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Jonas Vingegaard takes control of Critérium du Dauphiné with solo victory

Ninth win of the year for the Dane

June 8, 2023
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Disappointed to not win Wednesday’s time trial, Jonas Vingegaard took his revenge by earning Thursday’s Critérium du Dauphiné stage solo and assumed the race lead from Mikkel Bjerg (Denmark/UAE-Emirates). It was the Dane’s ninth triumph of the season counting overall GC titles. Vingegaard now leads Ben O’Connor by 1:10 at the top of the table.

The Course

All Thursday’s action was in the second half of 191 km from Cormoranche-sur-Saône to Salins-les-Bains. Three categorized climbs loomed; first came Cat. 3 Côte de Château-Chalon just past the midway point. With 41 km to go came Cat. 3 Côte d’Ivory. But the big scraps would be preserved for Cat. 2 Côte de Thésy, a challenging 3.7 km of 8.2 percent cresting 14 km from the finish.

A sextet of fugitives bounced free early in the stage. Thomas De Gendt, a veteran campaigner, was in its ranks, as was Edvald Boasson Hagen, another cagey vet with five Critérium du Dauphiné stages on his palmares. With Soudal-Quick Step and Bjerg’s UAE-Emirates doing the pacemaking in the field, the gap was 2:00 by the foot of Côte d’Ivory. On those slopes, the pink forces of EF Education-Easypost grabbed the reins and chaps started dropping off the back.

Côte de Thésy

Bjerg immediately had problems as the road kicked up. He crashed coming off a turn on a sidewalk. A surge from Richard Carapaz doomed the remnants of the breakaway. Vingegaard went with the Ecuadorian champion.

Carapaz and Vingegaard bolt on the others.

Vingegaard dropped Carapaz and tipped over the top with a 33-second gap back to a high-powered chase containing Adam Yates, Jai Hindley and Alaphilippe. Bjerg was even further adrift. Disappointingly, the 18-strong Yates group wasn’t prepared to ride. Alaphilippe led the group over the line 31 seconds later.

Friday’s sixth stage concludes on the 2.4-km, 7-percent Crest-Voland.

75th Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 5
1) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Jumbo-Visma) 4:03:42
2) Julian Alaphilippe (France/Soudal-Quick Step) +0:31
3) Tobias Halland Johannessen (Norway/Uno-X) s.t.

75th Critérium du Dauphiné GC
1) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Jumbo-Visma) 17:03:03
2) Ben O’Connor (Australia/AG2R Citroën) +1:10
3) Julian Alaphilippe (France/Soudal-Quick Step) +1:23