Latest news with #Dauphine
France 24
3 days ago
- Sport
- France 24
Pogacar and Vingegaard cross swords in Tour de France warm up
With four hilly stages, a time trial and three final days in the Alps, the Dauphine will provide a glimpse of what to expect when the 21-day Tour de France begins on July 5. The short, tough route has attracted an A-list roster of 154 riders from 22 teams. Defending Tour de France champion Pogacar won the prestigious one-day races the Tour of Flanders and Liege–Bastogne–Liege this spring, and the mountains will reveal his stage-race form going into the Tour. "It's a great line up here," Team UAE's Pogacar said Saturday. "I'll try to win here but if it doesn't go as expected there's no panic, it'll show me what I need to improve," said the attack-minded 26-year-old. When asked about his chief rival, Visma rider Vingegaard, who has raced little this season, the attack-minded Slovenian said he was wary. "Jonas looks on great form. I think he's going to be very strong and I'm looking forward to finding out," he said. Visma's head of racing Grischa Niermann, who will also act as the team's sports director at the Dauphine described the route as tough and perfect preparation for the Tour. Niermann said the 2024 Criterium champion Matteo Jorgenson and 2023 Vuelta winner Sepp Kuss were like co-leaders on the team bus. "Jonas is of course our leader. The competition is strong but we always focus on ourselves," he said, adding that the race would show them where the team stand. Double Olympic champion Evenepoel said he was targeting a stage win, and will be in the spotlight in the time trial, where he is world and Olympic champion. "It'll be an explosive time trial with a 2km-long, nine percent climb. I'll do my best, even if this stage won't play a major role in the overall standings," said the 25-year-old, the third star man. Route Sunday, June 8 - Stage 1 Domerat-Montlucon (195.8km - hills) Monday, June 9 - Stage 2 Premilhat-Issoire (204.6km - hills) Tuesday, June 10 - Stage 3 Brioude-Charantonnay (207.2km - hills) Wednesday June 11 - Stage 4 Charmes-sur-Rhone-Saint-Peraym (17.4km - ITT) Thursday, June 12 - Stage 5 Saint-Priest-Macon (183 km - hills) Friday, June 13 juin -Stage 6 Valserhone-Combloux (126.7km - mountains) Saturday, June 14 juin - Stage 7 Grand-Aigueblanche-Valmeinier (131.6 km - mountains) Sunday, June 15 - Stage 8 Val d'Arc – Plateau du Mont-Cenis (133.3km - mountains) © 2025 AFP
Gulf Today
3 days ago
- Sport
- Gulf Today
Pogacar to lead Team Emirates-XRG charge at Criterium du Dauphine
UAE Team Emirates-XRG have announced their rider selection for the upcoming Criterium du Dauphine, taking place from June 9–15. The race will serve as a crucial test ahead of the Tour de France, with Tadej Pogacar set to lead a strong and versatile squad through the week-long race in the French Alps. Pogacar returns to competition after a high-altitude training camp with his teammates and a commanding spring campaign, which included seven victories. The Dauphine will mark a key step in his build-up to July. Pogacar said: 'We've just come off a really solid block of altitude training with the team and I'm feeling good. The legs are there, and the motivation is high. It's been a few years since I've been to the Dauphine, and we're excited to be there and racing again after many weeks of training all together. 'We have a very good ambience in the group, and we're ready to pin on race numbers and show what we can do.' The seven-man squad will be guided by Sports Directors Andrej Hauptman (Slo), Marco Marcato (Ita) and Marco Marzano (Ita). The team brings a balanced line-up of climbing specialists, experienced domestiques, and all-rounders to support Pogacar across the race's demanding terrain. Meanwhile, on stage 3 of the Tour of Slovenia, Sebastian Molano sprinted to second place for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, narrowly missing out on the day's victory to Dylan Groenewegen of Jayco AlUla. The Colombian launched his sprint with 300m to go, but ultimately came up just short in the uphill kick to the line. Earlier in the stage, Antanio Morgado and Rune Herregodts had kept their leaders safe and out of trouble, as the sun lashed the peloton with a searing heat. With bottles of water aplenty, the peloton went about its business from Majsperk to Ormoz, showing little concern for the threat that came from out front. Initially numbering six riders, the day's breakaway was best represented by Nejc Komac (Factory Racing) in the finale. The Slovene youngster made a daring bid to ride alone to the finish, but was ultimately caught inside the final 3km. It was a fine effort from Komac, who came close to pulling off an unlikely victory. With the breakaway mopped up, UAE Team Emirates-XRG's Rui and Ivo Oliveira piloted Molano towards the front of the bunch, and it was the 30-year-old who opened up his sprint first. Hitting the front with a little over 300m to ride, Molano delivered a great turn of speed and initially looked to have enough to hang on. However, it was Groenewegen who benefited from a slightly later launch, riding his way to a second stage victory of the week. Behind the fireworks, Felix Großschartner remained out of danger and cruised over the line, putting himself into a handy position heading into Saturday's summit finish. The Austrian sits in fifth place overall and will hope to stretch his legs over the weekend. Molano: 'It was really close today. In the end, I did not see Ivo preparing his lead-out on the right-hand side of the road, and this is why I launched a little early. The finish was a bit uphill and with such a long kick, it was hard to hold on. 'It's a shame not to get the victory because I know how close I am. Groenewegen is strong but today I had the legs. With some better luck, it was ours. Anyway, we have two more opportunities to chase the victory, so we will give it everything,' he added. Tour of Slovenia has been become a happy hunting ground for UAE Team Emirates-XRG in recent years, showcasing their strength and consistency on the international stage. The team's impressive run began in 2019, when the experienced Italian rider Diego Ulissi powered to victory with a tactically brilliant performance. Building on that success, the spotlight then shifted to Slovenian superstar Pogacar, who thrilled fans by winning his home race in both 2021 and 2022.
