The Slovenian star delivers a crushing blow to his rivals on the climb to Domancy, reclaiming the yellow jersey with authority
COMBLOUX, France — The question that would define the day came not from a journalist in the post-race press conference, but from Tadej Pogačar himself, posed with characteristic directness: “Why wait?”
It was a query that perfectly encapsulated the world champion’s approach to cycling, delivered after he had torn apart the field on the first mountain stage of the 77th Critérium du Dauphiné, claiming his 11th victory while wearing the rainbow jersey and reclaiming the race lead with devastating effect.
While the cycling world had penciled in Saturday’s stage to Valmeinier 1800 as the decisive battleground between the sport’s three premier climbers, Pogačar had other plans. On a shortened but brutally steep 126.7-kilometer route from Valserhône to Combloux, packed with 2,630 meters of elevation gain, the UAE Team Emirates leader struck first and struck hard.

The stage began with the familiar ritual of breakaway attempts, Mathieu Van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck leading the early charge from kilometer zero. But it was the mountains that would provide the real theater, and the first act opened with violence on the Côte du Mont-Saxonnex, a category-1 climb averaging 8.7% over 5.4 kilometers.
The Race Explodes
UAE Team Emirates had been pulling the bunch, keeping the eight-man breakaway on a tight leash with a gap that never exceeded 2 minutes and 10 seconds. As the road tilted upward at kilometer 87.6, the careful chess match of the early kilometers gave way to open warfare.

In the breakaway, Alex Baudin of EF Education-EasyPost — riding toward his home region — and Michael Shea Leonard of Ineos Grenadiers proved strongest. Behind them, the peloton immediately fractured. Sepp Kuss of Visma-Lease a Bike tested the waters first, but Pogačar’s response was instant and decisive. The world champion marked the move, with rising German star Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe launching a counter-attack in response.

The elastic stretched and snapped. By the summit, only a select group of 27 riders remained in contention, with the general classification contenders reduced to a who’s who of modern climbing: Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, Lipowitz, Matteo Jorgenson of Visma-Lease a Bike, Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quick-Step, 18-year-old French sensation Paul Seixas of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, Enric Mas of Movistar, and Eddie Dunbar of Jayco AlUla.
As they descended toward the valley, stragglers managed to rejoin the group. The tension was palpable — everyone knew what was coming.
The Côte de Domancy Beckons
The Côte de Domancy loomed ahead, a climb forever associated with Bernard Hinault’s triumph at the 1980 World Championships, but also the site of Pogačar’s crushing defeat to Vingegaard in the 2023 Tour de France. History hung heavy in the Alpine air as the 27-man group approached the base of the ascent.

Leonard and Baudin still held a 1 minute and 15 second advantage, but UAE Team Emirates-XRG had other ideas. Tim Wellens, Jon Narvaez, and Pavel Sivakov had done “an amazing job,” as Pogačar would later reflect, controlling the race throughout the day except for that explosive moment when Visma attacked on the Mont-Saxonnex.
At the bottom of the Côte de Domancy, Baudin made his move, setting off alone from the breakaway. Behind him, UAE Team Emirates-XRG set a brutal pace that immediately began to splinter the select group.
Then, with one kilometer remaining to the summit and still more than seven kilometers from the finish line, Pogačar made his decisive move.
The Rainbow Strike
The acceleration was devastating in its simplicity. Vingegaard, the only rider with the credentials to potentially match Pogačar’s climbing prowess, tried desperately to respond. But the Slovenian was already gone, flying away up the slopes with the fluid power that has made him the sport’s most feared climber.
“The Dane may have the intention and the means to push the yellow and blue jersey to its limits,” read the pre-stage analysis, “but nothing is less certain.” Those words proved prophetic as Pogačar caught the struggling Baudin and went solo with 6.5 kilometers remaining.
For Baudin, the young Frenchman who had dared to dream, the moment of reckoning was brutal but realistic. “When I was caught by ‘Pogi’, I stood up on my pedals but I didn’t even try to stick to his wheel,” he said afterward. “I knew I would have blown up. Getting to the climb with that gap and with the little energy I had left, it was impossible.”

Behind the flying world champion, the battle for the remaining podium places intensified with each pedal stroke. The gaps grew relentlessly as Pogačar powered toward the line, his rainbow bands a blur against the mountain backdrop.
Victory and Vindication
When Pogačar crossed the finish line, arms raised in triumph, the damage was comprehensive. Vingegaard, yesterday’s best of the beaten, trailed by 1 minute and 1 second. Lipowitz, the promising German who had been gaining time through earlier breakaway moves, finished 1 minute and 22 seconds back. Jorgenson lost 1 minute and 30 seconds, while Evenepoel, the Belgian star, dropped a significant 1 minute and 50 seconds.

“I’m super happy to be back in yellow,” Pogačar said, his satisfaction evident. “It was a very good day for us. I’m getting very good answers from this Dauphiné. I wasn’t too stressed after the time trial and the shape is here.”
For Lipowitz, despite the defeat, there were reasons for optimism. “My legs were really good today and the team did an amazing job,” he said. “I’m super happy with the performance. Tomorrow’s climbs are really long and normally that suits me quite well. I expect a super hard start and some racing full gas until the end.”
The young German’s confidence wasn’t misplaced — he had shown he belonged in this elite company, holding off Evenepoel for third place on the stage while the Belgian struggled to fifth.
French Promise and Future Battles
Among the revelations of the day was the performance of 18-year-old Paul Seixas, whose eighth place in the general classification delighted French fans hungry for homegrown talent in the mountains. The teenager’s presence in the provisional top 10 hinted at a bright future for French climbing.
Baudin, despite his disappointment at being caught, found silver linings in his effort. The polka dot jersey of mountains classification leader wasn’t planned, he admitted, but “now it could become a goal.” More meaningful to the young rider was the symbolic value of the following day’s stage starting near his childhood club, the Guidon d’Or La Léchère — “a good way to pay tribute to them.”
Setting the Stage
With two stages remaining, the general classification had been dramatically reshuffled. Pogačar now held a commanding 43-second lead over Vingegaard, with Lipowitz a further 11 seconds back in third. The gaps were significant but not insurmountable, particularly with Saturday’s monster stage to Valmeinier 1800 featuring three hors catégorie climbs and nearly 65 kilometers of steep slopes, including two passages above 2,000 meters altitude.
“Tomorrow is going to be really hard with longer climbs,” Pogačar acknowledged. “But right now I enjoy today’s stage and I can be confident with my shape and the team’s.”
The stage had answered questions about form and revealed the current hierarchy, but the mountains of Saturday would provide the definitive examination. For Vingegaard, whose “only chance of victory is said to lie in the longer climbs at high altitude,” the Col de la Madeleine, Col de la Croix de Fer, and final ascent to Valmeinier 1800 represented perhaps his last realistic opportunity to turn the tide.
The rainbow jersey had spoken with authority on the Côte de Domancy, delivering a message that reverberated through the peloton and beyond: in the mountains of the Dauphiné, as elsewhere, Tadej Pogačar was the man to beat.
Stage 6 Results
Rank | Rider | Team | Time | Gap | Bonus |
1 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates XRG | 2:59:46 | – | 10″ |
2 | Jonas Vingegaard | Team Visma | Lease A Bike | 3:00:47 | +01:01 | 6″ |
3 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe | 3:01:08 | +01:22 | 4″ |
4 | Matteo Jorgenson | Team Visma | Lease A Bike | 3:01:16 | +01:30 | – |
5 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal Quick-Step | 3:01:36 | +01:50 | – |
6 | Alex Baudin | EF Education – Easypost | 3:01:42 | +01:56 | 3″ |
7 | Tobias Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 3:01:49 | +02:03 | – |
8 | Louis Barre | Intermarché – Wanty | 3:01:50 | +02:04 | – |
9 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease A Bike | 3:01:50 | +02:04 | – |
10 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale Team | 3:01:50 | +02:04 | – |
General Classification After Stage 6
Rank | Rider | Team | Time | Gap | Bonus |
1 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates XRG | 21:35:08 | – | 22″ |
2 | Jonas Vingegaard | Team Visma | Lease A Bike | 21:35:51 | +00:43 | 12″ |
3 | Florian Lipowitz | Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe | 21:36:02 | +00:54 | 4″ |
4 | Remco Evenepoel | Soudal Quick-Step | 21:36:30 | +01:22 | 1″ |
5 | Matteo Jorgenson | Team Visma | Lease A Bike | 21:36:49 | +01:41 | – |
6 | Edward Dunbar | Team Jayco ALula | 21:37:36 | +02:28 | – |
7 | Louis Barre | Intermarché – Wanty | 21:37:47 | +02:39 | 7″ |
8 | Paul Seixas | Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale Team | 21:37:57 | +02:49 | – |
9 | Tobias Johannessen | Uno-X Mobility | 21:38:29 | +03:21 | – |
10 | Ben Tulett | Team Visma | Lease A Bike | 21:38:34 | +03:26 | – |