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5 things we learnt at the Critérium du Dauphiné 2024
The Critérium du Dauphiné always provides a chance to evaluate Tour de France favourites’ form and preparations before the big battle for yellow in July. With only three weeks left until the French race kicks off in Florence, the Dauphiné has once again offered a reality check for some riders.
Among the GC contenders on display, Remco Evenepoel, Primož Roglič and Carlos Rodríguez all appeared at the eight-day Alpine race. Sprinters at the race included the likes of Mads Pedersen and Sam Bennett. Other names who turned up include Guilio Ciccone, Magnus Cort and Sasha Vlasov.
Primož Roglič ended up the victor, taking the Dauphiné title by eight seconds over Matteo Jorgenson and 36 seconds over Canada’s Derek Gee. The Slovenian took two stage wins along the way, as well as the points classification.
Remco Evenepoel isn’t ready to win the Tour de France
Remco Evenepoel took a biblical stage win on Stage 4’s time-trial, but in truth the Belgian proved lacklustre in his comeback race after recovering from injury. A crash on Stage 5 to Saint Priest clouded his week in eastern France, but the former World Champion’s form seems to be fluctuating. He can’t rest on his laurels and win a Tour purely in the time-trials, especially when his rivals are also strong against the clock.
After taking the yellow jersey on Stage 4, Evenepoel’s race turned sharply downwards, even if he went into the week with ‘no expectations’. He doesn’t seem to have banished his worrying habit of struggling to maintain his form throughout a stage race. If he is to ever win a Tour, it’s something he needs to address.
To round off his Tour preparations, Evenepoel will return to altitude to prepare before tackling the Belgian National Championships. This feels somewhat unnecessary given that several of his rivals will now avoid racing altogether until the Tour kicks off in Florence on 29th June. There will be a lot of thinking to do at altitude for Soudal-QuickStep’s top dog.
Derek Gee is the real deal
The breakout ride of the week has to go to Derek Gee of Canada. The jovial 26-year-old attacked late on Stage 3 to claim his first WorldTour win in Les Estables, claiming the yellow jersey in the process. He may have only held it for a single day, but the Canadian stuck around near the top of the standings to claim third place overall by the time the race concluded on top of the Plateau des Glières.
Gee’s stage race stamina was impressive, with the Israel-Premier Tech rider ageing like fine wine as the race progressed. He secured top five finishes in the three final summit finishes of the race, including a hard fought third on the last stage.
Gee’s role within Israel-PremierTech going into the Tour de France is unknown. The team have tasted success in the breakaways at the previous two Tours, but on such form, Gee might be sent out as a GC rider. The team is also sponsored by a Canadian firm, PremierTech, and is backed by a Canadian-Israeli millionaire, so may look to secure Canada’s first Tour de France top ten finish since Ryder Hesjedal over 15 years ago. On this form he could well do it.
Primož Roglič still has it
Primož Roglič has had a tumultuous start to his tenure at Bora-Hansgrohe. The Slovenian faced heavy ambush at Paris-Nice back in March, even being overshadowed by his own teammate, Sasha Vlasov. He then crashed and was injured in his next race, the Itzulia Basque Country. However, with two stage wins and the overall title at the Dauphiné, Roglič is back, and arguably back to his best.
We bore witness to some classic Roglič fanfare this week. Two mountaintop sprint wins delivered the yellow jersey in typical Roglič fashion, though it wouldn’t be a Roglič success without some final stage drama. After getting dropped and almost losing yellow to Matteo Jorgenson, the Bora leader managed to hold on by just eight seconds, marking his first GC win in his new team colours – and likely his last given that the team will rebrand under the guise of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in a couple of weeks.
Roglič now appears to be the strongest Tour contender outside of Vingegaard and Pogačar. He’ll now return to altitude to continue training ahead of the Tour de France, inadvertently joining Jonas Vingegaard in Tignes. Overall though, Roglič is starting to look more familiar in a Bora jersey, and should leave the Dauphiné confident that he’ll ride into peak form in July.
Carlos Rodríguez needs to be Ineos leader
Carlos Rodríguez has made a name for himself as a last-chance saloon kind of rider. He loves the final stages of a race and proved it once again at the Dauphiné by claiming the eighth stage. The Ineos rider missed out on a final podium, but his climbing legs are looking good ahead of the Tour.
Apart from a disappointing time-trial, Rodríguez showed himself as Ineos Grenadiers’ best shot at having a presence on the final Tour de France podium in Nice. A strong debut last year at the Grand Boucle suggests that he’s the smart choice for a strong Ineos team that also includes GC hopefuls Tom Pidcock and Egan Bernal.
The latest series of Netflix’s ‘Tour de France: Unchained’ suggests that Pidcock is confident when it comes to his GC capabilities. He’ll likely be co-leader with Rodríguez again this year and Pidcock has remained bullish in his chances, saying, ‘I am going to decide what I want my Tour to be this year. Nobody else. Otherwise, you don’t get anything from me… I need to be able to believe in my mission at the Tour’.
Matteo Jorgenson could be the thorn in UAE’s side
It’s no secret that UAE Team Emirates will send a scintillating squad to the Tour de France in an attempt to topple the dynasty of Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike. Matteo Jorgenson is quickly emerging as a key asset for Visma’s defence after the former Movistar rider produced another spellbinding ride at the Dauphiné.
Touted as the signing of the year, Paris-Nice winner Jorgenson looked consistent at the Dauphiné, and if it weren’t for a time-trial the American would have taken the overall title. This goes to show his climbing prowess as he’s set take a leading role in the squad’s evolving super-team at the Tour.
After losing some climbing strength at the Dauphiné through crashes, Jorgenson’s job will be even more important at the Tour. The tall American – still just 24 years of age – will be used to set the pace in the mountain and hilly stages. His position as an undermarked GC rider could be to his advantage too as Visma-Lease a Bike may send him into the break to act as a powerful satellite rider, or he could be utilised to unsettle UAE Team Emirates if his GC position remains high. Instead of looking towards Wout van Aert, UAE Team Emirates need to start marking Matteo Jorgenson.
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