Belgium's Remco Evenepoel has surged to the top of the Criterium du Dauphine leaderboard with a stunning victory in the stage four time trial. The reigning Olympic and world time trial champion outpaced his nearest rival, Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, by an impressive 21 seconds on the 17.4km course.

Evenepoel, riding for Soudal-Quick Step and widely regarded as the world's third-best cyclist, showcased his exceptional form ahead of the upcoming Tour de France. His performance left reigning Tour champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG trailing by 49 seconds, a surprising result given Pogacar's usual dominance in this discipline.

Key Highlights

• Evenepoel's Victory: Completed the course in 20 minutes and 51 seconds, securing the team's 1000th victory.
• General Classification: Evenepoel now leads, with Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe in second place, four seconds behind.
• Upcoming Stages: The race moves to Saint Priest for a challenging 183km hilly stage, with Saturday's stage featuring three steep climbs in the French Alps.

Quotes

"I'm very happy with this victory - the thousandth for the team," said Evenepoel. "This one is for Patrick [Lefevere, former boss] - for everything he did for the team."

Stage Four Results

1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) 20mins 51secs
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +21secs
3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA/Visma-Lease a Bike) +38secs
4. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +49secs
5. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +57secs

General Classification After Stage Four

1. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal-Quick Step) 14hrs 31mins 8secs
2. Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) +4secs
3. Ivan Romeo (Spa/Movistar) +9secs
4. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned/Alpecin-Deceuninck) +14secs
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +16secs

Related Topics

• Cycling