‘I tried but this climb was so hard’ – Marc Soler caught in final kilometres of Dauphiné Queen Stage

Marc Soler came to the bottom of the final climb of the Queen Stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné with a gap of 4:20 to the peloton, seemingly well-placed to take the solo win from a breakaway, a feat the UAE Team Emirates rider last achieved at the 2022 Vuelta a Espana.

But standing between the Spaniard and the finish line stood both the final 10km Hors Categorie ascent of Samoëns 1600 with an average gradient of 9%, as well as yellow jersey Primož Roglič and his Bora-Hansgrohe team.