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Primoz Roglič stamps authority on Critérium du Dauphiné in the mountains

Carlos Verona celebrates first professional victory

Photo by: Sirotti
June 11, 2022
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Carlos Verona might have earned his first career win and Movistar’s first WorldTour victory of the season, but it was Primoz Roglič who wrote the more essential story on Saturday’s mountain stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné, taking over the race lead from teammate Wout Van Aert and putting time into his rivals.

You can watch the 74th Critérium du Dauphiné at FloBikes.

The Course

Saturday’s 134.8-km route released the beasts. Two HC-category climbs dominated the day. First came the famous Col du Galibier, a 23-km ascent at 5.1 percent. Next up was the Col de la Croix de Fer, 29 km of 5.2 percent with the last 6.7 km at 8.2 percent. The summit finish was on Cat. 2 Vaujany, 5.8 km of 7.2 percent.

It was a very scenic day in the French Alps.

After a few failed escapes on Galibier, Pierre Rolland got loose and scored maximum King of the Mountain points at the top, bolstering his lead in the competition. His move and several others merged into an 18-strong breakaway heading towards the Col de la Croix de Fer with a 2:00 advantage over the field.

Col de la Croix de Fer

DSM’s Brit Mark Donovan bolted on his breakmates. Several seconds behind, LL Sanchez (Spain/Bahrain-Victorious) took the virtual race lead. In the peloton Jumbo-Visma got assistance from wildcard squad Uno-X to shorten the gap. Donovan came back to the fugitive group.

Groupama-FDJ took up the pace making. From the escape Gregor Mühlberger (Austria/Movistar) was the next to skip clear, with Kenny Ellisonde in pursuit. Eventually, Mühlberger, Ellisonde, Rolland and two others formed a leading quintet. Ellisonde remonstrated with his companions.

With a few kilometres to climb, race leader and double stage winner Wout Van Aert popped. Second-place Mattia Cattaneo was the next to go.

Rolland grabbed the maximum KOM points.

Endgame

Twenty-nine kilometres remained. Ellisonde and Carlos Verona bounced away from the others on the descent of Col de la Croix de Fer. They headed up the climb with a 22-second lead over the closest chasers. Verona instantly dropped Ellisonde.

Groupama-FDJ kept up the work at the front of the peloton. Several attacks launched from the field. A key one was Jonas Vingegaard’s, taken up by Ben O’Connor, David Gaudu and Primož Roglič.

Roglič’s acceleration was powerful and unmatched. The Slovenian started to hunt down Verona, but he wouldn’t catch the Spaniard. Vingegaard placed third and now sits 44 seconds behind Rogla in the GC. O’Connor is in the last podium position.

Sunday’s conclusion of the Critérium du Dauphiné finishes on another HC-rated climb, the mighty Plateau de Salaison.

2022 Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 7
1) Carlos Verona (Spain/Movistar) 3:53:35
2) Primoz Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) +0:13
3) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Jumbo-Visma) +0:25

2022 Critérium du Dauphiné GC
1) Primoz Roglič (Slovenia/Jumbo-Visma) 25:22:08
2) Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark/Jumbo-Visma) +0:44
3) Ben O’Connor (Australia/AG2R-Citroën +1:24