Nat Bromhead
It has been three big wins in the past two weeks for 25yo Belgian Wout van Aert, victor of the Strade Bianche, Milano-San Remo and now Stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné.
After 208 kilometres of racing, and among a start list that closely resembled a Tour de France, Van Aert won the uphill sprint finish to make it the tenth season victory for Team Jumbo-Visma.
Riding a Bianchi XR4, the Belgian star made the most of the steep finishing slopes to dominate Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Egan Bernal (Team Ineos), who finished 2nd and 3rd.
The star-studded pack of 161 riders started from Clermont-Ferrand in the morning – Team Ineos with their three recent Tour winners, three-time World Champion Peter Sagan was riding his first Dauphine, Rigoberto Uran (EF Pro Cycling), Pierre Latour (AG2R-La Mondiale), Tiesj Benoot (Team Sunweb) and of course members of the Jumbo Visma ‘Superteam’ – Primoz Roglic, Tom Dumoulin and Wout van Aert.
The reigning Belgian champion, van Aert launched his sprint with 200m to go and managed to stay ahead of Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) and Egan Bernal (Team Ineos).
The Critérium du Dauphiné continues tonight with a shorter 135km stage, but again featuring a steep final climb. The race is being broadcast on SBS Viceland and streamed on the GCN RacePass App.
Stage 1 Top 3
- Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) in 05h27’42’
- Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) s.t.
- Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) s.t.
GC After Stage 1
- Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) in 05h27’32’
- Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) at 04″
- Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) at 06″
