Friday’s alpine stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné wasn’t one for the GC men, but two breakaway riders punched it out in the final kilometre for the victory. George Zimmermann looked for a couple of seconds like he was going to suffer heartbreak at the hand of the race’s new KOM Mathieu Burgaudeau, but the German rallied to earn his first WorldTour triumph. Race leader Jonas Vingegaard wasn’t put under any pressure.
VICTORY FOR GIGI ZIMMERMANN!!!! #Dauphiné pic.twitter.com/TIS8NtjfnO
— Intermarché-Circus-Wanty (@IntermarcheCW) June 9, 2023
The Course
Three categorized climbs were shoehorned into Friday’s final 25 km. The appetizer was Cat. 2 Col des Aravis. Then came the first step of the two-step summit finish, Cat. 3 Côte de Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe. Finally, the short but fairly steep Cat. 3 Crest-Voland would provide the day’s climax.
First uphill finish of the #Dauphine will see the riders fight for victory on Crest-Voland, which comes right after Col des Aravis, where it’s very likely to have some early moves. pic.twitter.com/RvVotQFXQU
— Soudal Quick-Step Pro Cycling Team (@soudalquickstep) June 9, 2023
It was a parcours likely to elicit a large breakaway, but there were a few moves that didn’t stick. The KOM classification leader Donavan Grondin first attacked and then abandoned the race. An 18-strong group tried its luck but failed. On the Côte de Clermont-en-Genevois, after Pierre Latour assumed the now-vacant KOM lead by tipping over first, 14 fellows got loose. With teams like DSM and Uno-X assisting Jumbo-Visma at the helm of the peloton, the breakaway hit the foot of Col des Aravis with a 1:45 gap.
The escapee group shattered on the Aravis. Now part of a leading trio, Mathieu Burgaudeau of TotalEnergies moved within a point of the KOM lead by cresting over first. The race descended towards the start of Côte de Notre-Dame-de-Bellecombe.
By the penultimate climb, it was clear that the peloton had left it too late. Burgaudeau would wear the white dots on blue at the end of the day.
Crest-Voland
Georg Zimmermann attacked near the bottom of the climb, leaving Burgaudeau and Jonathan Castroviejo behind. Burgaudeau found his tire with 500 metres to go and made a thrust that seemingly left the German behind, but the Intermarché-Circus-Wanty man had something left and took the big win.
Vingegaard attacked but only created a high-powered group of around 15 that finished 48 seconds later.
Saturday is the queen…
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