Hand in hand, like two lovers and with an insulting smugness. This is how Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard reached the finish line of the last stage of the Criterium Dauphiné. Before Van Aert, until yesterday the leader, and a luxury gregarious like Steven Kruijswijk, third in the Tour only three years ago, had caused a mess like no one remembers. The stage was taken by Vingegaard, second in the French round last year, and victory in the general classification went to Roglic. Three weeks before the start of the Tour, the message is clear: Jumbo does not compete, he overwhelms and Roglic has legs to put in check the dominance, undeniable for the last two years, of his compatriot Tadej Pogacar.
This isn't Jumbo's first showing this year, used to racking up a lot of talent in one-week races. At Paris–Nice in March he already ridiculed his opponents with three stage wins and uninterrupted leadership from day one. But the merit has been greater in this Criterium Dauphiné, for many a mini Tour for its participants. Neither Enric Mas, weighed down by a crash last Thursday that ended in retirement yesterday, nor Ben O'Connor (AG2R), third overall and a candidate for the podium in Paris, nor Jack Haig, McNulty, Hayter, Johannessen, Chaves or Caruso. No one even came close to the beard of the almighty Jumbo.
In the last stage there was no outsider who could surprise them, as Carlos Verona did in Vaujani. Van Aert crushed from the col de la Colombière and on the first ramps of the Plateau de Solaison, a special category port where the last stage ended, it was Kruijswijk's turn. Only O'Connor endured the Dutchman's high pace until with five kilometers to go, Vingegaard put an end to his suffering and attacked. It was a demarraje agreed with his leader, Roglic, who went to his wheel. Exhibition until the finish line, where the Slovenian gave victory to his squire between pats.
Pogacar was not here, choosing the Tour of Slovenia to prepare for the Grande Boucle. The two-time champion does not understand teams. It is a free verse that dominates like nobody else all the disciplines of the races. In fact, no one has won more than him in 2022, with seven wins to Van Aert's five and Roglic's four. Despite this, the Jumbo aspires to finally generate some confusion in the best cyclist of the moment.
At 32 years old, Roglic knows that he is facing one of his last opportunities to opt for the Tour, that is why this year he has prepared thoroughly. After the debacle experienced in 2020, where he lost the race in the final time trial, and the crash that made him leave last year, in 2022 he wants to be the dominant cyclist who has won the last three Vueltas a España.
