doubt ahead of the showdown. "The Slovenian didn’t quite live up to expectations, but was it just an off day or is that his current form?" asks Thevenet, himself a two-time Dauphine winner. "He’ll need to make a move today (Friday), on terrain that suits him, if he wants to win the Dauphiné. A breakaway could also go the distance and contest the stage win, but they’ll need a solid lead."

With more challenging and mountainous parcours to come on Saturday and Sunday though, it's not quite now or never for Pogacar at this Dauphine just yet. "With the Madeleine (24.6 km at 6.2%), the Croix de Fer (22.4 km at 6.9%), and the final climb to Valmeinier (16.5 km at 6.7%), you really need climbing ability. On a single climb, a rider who isn’t a pure climber might be able to hold on, but not here," Thevenet says of Stage 7. "On Saturday, we’ll see a real hierarchy emerge among the best climbers (with a punishing 4,800 meters of elevation gain over just 131 km). The ascent to Valmeinier roughly follows the Col du Télégraphe, then continues a few kilometres further. It’s not the hardest climb in itself, but it’s long — especially after the two that come before it."

Then finally, will come the last battle of the race on Sunday's stage 8. "It’s not very hard, not very steep," says Thévenet. "For someone like Remco Evenepoel, it’s not a major issue. He can settle into his rhythm and climb it like a time trial. If he’s in good shape, he’ll go just as fast as the pure climbers — he’ll make up the difference."