{"id":186549,"date":"2025-06-15T14:26:20","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T14:26:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/186549\/"},"modified":"2025-06-15T14:26:20","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T14:26:20","slug":"criterium-du-dauphine-stage-8-live-can-anyone-beat-tadej-pogacar-on-the-final-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/186549\/","title":{"rendered":"Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 Stage 8 LIVE: Can anyone beat Tadej Poga\u010dar on the final stage?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Refresh <\/p>\n

2025-06-15T14:16:37.496Z<\/p>\n

Another climb summited for Mathieu van der Poel, as he takes maximum points over the top of the C\u00f4te d\u2019Aussois and Bruno Armirail comes through in the group behind to take another three points in mountains classification, extending his virtual lead to nine points over Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T14:04:29.255Z<\/p>\n

This is a brilliant solo effort from Mathieu van der Poel. If this is a sign of things to come, then we can definitely expect to see the Dutchman animating the race on some the hilly stages in the opening week of the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:59:32.849Z<\/p>\n

The riders are now onto the slopes of the penultimate climb of the C\u00f4te d’Aussois (6.3km at 6.2%), with Mathieu van der Poel still holding more than a minute of an advantage over the chasing group as he begins the category two ascent. It has all come back together in the peloton, with main bunch currently two minutes and 45 seconds behind the Dutchman at the head of race.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:54:07.733Z<\/p>\n

A small split in the peloton on the descent has seen three Uno-X Mobility go clear with Tadej Poga\u010dar and Jonas Vingegaard in the wheel. It should all come back together though, as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe are working to bring it back together for Florian Lipowitz.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:50:32.025Z<\/p>\n

The weather has taken a turn and rain has started to fall as they begin the descent of the C\u00f4te de Saint-Andr\u00e9. A little moment for Van der Poel through one of the corners forced him unclip his right foot from the pedal, but he stays upright and continues his effort.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:46:00.973Z<\/p>\n

Van der Poel is first over the summit of the C\u00f4te de Saint-Andr\u00e9, but the two points in the mountains classification will be of little consequence to the Dutchman. Bruno Armirail comes through to collect the sole remaining point to further extend his virtual lead in the classification.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:40:39.376Z<\/p>\n

Van der Poel’s gap has now gone out to a minute over the chasers, but his advantage to the peloton has come down gradually to two minutes and 40 seconds under the continuing pace of Uno-X Mobility.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:37:55.149Z<\/p>\n

The riders are now inside the final 50km of this year’s Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 and are approaching the foot of the category three C\u00f4te de Saint-Andr\u00e9 (2.5km at 7.6%).<\/p>\n

Domen Novak (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) has abandoned the race, leaving Tadej Poga\u010dar a teammate down going into the final stretch of the race.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:33:30.625Z<\/p>\n

After the intermediate sprint, Van der Poel has continued his effort and has extended his gap over the rest of the breakaway to 40 seconds. His advantage over the peloton now sits at three minutes with around 50km to go.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:30:19.284Z<\/p>\n

Lenny Martinez was first over the top of the Col de Beaune ahead of Bruno Armirail, who now moves into the virtual lead of the mountains classification with a five-point lead over Tadej Poga\u010dar.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:27:07.720Z<\/p>\n

The riders have summited and descended down the other side of the Col de Beaune. Mathieu van der Poel has put in a small acceleration to take the maximum points at the intermediate sprint in Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, opening up a 15-second gap on his breakaway companions.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:22:49.161Z<\/p>\n

The breakaway has begun to splinter slightly on the slopes of the Col de Beaune. Stage 5 winner Jake Stewart has been dropped from the lead group and caught by the peloton.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Archie Ryan (EF Education-EasyPost) has abandoned the race. The Irishman won in Val-Cenis, where today’s stage finishes, on stage 7b of the Tour de l’Avenir in 2023.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T13:10:19.267Z<\/p>\n

The peloton have closed the gap to the breakaway to around two and a half minutes, as Uno-X Mobility are setting the pace in the main bunch. They are probably concerned with Enric Mas’ presence in the lead group, as the Spaniard sits in tenth place in the general classification, just one minute and 40 seconds behind their leader Tobias Halland Johannessen in fifth place.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:54:20.536Z<\/p>\n

No time for horsing around on today’s stage, as the riders at head of the race had averaged 44.5km\/h for the first hour.<\/p>\n

\"PLATEAU<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:50:58.889Z<\/p>\n

Some shots of the breakaway as they make their way towards the foot of the Col de Beaune (6.6km at 6.8%), the first of two category one ascents on today’s stage.<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 3<\/p>\n

\"PLATEAU(Image credit: Getty Images)\"PLATEAU(Image credit: Getty Images)\"PLATEAU(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:38:14.840Z<\/p>\n

Julien Bernard looks to be heading back to the peloton as he is currently around two minutes behind the breakaway. It was a bold move, but he may regret it with the climbs to come later on.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile the lead group now have a gap of four minutes over the peloton, as their advantage continues to grow.<\/p>\n

\"PLATEAU<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:29:10.603Z<\/p>\n

Here’s a map of today’s stage as the race heads deep into the Alps towards the Franco-Italian border.<\/p>\n

\"Route<\/p>\n

(Image credit: ASO)<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:23:45.191Z<\/p>\n

The breakaway has officially formed as the peloton has now let the gap grow to nearly three minutes. Julien Bernard (Lidl-Trek) is currently attempting to bridge across on his own in a move that seems doomed to fail.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:17:48.160Z<\/p>\n

The gap to the breakaway has now gone out to over a minute, as the twelve-man leading group look to grow their advantage over the peloton behind.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:08:16.191Z<\/p>\n

Tobias Foss (Ineos Grenadiers) and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech) have also now joined the lead group, as the peloton move to around 15 seconds behind the breakaway.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:06:38.473Z<\/p>\n

Van der Poel has now bridged the gap to the breakaway, making it a group of ten riders at the head of the race with others also attempting to come across from the peloton.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T12:03:39.382Z<\/p>\n

Bruno Armirail took the maximum points over the top of the C\u00f4te de Saint-Georges-d’Hurti\u00e8res ahead of Lenny Martinez, Sepp Kuss and Maxim Van Gils. The Frenchman is now just three points behind leader Tadej Poga\u010dar in the mountains classification.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T11:59:06.370Z<\/p>\n

A new breakaway has now formed at the head of the race, with a group of Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike), Enric Mas (Movistar), Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Ivan Romeo (Movistar) and Alexey Lutsenko (Israel-Premier Tech) out front with around 20 seconds over the peloton behind.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T11:55:22.071Z<\/p>\n

Van der Poel managed to drag a small group clear, but they have now been caught once again. Meanwhile, several riders have been dropped off the back of the main bunch, including Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility) and Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers).<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T11:50:48.349Z<\/p>\n

Despite an unsuccessful first attack, Van der Poel is attempting to go clear again as the peloton reaches the foot of the category two C\u00f4te de Saint-Georges-d’Hurti\u00e8res (4.7km at 7.1%).<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T11:46:30.506Z<\/p>\n

Louis Barr\u00e9 (Intermarch\u00e9-Wanty) took maximum points ahead of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) as they summited the category 3 ascent of the C\u00f4te d’Aiton. The Dutchman has now pushed on over the top of the climb and is alone at the head of the race with a small advantage over the peloton.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T11:35:32.613Z<\/p>\n

The riders are now at the foot of the C\u00f4te d’Aiton (1.2km at 8.8%), which could serve as the perfect opportunity for an early breakaway to go clear.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T11:33:41.643Z<\/p>\n

Stage 8 of the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 is officially underway. Here’s a clip from the start, where the peloton lined up for a guard of honour for Romain Bardet.<\/p>\n

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\ud83d\ude4c Le bel hommage du peloton pour @romainbardet au d\u00e9part de la 8\u00e8me et derni\u00e8re \u00e9tape ! \ud83d\ude0d\ud83d\ude4c A beautiful tribute from the peloton to @romainbardet at the start. \ud83d\ude0d#Dauphin\u00e9 pic.twitter.com\/6HJQ8TFvSaJune 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

2025-06-15T11:29:05.749Z<\/p>\n

Today’s stage marks the final day of Romain Bardet’s professional career, as he is set to retire from professional cycling after the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9. Could it be a fairy-tale ending for the Frenchman with a victory on the Plateau du Mont-Cenis?<\/p>\n

Whatever happens today, it has been a pleasure to watch him race over the years and we wish him a happy retirement. Chapeau Romain!<\/p>\n

Image 1 of 4<\/p>\n

\"Team(Image credit: Getty Images)\"VALMEINIER(Image credit: Getty Images)\"VALMEINIER(Image credit: Getty Images)\"VALMEINIER(Image credit: Getty Images)<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T11:13:22.851Z<\/p>\n

A quick look at the overall standings heading into today’s stage. With just over minute of a deficit to Tadej Poga\u010dar, it will take something special for Jonas Vingegaard to win this Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9.<\/p>\n

\"Overall<\/p>\n

(Image credit: FirstCycling)<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T10:55:53.084Z<\/p>\n

The riders will head straight into the action on today’s stage, as they face the C\u00f4te d’Aiton and the C\u00f4te de Saint-Georges-d’Hurti\u00e8res in the opening 15km, which could play a role in the formation of the early breakaway.<\/p>\n

2025-06-15T10:53:58.399Z<\/p>\n

The final stage of this year’s Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 is set to get underway at 13:25 local time with a short neutralised section before the official start in Val-d’Arc.<\/p>\n

2025-06-12T16:51:46.372Z<\/p>\n

Hello and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 8 of the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9, the final stage of this year’s race and the last opportunity for some of the GC contenders to make their mark before the Tour de France.<\/p>\n