Dauphiné summary: How the Tour de France stars fared at the dress rehearsal

Tour favourite number one: Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia / UAE Team Emirates - XRG)

He showed everyone: Tadej Pogačar is well on his way to his fourth overall victory in the Tour de France in July. The 26-year-old Slovenian triumphed on the first stage, which was supposed to be the terrain for a bunch sprint. Afterwards, he virtually played with his opponents on the mountain, allowing himself the small advantage of picking up the bottles for his helper Pavel Sivakov on the team car and then riding past the assembled competition to the front. An act somewhere between a grand gesture, cockiness and a bit of a mind game with his (currently) inferior opponents. He was only surprisingly slow in the individual time trial - but even then it was enough to consolidate his status as the Tour favourite number one. On the first mountain stage at the Côte de Domancy, he gained almost a minute on challenger Jonas Vingegaard. The Dane would have to show an extreme improvement in form during the following altitude training camp in Tignes to be able to hold a candle to his eternal, two years younger rival in July.

Germany's hopeful: Florian Lipowitz (Germany / Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe)

There were discussions among the experts as to whether it was a surprise what the 24-year-old Swabian showed in the eight days of the preparation race. Or whether it was to be expected. His Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team had taken their time to prepare the former biathlete for the week-long tour - and aimed for a top place in the overall standings. In fact Florian Lipowitz put in a mature performance, finishing third overall and winning the jersey of the best young rider. Now he is a beacon of hope in a team where things are not really going well at the moment. The Red Bull- BORA - hansgrohe captain for the Tour Primož Roglič is still licking the wounds he suffered in a crash at the Giro d'Italia. "More stable, more solid, he no longer makes mistakes," praised sport director Rolf Aldag. The up-and-coming rider's performance sometimes had a touch of cockiness about it: On stage 3, Lipowitz rode as part of a breakaway group to gain almost a minute on the other classification riders, then put in a strong individual time trial in fifth place, seven seconds behind Pogačar, and then rode cheekily in the mountains - even if it wasn't enough in the end to stay on the back wheel of Pogačar and Vingegaard on the climbs. But double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel could only look behind the newcomer among the top riders. Just a little more rest and better management of his strength is the advice for the man on whom the German fans will be keeping a special eye in July.

Last exit:
Romain Bardet (France / Team Picnic-Post NL)

He said goodbye several times: Romain Bardetwho had been known for around a year, contested his last road race as a professional at the Tour of the Dauphiné. He was cheered at the start of the stage in his home town of Brioude, threw a bidon to small fans wearing his team jersey at the side of the route and waved into the TV camera on the penultimate stage 13 kilometres before the stage finish in Valmeinier, when it was clear that there would be no victory for him to celebrate in his last cycling race. Seconds later, the leaders in the overall classification raced past him - the chance of a final stage win was gone. Bardet was still rewarded at the finish as the most combative rider of the day and, the next morning, a guard of honour from his professional colleagues on the way to the start of the stage. Son Angus was also waiting for his dad, who will probably be spending more time at home in future. Bardet completed his last pedal strokes as a professional cyclist arm in arm with team-mate Chris Hamilton on the way to the finish at Mont-Cenis. Speaking of farewells: Bardet can't quite let go of cycling just yet: Although he will no longer be taking part in the Tour de France as a racing cyclist, after eleven participations as an active cyclist, he will be covering a few stages as a reporter from his motorbike for the TV channel Eurosport. And then the 35-year-old Frenchman wants to take part in a few more gravel races - so he can't quite keep his legs still just yet.

On the hunt to catch up? Remco Evenepoel (Belgium / Soudal Quick-Step)

For almost half a century, the cycling nation of Belgium has been waiting for the next Tour winner, the successor to Lucien van Impe, who won the Grande Boucle in 1976. Some time ago, cycling prodigy Remco Evenepoel as the man to satisfy the desires of his cycling-loving compatriots. Now aged 25 and having finished third overall in the previous year, he was supposed to mount a serious attack on the Tour victory in 2025 - putting Pogačar and Vingegaard to the sword in their duel. But then he had a serious training accident in early winter and was set back a long way. His comeback to racing at the end of April was promising - the Fleming was in winning form, winning the Arrow of Brabant at the very first start. But the road to the top became increasingly difficult. At the Dauphiné, he realised that he was still a long way off being one of the two best tour specialists. Although he triumphed in the individual time trial and temporarily took over the overall leader's yellow jersey, he was never really able to keep up with the attacks of the best on the climbs. According to his team Soudal Quick-Step, he was also handicapped after a crash on stage 5. Nevertheless, the Olympic time trial champion and world champion remains the reference in the battle against the clock: on the 17.4 kilometres of stage 4, he was the only one to manage a 50-second average and missed Vingegaard by 20 seconds and Pogačar by as much as 48 seconds. His sports director Klaas Lodewyck told Belgian media before the race that if he could keep up with Vingegaard and Pogačar on the mountain, it would be a real motivation boost and more than third place overall would be possible in July. In hindsight, the Dauphiné was a bit of a low blow - with fourth place behind Lipowitz. Crash, allergies - Belgium's cycling favourite cited several arguments and also took homework with him: "In the next few weeks I want to work on the changes of pace, because these are not in my nature. I need to improve on the climbs," he said in his race review.

Strong teenager: Paul Seixas (France / Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team)

Entire generations of French cyclists can now tell you how great the burden of expectation is for highly talented cyclists in the Grande Nation: for 40 years now, people have been waiting for a Frenchman to win yellow in Paris. The last one was Bernard Hinault in 1985, Thibaut Pinot, Romain Bardet, Jean-Christophe Péraud - every now and then a compatriot has come close. Now the burden is perhaps already on the shoulders of the youngest participant in this year's Dauphiné: Paul Seixas not only looks like a teenager, he is also only a tender 18 years old. But his talent is there for all to see: in the end, he finished eighth overall because he missed the connection on the final kilometres of the final day and dropped two places. At the start of the climb, he was involved in a crash at the back of the group of favourites. His apprenticeship as a tour specialist ended with the bitter realisation that it is still the golden rule that as a classification rider you really have to remain highly concentrated every second. "Every day is a journey into the unknown," Seixas told the public during the stages. All beginnings are difficult - but they were surprisingly easy for Seixas. France could still have a lot of fun with the man from Lyon. "It's weird to work for such a young guy. He could be my son. But he deserves it. And it's not just me who thinks that way," said team-mate Bruno Armirail, who won the mountain jersey at the Dauphiné in addition to working for the youngster. The head coach of his racing team, Jean-Baptiste Quiclet, ruled out a Tour start this year: Too much intensity too soon, he said, pointing to the example of Lennard Kämna, who in his opinion was sent into an intensive Grand Tour too early in his career. Kämna experienced a dip in performance and motivation.

On a losing streak: Pascal Ackermann (Germany / Israel - Premier Tech)

The smiley face of German cycling might slowly be losing his smile. He finally felt valued by his new team, Israel - Premier Tech, after having to wait until the ripe old age of 30 to be allowed to start in the Tour de France for the first time last year. This year, too, he had the Commitment from his employer - But then he crashed heavily on a speed bump on the home straight in a preparatory race in the south of France. In June, he finally achieved his first win of the season - albeit in the Classique Dunkerque race. It was the first success after a two-year break. The Dauphiné was supposed to be a dress rehearsal and test of form before the Tour - after a crash on stage 5, he got off his bike, visibly demoralised, and gave up. "I'm out," he is said to have said over the team radio, according to Eurosport. Good for the team, but perhaps bad for the Palatinate native who lives in Austria: team-mate Jake Stewart celebrated at the finish line as the sprint stage winner, who was actually intended to be Ackermann's lead-out man. Now, of course, the question arises: To what extent is Pascal Ackermann perhaps also out of his team's Tour line-up? Who is currently the best and most reliable sprinter in the team with a view to the season highlight?

Successful fitness test: Mathieu van der Poel (Netherlands / Alpecin - Deceuninck)

The bad news quickly made the rounds: Mathieu van der Poel crashed, cancellation of the Dauphiné start and participation in the Tour de France jeopardised. The Dutch jack-of-all-trades couldn't let it go - the 30-year-old had tried his hand at mountain biking at the World Cup in Nove Mesto. With consequences. He crashed twice, once with a rollover. Diagnosis: scaphoid fracture.

Everything was probably half as bad with a view to further races: Surprisingly, the 2023 world champion was at the start of the preparatory tour and looked in top form. In the finale of stage 1, he initiated a breakaway attempt together with Pogačar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel. Again and again he was at the front of the race, which was not necessarily his favourite terrain. It almost seemed as if the classics specialist was garnishing the race with targeted training sessions - perhaps with an eye on the demanding stages at the start of the Tour, where stage wins and the yellow jersey would be on the cards. At the Dauphiné, he also wore the green jersey of the points leader for a long time, but Pogačar, who had the same number of points, snatched it away from him in the end. The question with a view to the Tour: With a view to the demanding terrain of the next Tour, is he perhaps the man at Alpecin - Deceuninck for the green jersey - and not sprinter Jasper Philipsen?

Upward trend? Emanuel Buchmann (Germany / Cofidis)

Recently, German fans have almost lost sight of him: Emanuel Buchmann. At Team Bora-hansgrohe, they had built up the talented climber as the next German classics rider. With success: in 2019, he was right at the front of the Tour - Egan Bernal's overall victory was a mere 116 seconds away in the end - but he still failed to make it onto the podium. The Swabian Buchmann was also unlucky that the last two mountain stages were significantly shortened due to storms and landslides - a disadvantage for the enduring but not very explosive climber. Last year, he broke with his long-time employer, who decided not to take him to the Giro d'Italia at short notice and despite his public promise. Now the rather taciturn professional cyclist is set to blossom again with his new employer Cofidis. Unlike in 2019, when Buchmann showed his top form at the Dauphiné in third place overall, he did not play a role in the fight for the podium this time - but with eleventh place overall at the end, he proved that he is on the right track towards the Tour. Cofidis is rumoured to be planning to send the German, now 32 years old, on a stage hunt in the mountains rather than aiming for the overall classification. In this way, he could make the German fans and himself happy again.

Successful endurance test: Jonathan Milan (Italy / Lidl - Trek)

He can currently be considered one of the fastest, if not the fastest sprinter in the peloton: Jonathan Milan. The 24-year-old Italian proved this on stage 2, where he won the bunch sprint and took the overall lead. It was clear that he can sprint fast. But it was probably also a test of endurance in the high summer temperatures in the high mountains. Sprinters are supposed to win the toughest stage races on the flat - and not fall out of the time limit in the high mountains so that they can fight for the stage win again in Paris, for example. Milan, 1.96 metres tall, heaved his 87 kilos over the highest Alpine passes and won the battle for the time limit on the toughest mountain stages with a lead of five minutes in each case. Team Lidl - Trek can now assume that it was a good idea to give Milan, a two-time Giro participant and Olympic track champion, his first Tour start in July - and in return probably leave out Mads Pedersen, the 2019 world champion, who is also a strong sprinter.

Successful genetic test: Lenny Martinez (France / Bahrain - Victorious)

If sprinter Jonathan Milan was the heavyweight of the peloton, then Lenny Martinez exactly the other end of the scale on which the weights of professional cyclists move in difficult stage races. The lightweight Frenchman weighs a whopping 35 kilograms less than the Italian - and on the final stage he showed everyone that he has an easier time fighting the downhill force than most of the others. A few kilometres before the finish, he shook off his last rival Enric Mas (Spain/Movistar) and pedalled doggedly to a solo victory - the most important of his career to date. It was well known that the 1.68 metre tall Frenchman had good genes: Grandpa Mariano Martinez won the mountain jersey at the 1978 Tour and the Pyrenean stage to Pla d'Adet ahead of Bernard Hinault, father Miguel was an Olympic champion on the mountain bike and also rode for several years as a road pro with the Mapei and Phonak teams. If the 21-year-old climber from the third generation of racers in the Martinez family is to ride for the overall classification, he will still show weaknesses as he did at the Dauphiné. But on individual stages in the high mountains, the world's top riders will have to reckon with the mountain flea from Team Bahrain - Victorious - at the tender age of 20, he only narrowly missed out on his first Grand Tour stage win in 2023 against veteran Sepp Kuss, while his first Tour start last year was more of a tough apprenticeship.