A time trial in the marquee tune-up race for the Tour de France is always an opportunity to see how the big stars stack up against each other with bigger targets looming, and stage 4 of the Critérium du Dauphiné delivered the intrigue on Wednesday.
Though it was no surprise that Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) took the victory against the clock, the rest of the results sheet will have riders and fans alike wondering what it all means. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) finished 21 seconds off Evenepoel's winning time to deliver a solid runner-up ride in the 17.4 km test, while Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was fourth on the day – 49 seconds down and clearly third best of the three Tour de France favorites.
"I didn't do the perfect TT today," Pogačar acknowledged afterward.
To put it another (spicier) way: For the first time in a long time, Pogačar was clearly weaker than his big rivals, and in a discipline famous for telling the truth. Meanwhile, Vingegaard continues to impress in what is his first racing appearance since he left Paris-Nice with a concussion in March, while Evenepoel proved that his TT favorite status was warranted.
Did we do a good job with this story?
