Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) phenomenally denied Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin–Deceuninck) the Critérium du Dauphiné opening stage victory in a bunch sprint.
In what was meant to be a slower opening day on the bike, the titans of the sport broke away with 6km to go alongside Jonas Vingegaard (Visma–Lease a Bike), Remco Evenepoel (Soudal–Quick-Step), and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain – Victorious), creating a spectacular and surprising end to a long day.
