Pogačar ready for the Tour de France after winning Critérium du Dauphiné

PARIS (AP) – Tadej Pogačar produced a dominant display ahead of his Tour de France defense by winning the Critérium du Dauphiné for the first time.

The UAE Team Emirates rider finished 59 seconds ahead of second-placed Jonas Vingegaard overall after controlling the eighth and final 133-kilometer (83-mile) stage on Sunday from Val-d’Arc to the Plateau du Mont-Cenis.

“Once again today, the team did a great job,” Pogačar said. “We managed to defend the jersey and we can go home happy and prepare for the Tour.”

Pogačar will seek his fourth Tour de France title in July.

The Slovenian finished third Sunday with the same time as his major rival, two-time Tour champion Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, who was second.

Lenny Martinez won the final stage in 3 hours, 34 minutes, 18 seconds for Bahrain Victorious, atop the Plateau du Mont-Cenis located on the French-Italian border. The French rider finished 34 seconds ahead of Vingegaard and Pogačar.

Pogačar reacted with ease to Vingegaard’s attack on the final climb to Col du Mont-Cenis in a tough race that Tour contenders use to fine-tune their preparations.

After winning the opening stage, outsprinting Vingegaard and Mathieu van der Poel, Pogačar went on the attack in the mountains.

He took charge by winning the sixth stage on Friday, climbing to the finish line alone to beat Vingegaard by 1:01 and take an overall lead of 43 seconds over the Dane.

He captured the seventh stage on Saturday in a similar fashion, beating Vingegaard by 14 seconds and extending his overall lead to 1:01.

Sunday’s stage was the last day of Romain Bardet’s professional career. The Frenchman, who is retiring, finished second in the 2016 Tour.