Critérium du Dauphiné - Stage 1

Stage 1 at the Dauphine was a tense, heated, and physically demanding re-entry into World Tour stage racing. A quick look at the insanely stacked start list and the never-ending mountainous profiles was an indication that there would be little to no cruising miles this week.

And that was immediately confirmed from the start.

Despite my last few weeks in Italy where I took on a couple of one-day races, this world-class GC and climber-stacked field was something different. I had to keep reminding myself that this was not my first race back.

With only five race days left before the Tour de France start, every team was eager to test out their formation and legs. The peloton was a literal block of seven-rider teams. I was asking myself, was it always like this? I swear it was only a few years ago that the top FEW GC teams would be glued together in formation and the rest of the bunch more relaxed and intermixed behind, but I was reminded that 2020 is far from the reality we once knew.

The speed and rhythm had me feeling pegged for much of the day and it was a mental battle to stay focused for six hours of climbing and high-speed descents that always seemed to be followed by road furniture-filled cities. Positioning for key points started 30-40 kilometers ahead of time, so there was never a moment to relax. There were just barely enough chances to inhale the liquids and calories needed to sustain such an effort.

As we neared the final hour or two of racing, we began to start thinking and planning for how we could best help Daryl in a reduced bunch sprint to the line. Linking up and moving together was hectic, but we all battled to get into position and help Daryl through the various phases of the final lap.

I felt a little rusty physically, mentally, and technically in this environment, but was happy to produce a few efforts that helped keep Daryl out of trouble and closer to the front. We then had my teammate Damo hold him at the front into the final portions of the hilly final kms before Daryl took over himself and showed his tenacity and strength to nearly catch a seemingly unstoppable WVA just before the uphill punch to the line. Solid second for Daryl!

On paper, it looks like the next four days will be super mountainous and selective. I think we will keep seeing Jumbo-Visma and Ineos take stabs at each other. We will continue with a day-by-day approach, focusing more on the hunt for a stage than a committed GC battle. For now.