Perfect return for Mads Pedersen
June 2 nd 2024 - 17:02
Out of action since the classics, Denmark’s Mads Pedersen staged the perfect return to outsprint the rest of the peloton and win the 172.5-km first stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné for his 8th victory of the season. The former world champion, perfectly led-out by his Lidl-Trek team-mates outwitted and overpowered Sam Bennett (Decathlon-AG2R) and Hugo Page on the line. It was the first stage win on the Dauphiné for Pedersen, who will wear the yellow and blue jersey in Monday’s second stage to Col de la Loge. Briton Mark Donovan broke clear from the start to tackle the first climbs of the race in the lead and clinch the first KOM jersey in this edition.
Donovan goes
The start was given to 154 riders at 12:45. Mark Donovan (Q36.5) was the first escapee of this Dauphiné as he attacked after 4 km. The peloton let him go, to the exception of Mathis Le Berre (Arkea), who chased behind him and finally caught the Briton after 32 km. Donovan, who led the pack by a maximum of 4:55, took the 5 KOM points on offer in the three climbs of the day, with Le Berre collecting two. As a result, Donovan became the first holder of the polka-dot jersey in this Dauphiné.
Two in the lead
As the leading pair headed for the only intermediate sprint of the day in Chantelle (km 77) – Le Berre winning ahead of Donovan –, the bunch, led by Lidl-Trek and Decathlon-AG2R riders, had made it back within three minutes of the break. A crash involved Toms Skujins (Lidl-Trek) and Kobe Goosens (Intermarché-Wanty) at kilometre 87, and Alexander Edmondson (DSM) was the first rider to call it quits in this Dauphiné. The lead gradually went down as Sam Bennett suffered a puncture (45 km to go) and when the peloton crossed the finish line for the second time, the gap was down to 1:20.
Mads Pedersen the strongest
The leading duo were reined in with 16km to go as the peloton started gearing up for the bunch sprint. A crash 20 km from the line involved Steven Kruijswijk, Luca Vergallito, Kenny Elissonde and James Whelan (Q36.5), who was forced out of the race. With 12 km remaining, Nils Politt (UAE) and Marco Haller (Bora-Hansgrohe) attacked on a small hill but were reined in two kilometres later by the sprinter teams, who took turns at the front of the pack. But in the final kilometre, Lidl-Trek seized the reins and put Mads Pedersen in a perfect position. Sam Bennett took the Dane’s wheel but could never overtake him and prevent him from clinching his 7th win in France this season.
