Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live. - George Carlin

---

Plato's dialogue Crito is available both in audiobook and Kindle eBook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• June 8 - 15: Critérium du Dauphiné

Upcoming racing:

• June 13: GP Kanton Aargau
• June 15 - 22: Tour de Suisse
• June 18 - 22: Baloise Belgium Tour
• July 5 - 27: Tour de France

Latest completed racing:

• June 8: Brussels Cycling Classic
• May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia
• May 29 - June 1: Tour of Norway
• May 14 - 18: 4 Jours de Dunkerque
• May 18: Rund um Köln
• May 13: Classique Dunkerque
• May 11: Tro-Bro Léon
• May 10: GP du Morbihan
• May 9: Tour du Finistère

---

Critérium du Dauphiné stage three reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from second-place Harold Tejada's XDS Astana Team:

XDS Astana Team rider Harold Tejada took second place on Stage 3 of Critérium du Dauphiné, moving up to third overall in the general classification.

Harold Tejada finishes second. Sirotti photo

The third stage of the French stage race started in Brioude and finished in Charantonnay after 207.2 kilometers. The route featured a rolling profile with several categorized climbs, making it well-suited for attacking riders.

"Not bad day for us. Today we wanted to attack early and go in the breakaway. That was our plan, but normally one of teammates were supposed to go. Well, we found ourselves in a tough situation in the moment of attacks, so in the end I escaped and we made it to the finish line. We are happy with the result we got today. Tomorrow will be a time trial, we will study it once again today and will try to show good time. We keep collecting important points, and the most important thing is that we are enjoying the process", – said Harold Tejada after the stage.

Sixth-place Axel Laurance's Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this report:

Axel Laurance sprinted to sixth after a battling finish on the third stage of Criterium du Dauphine, having spent the majority of the 207km stage in the break.

Tackling five categorised climbs, Laurance and Michael Leonard went clear with a 13-man breakaway within the first 40km of the race, racking up a two minute lead.

The breakaway

While the chasing peloton put the hammer down inside the final 30km, attacks came thick and fast in the break to keep them at bay.

As Leonard was dropped on the final climb of the day after a solid day’s work, Laurance continued to fight the ebb and flow of attacks at the head of the race. The Frenchman attacked with 2km to go, but a lack of co-ordination in the group meant he wasn’t able to stay away.

Ivan Romeo (Movistar) went clear soon after to take a solo win, while Laurance sprinted to sixth in the chasing group 27 seconds back.

Here's the Critérium du Dauphiné stage three report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

In a frantic and fiercely contested stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, Brieuc Rolland gained quite some experience on Tuesday. The young Frenchman managed to join a strong breakaway after a tough battle at the start, then challenged for victory a few hours later into Charantonnay. On the limit in the final kilometres, he ultimately secured a convincing seventh place, which is his best result at the WorldTour level. He now sits in the same position in the general classification.

Brieuc Rolland

From Brioude this Tuesday, the peloton immediately got into the thick of things, with nearly fifteen kilometres of climbing to kick off the third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Unsurprisingly, the fight for the breakaway proved harsh right away, the peloton exploded after a few minutes, and it took more than an hour to finally see a group go clear. “The goal was really not to miss the breakaway, which could make it today,” explained Brieuc Rolland. “It was a very hard start, and I chose to stay calm until the top of the climb. In any case, it was going so fast that it was difficult to create any gaps. That’s what happened. After the intermediate sprint, the peloton stopped a bit, and I went away in a second move with Axel Laurance and Ivan Romeo. And it was on.”

“Given the profile, we knew that the breakaway would be solid, that it would therefore be hard to get into it and that it was going to be a big fight,” added Benoît Vaugrenard. “So congratulations to Brieuc, who played his cards right.” After thirty kilometres, the former rider of “La Conti” found himself in the lead with twelve other men, but the breakaway had to push for another fifteen kilometres to finally see the gap get over the one-minute mark.

With Florian Lipowitz on the front, the favourites’ teams never gave the breakaway more than two minutes of a lead. “At first, I was even a bit upset because I thought he might be a thorn in our side, but Fred reassured me all day and told me to believe in it,” Brieuc said. “It wasn’t until very late, with about forty kilometres to go, that I realized that we were going to make it.” Thanks to a good collaboration, the day’s fugitives, including Mathieu van der Poel, Julien Bernard, Harold Tejada, and Andreas Leknessund, managed to resist the chase led by the bunch. Fifty kilometres from the finish line, the gap was one minute and thirty seconds, and it was only reduced by a third before approaching the final climb, located twenty kilometres from the finish.

“I tried to recover before the climb, because it was starting to be a long day for me and these aren’t efforts I’m used to,” confessed Brieuc. “I knew my first finish line was at the top of this climb, so I had to give it my all.” On the steep côte du Château Jaune (1.2 km at 9.5%), three men managed to take a few metres, three others were definitively dropped, while Brieuc Rolland found himself in a second group, with Van der Poel.

After a fast downhill, the Dutchman bridged across to the leaders, but Brieuc Rolland needed a few more kilometres to get back on the right group. This is how ten men found themselves fighting for the win entering the last ten kilometres. Accelerations and counterattacks followed one another, and the young man from Groupama-FDJ tried to enter some of the moves. With five kilometres to go, Ivan Romeo finally got away in a sneaky way, no one chased him down right away, and the gap was made. The Spaniard won the race, three men broke away for the remaining places on the podium, and Brieuc Rolland took seventh, behind Van der Poel and Laurance.

“I don’t think I’ve ever done such a hard race,” he said shortly after the finish. “From the top of the hill to the sprint, I couldn’t really stand on the pedals because I had cramps. It was a tough fight at the end, and I was on the limit, so I have no regrets.” “Tactically, we wanted to wait until the last two kilometres before making a move,” added Benoît. “We had to take the risk of waiting, even if it meant losing, but Romeo played it well and was very strong.”
Nevertheless, the 21-year-old will long remember this breakaway in his first Critérium du Dauphiné. “You always hope for better, but cycling has become so hard that you don’t often get the opportunity to fight for the win with five kilometers to go,” said Brieuc.

“I’m happy with what I did, and I gained experience”. “He learned a lot today, being at the front, racing for victory,” confirmed Benoît. “It was a great stage for him, especially since it was fast all day, in the heat, over 210 kilometres. It was a good day, and the others were also there in the peloton.” Paul Penhoët indeed finished fifteenth in the stage, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet also finished in the main pack. The French climber will face his first test on Wednesday in the race’s only time trial. “It’s shorter than in previous years, with eighteen kilometers, but there’s a nice climb in the middle,” Benoît concluded. “Rémi is obviously motivated, and Guillaume will also do his best for the overall.”

Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this report:

Attacks came as soon as the flag dropped in Brioude at the start of the third stage, and the two climbs that were tackled in quick succession led to many of the sprinters getting dropped. Remco Evenepoel couldn’t say no and made a move of his own just ahead of the intermediate sprint, where the Olympic Champion picked up one bonus seconds.

Remco Evenepoel before stage three started. Sirotti photo

More attacks continued to fly at the front, and eventually, the peloton let a dozen or so riders take two minutes. It was an advantage that looked insignificant at that time, but which turned out to be decisive in the end, as it allowed the escapees to arrive in Charantonnay with a hefty gap and fight for the stage, won by Ivan Romeo (Movistar), who became the new leader of the overall standings.

The bunch concluded one minute later this insanely fast day, and Evenepoel made a big jump in the general classification, where he now sits just a couple of seconds from the top ten ahead of the race’s only individual time trial, an important 17.7km test which should reshuffle the ranking Wednesday afternoon.

Here's the Dauphiné report from Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

The riders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike experienced another trouble-free day in the third stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The longest stage of the week in the south of France was won by Iván Romeo from the breakaway.

From the start in Brioude, the pace was incredibly high and that didn’t change during the day. Three categorized climbs in the opening phase of the third stage made it possible for a large group of riders to escape from the peloton. After the ascent of the Côte du Château Jaune in the final part of the stage, it became clear that the attackers were going to battle for the day's victory and the lead in the general classification.

Iván Romeo's late attack turned out to be the decisive one and therefore he is also the new leader of the Critérium du Dauphiné. Team leader Jonas Vingegaard passed the finish together with the favorites in the peloton behind and is now eleventh in the general classification.

Jonas Vingegaard before the start of stage three. Sirotti photo

"It was a tough day, with high temperatures. A strong leading group formed and ultimately stayed ahead. That's never quite ideal of course, but the situation in the general classification is still fine”, sports director Grischa Niermann says.

Tomorrow, a time trial of over seventeen kilometres is scheduled. The race against the clock is mostly on flat roads, but has a short but steep climb halfway through. Niermann looks ahead: "We have two good time trialists in the team with Jonas and Matteo, but we are not the favorite tomorrow. I hope we ride a strong time trial and then we will see what the baseline is towards the days that follow."

Florian Lipowitz's Team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe posted this Dauphiné report:

Florian Lipowitz fought his way into the breakaway and crossed the line in fourth place – a strong performance ahead of the time trial and decisive mountain stages of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

It was the longest stage of this year’s race – 207 demanding kilometres from Brioude to Charantonnay, constantly up and down, relentless and hot. The GC contenders and sprinters had taken their shots on the first two days – this was a day for the breakaway.

From the very start, the race was aggressive. After 30 kilometres of attacks, the day’s decisive move finally formed – and Florian Lipowitz was in it. Alongside eleven other riders, he carved out a lead over the rolling terrain and settled into the battle.

Florian Lipowitz after stage 10 of the 2024 Vuelta a España. Sirotti photo

With 20 kilometres to go, the Côte du Château Jaune loomed – short but brutal. Just 1,200 metres long, but with gradients over nine percent, it was the perfect place to attack. The peloton was closing in, just a minute behind. Florian Lipowitz responded with a strong acceleration, injecting pace into the front group. The gap held – and with each passing kilometre it became clear: the stage win would go to the breakaway.

Lipowitz remained fully committed, fighting for every second – both for the stage and the overall standings. In a race like this, every gap can matter. When Ivan Romeo (Movistar) made the decisive move, Lipowitz took charge of the chasing group and led them to the line. Fourth on the stage – and a leap up to fourth overall for the young German.

At the finish, he said: “The plan was to get Maxim in the break – he really wanted to go for the stage. But somehow I found myself up front. The group was strong, everyone gave it everything. I had good legs and tried, but I just didn’t follow the key move. Even though it didn’t quite work out, I’m happy. ”

Tomorrow’s time trial will shake up the GC once again – before the grand finale in the Alps this weekend.

Here's the race report from Romain Bardet's Team Picnic-PostNL:

A special day on local roads for Romain Bardet saw him met by rapturous applause from thousands of fans in his hometown of Brioude in the morning, as the peloton rolled out for the longest stage of this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné. The action was as hot as the temperatures in the opening part of the day, with full-gas racing from the flag drop. The peloton split into several pieces and Team Picnic PostNL were active in the moves, with Bardet himself trying to go clear.

Romain Bardet with local fans. Sirotti photo

At one point several of the big GC contenders were on the attack but eventually a 13-rider group went clear, with Team Picnic PostNL all in the bunch. The searing heat beat down over the peloton for the rest of the race and the gap to those ahead was held steady at between one and two minutes, with a fast tempo throughout the race, but coming over the final climb of the day it was clear that those ahead would stay clear to fight it out for the win. Poole, Bardet and Juan Martinez all finished safely in the reduced bunch, just over a minute down on the stage winner.

Team Picnic PostNL coach Phil West said: “It was a really tough and hot day. We wanted to have some attention and focus on the break this morning as because of the hard start we thought a strong group might go clear. In the end it was actually a really, really hard start and it was only a group of about 30 or 40 guys left at the top of the first climb. It was an explosive first hour or so of racing, and eventually a really strong group went clear on the roads after the climb. It was a bit of a strange day after that though because the strong break was pulling hard so the guys were always on the pedals, with the peloton trying to keep it under control, and a few of the sprinters trying to survive. The main thing for us was that we had Max and Romain in the peloton at the right moments with all of the GC favourites and got through the day okay, so we’ll look ahead to the time trial tomorrow now.”

And here's the report from Louis Barré's Team Intermarché-Wanty:

25-year-old Frenchman Louis Barré showcased the colours of Intermarché-Wanty at the front of the race from the very start of this third stage between Brioude and Charantonnay. He launched the decisive attack that led to the formation of a thirteen-rider breakaway. The puncher won the intermediate sprint and then three out of five mountain classification sprints.

Louis Barré (second rider) at the 2024 Tour Down Under. Sirotti photo

The breakaway maneuvred with a maximum lead of two minutes and held off the peloton to contest the stage victory. Louis Barré skillfully managed his efforts in the tactical finale, ultimately climbing onto the third step of the stage podium at the end of the 207 kilometer race. This performance also moved him into second place in the provisional general classification, mountain classification, and youth classification.

Thanks to his performance today, Louis Barré will wear the white jersey at the start of the fourth stage, which will be a 17 kilometer individual time trial between Charmes-sur-Rhône and Saint-Péray. He takes over the jersey worn by his compatriot and teammate Hugo Page, who finished sixth in the inaugural stage and has now worn a distinctive jersey in the event for the third time in four participations.

"I'm proud to have contended for the stage win and to wear the white jersey in such a prestigious race. I launched my first attack on the initial climb, about 10 kilometers into the stage, but the peloton reeled me back in. I tried again before the intermediate sprint, and my persistence paid off, as several riders joined me shortly after. It was a tough start to the stage; it took nearly an hour to form the day's breakaway. I was part of a strong leading group, surrounded by powerful riders, and we had a serious chance of making it to the finish.

"But since we never gained a significant gap, we weren't sure if we'd be racing for the win. That's why we pushed the pace incredibly hard all day. In the final hour, I was at my limit, partly because of the heat. So, in the tactical finale, I gambled on waiting until the last two kilometers to make my move. It was the right decision, because when I attacked, I broke clear with Tejada and Lipowitz to fight for the podium." - Louis Barré

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary