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There’s no stopping Van Aert

August 12 th 2020 - 16:49

Already winner of the Strade Bianche and Milano-Sanremo since the return of competitive cycling, Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) keeps his triumphant series going with an impressive uphill sprint at the end of stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The Belgian star made the most of very steep slopes and a perfect team work to dominate Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), who already snatches a few bonus seconds ahead of the mountain challenges expecting the riders for the rest of the week.

A star-studded pack of 161 riders starts from Clermont-Ferrand in the morning. Brent van Moer (Lotto Soudal), Niccolò Bonifazio (Total Direct Energie), Michael Schär (CCC Team), Quinten Hermans (Circus-Wanty Gobert) and Tom-Jelte Slagter (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) jump away from the bunch after 10km of battle. Their lead is already up to 55” after 11.5km. But Deceuninck-Quick Step’s Tim Declercq and Jumbo-Visma’s Tony Martin quickly get in action at the front of the bunch to control the gap under 6 minutes.

Misfortunes for the attackers

Niccolò Bonifazio (Total Direct Énergie) summits first the cat-2 Col du Béal (km 68.5). The Italian rider looks strong at the front of the race but he is dropped ahead of the following climb, Côte de Coureau (km 93), and has to abandon with back pain, according to his team. The leading group loses two more riders when Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal) and Quinten Hermans (Circus-Wanty Gobert) withdraw after a crash.

Michael Schär (CCC Team) and Tom-Jelte Slagter (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept) keep pushing at the front but their lead stabilizes around 3’ as they travel through the valley leading to the final challenges of the day. Bora-Hansgrohe’s leader Emanuel Buchmann crashes with 84km to go but he quickly gets back on his bike to return to the bunch.

All-in in the final climbs of the day

Slagter gives up on the breakaway in the Côte de Saint-Héand (cat-4) and Michael Schär is alone at the front for the last 50km of racing. His lead is down to 1 minute when he crosses the finish line for the first time, atop the Montée Andreï Kivilev (cat.4), with 35km to go. Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-Quick Step) and Soren Kragh Andersen (Team Sunweb) attack in this climb but they’re quickly overtaken by a strong move from Quentin Pacher (B&B Hotels-Vital Concept).

The French puncheur joins Schär at the front with 25km to go. But he hits the deck 1.5km later. Pacher gets up but Schär is alone again, with the peloton only trailing by 30’’. Rémi Cavagna and Soren Kragh Andersen join him with 22km to go. Cavagna goes solo 5km later. Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) drives the bunch for Thibaut Pinot with a delay of 15’’.

Roglic, Dumoulin, Kruijswijk: Jumbo-Visma set Van Aert for victory

Jumbo-Visma up the pace inside the last 15km and Cavagna is caught 13.5km away from the finish. Many riders are dropped in the penultimate climb of the day, including the three-time World Champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe), participating in the Dauphiné for the first time in his career.

Rigoberto Uran (EF Pro Cycling) sets the finale on fire with a punchy attack inside the last 3km. Pierre Latour (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Tiesj Benoot (Team Sunweb) also try to shake up the bunch but Primoz Roglic and Tom Dumoulin themselves control the race for Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma). The Belgian champion, already winner of two stages in the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné, launches his sprint with 200m to go and his raw power is too much to handle for Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Egan Bernal (Team Ineos).
Critérium du Dauphiné 2020 - Stage 1 - Stage highlights

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