The sprinters opened the road to the Critérium du Dauphiné on the roads of Allier, Sunday, for the 1st stage of the 2024 edition, around Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule. The duel between the two favorite sprinters of the day, the Irishman Sam Bennett (Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and the Dane Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek), took place. The former world champion took the lead, and scored his sixth victory of the season, as well as a yellow day on Monday. He shares the podium with Bennett, 2nd, and Frenchman Hugo Page (Intermarché-Wanty), 3rd, classified at the same time.
For once, the roads of the Critérium du Dauphiné were not steep for this first stage. The few sprinters entered therefore had free rein to compete in the last kilometers, especially since few teams decided to place a man in the breakaway.
Pedersen, ideally placed in the wheel of his pilot fish, the South African Ryan Gibbons, launched the sprint and resisted the return of Bennett, followed by the two French sprinters, Page and Clément Venturini (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).
Getting warmed up before serious things
The Briton Mark Donovan (Q36.5) launched hostilities after 3.5 km of racing, escaping alone. First at the top of the three difficulties of the day, he will wear the blue jersey with white polka dots of the mountain on Monday. Behind, the Frenchman Mathis Le Berre (Arkéa B&B Hotels) set off on a potato hunt to catch up with the leading man, something done after more than 30 km of effort.
At the rear, the peloton spent a quiet day under the threatening clouds of the Allier, riding at a slow pace for a good part of the stage. The Lidl-Trek team controlled the race, before counting on the help of Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale to slowly get back on the leading duo, caught 14 km from the finish. Despite the attack by the German Nils Politt (UAE) 11 km before the finish line, it was during a massive sprint that the cyclists decided.
The serious things will begin on Monday, with a stage between Gannat and the Col de la Loge, during which the riders will encounter the first difficulties of the edition, with two second category passes and an uphill finish.
