Alex MacQuoid
A roaring finale to the Criterium du Dauphiné: Bahrain Victorious capped off the French stage race in dramatic style, as rising French sensation Lenny Martínez surged to victory on the final day, while Tadej Pogacar cemented his dominance with an imperious ride to secure the yellow jersey despite fierce pressure from Jonas Vingegaard.
A Ruthless Breakaway in the High Alps
The terrain was merciless from the gun, and it set the tone for a climactic showdown. Only the crème de la crème of the peloton managed to forge ahead. The breakaway was stacked: Sepp Kuss, Mathieu van der Poel, Alexey Lutsenko, Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ben Healy, Enric Mas, Maxim van Gils, Tobias Foss, Lenny Martínez, Iván Romeo, and Jake Stewart—a who’s who of versatile climbers and opportunists, all pushing deep into the Alpine agony.
Van der Poel animated the early action, attacking with venom and taking long, brave pulls at the front. But the cohesion behind, especially through the efforts of Iván Romeo setting tempo for Enric Mas, kept the group firmly intact as they approached the final battleground: Mont Cenis.
Mont Cenis: Where Legends Split the Road
With just 1:30 over a charging peloton led by Uno-X Mobility’s relentless pace for Tobias Johannessen, the breakaway hit the base of the climb. Johannessen made the first move in the GC group, launching an offensive that fragmented the chasers. Tim Wellens tried to anchor the chaos, but with Remco Evenepoel lighting up the road 8 kilometers from the summit, everything exploded.
At the front, Enric Mas made his decisive move. Martínez, calm and calculating, followed swiftly. As Mas faltered, Martínez attacked—fluid, defiant, and alone. With eight kilometers of climbing still to come, the French climber committed fully, leaving everything behind on the ascent.
Martínez crested Mont Cenis with a 50-second buffer, even as Vingegaard launched a ferocious attack behind, dragging Pogacar in his slipstream. The pair fought valiantly, but the Frenchman’s lead was too great to overhaul. With poise and a burst of pure climbing brilliance, Martínez claimed the stage win—his most significant triumph yet and a thunderous finale to the Dauphiné.
Tadej Pogacar, ever composed, shadowed Vingegaard’s aggression and rode smart to the line, securing the overall victory with the assurance of a true champion. His consistency, power, and tactical maturity over eight brutal days of racing leave little doubt: he is the man to beat heading into the Tour de France.
Behind the top trio, the gaps were modest, but the message was unmistakable: the Dauphiné belonged to Pogacar, and the final stage—a spectacle of strategy and suffering—belonged to Lenny Martínez, the new prince of French cycling.