🇫🇷 #Dauphiné Stage 2️⃣ comes to an end. It’s 6️⃣th for @WoutvanAert, who wins the bunch sprint behind the break-away.
Wout van Aert "especially disappointed to miss out on the stage win" after Jumbo-Visma miscalculate
CyclingMonday, 06 June 2022 at 22:00
The second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné was one that didn't present much of a challenge for the peloton to be able to control the breakaway, however a combination of occasional lack of commitment and lack of firepower led to the break succeeding and Alexis Vuillermoz jumping into the race lead.
Jumbo-Visma controlled the day from the start alongside EF Education-EasyPost, however the work of Chris Harper and Nathan van Hooydonck was not enough throughout the day to reel in the six-rider group that went up the road early on. The peloton let the gap stay big until too late in the stage, up to which point the group took advantage of the generally downhill finale and lack of pure sprinters in the peloton to stay ahead.
"You should always try to sprint for the victory first. Logically, the pressure was on us in the race. We put Chris in the lead. The leading group was strong on the long climb. After that, it went downhill a lot and you couldn't make up much. We underestimated that. In the last thirty kilometres they only lost one minute," van Aert said after the finish.
Trek - Segafredo and EF Education-EasyPost put in serious efforts to reel in the break, but occasional lack of work from Jumbo and INEOS Grenadiers saw the gap stall, and even increase in the final kilometers. With GC aspirations the Dutch team didn't want to commit to a full-on chase with Tiesj Benoot and Steven Kruijswijk, but eventually the duo made the effort aswell - only too late in the day. Both teams had riders coming into the final kilometer to leadout their sprinters, but the gap was too big at that point to be brought back.
"Everyone on the team did his turn, even Primoz in the final. I would have preferred to keep the yellow, but I am especially disappointed to miss out on the stage win. In the sprint, I won quite easily, but it's a shame it wasn't for the victory," he added. Van Aert went on to easily come first in the sprint for the peloton, missing out on an opportunity by just five seconds.
Tomorrow van Aert will no longer be in yellow, but he should be the man to beat once again. However, he points at his teammate to carry the flag for the team: "We are going to see how we will handle it tomorrow. It's an important day for Primoz. If not for the stage win, then at least for the GC. It will be a tricky finale in any case," he concluded.
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