Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) delivered the performance of his burgeoning career on the final stage of the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné, breaking clear from an elite group of escapees and powering solo up the final climb to take a landmark victory.
Launching his decisive move with 8 kilometers left on the slopes of the Col du Mont-Cenis, Martinez held off the favorites’ charge behind to seal his second WorldTour win—and by far the most significant to date.
Thirty-four seconds later, the top two men in the general classification, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), rolled across the line together. Vingegaard had tried—but failed—to shake Pogačar on the punishing final ascent, and the Slovenian retained control with relative ease.
With that, Pogačar secured his first overall win at the Dauphiné, topping the final GC by 59 seconds ahead of the Dane. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) completed the podium at 2:38, despite losing a few seconds to Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) in the final meters.
“It’s been a fantastic week,” said Pogačar after the stage. “The team did a perfect job defending the jersey today. Now it’s time to rest, recover, and fine-tune things for the Tour.”
The Slovenian also walked away with the points classification, while Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) captured the mountains jersey thanks to his exploits in the early breakaway. Lipowitz’s consistent performances earned him the white jersey as best young rider.
Stage Recap: Mountains, Moves, and One Last Attack
The final day brought the riders deep into the Alps, with six categorized climbs peppered along the 160km route. Among them: the first-category Col de Beaune and the leg-breaking Col du Mont-Cenis, the day’s final challenge.
Early on, Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) sparked the action on the Côte d’Aiton. While that move was reeled in, Van der Poel remained persistent, attacking again and eventually forming part of a larger escape group that included strong climbers like Lenny Martinez, Ben Healy, Sepp Kuss, Enric Mas, and Maxim Van Gils.
Van der Poel lit up the stage with a daring solo move from 58 kilometers out. He crested multiple climbs alone, holding over two minutes on the peloton and a minute on the chasers. But as the road pitched up towards Mont-Cenis, his energy ebbed. With 16km to go, the remnants of the breakaway—Martinez, Healy, Mas, and others—reeled him in. Soon after, Van der Poel cracked and drifted out of contention.
Then came the shake-up: Martinez surged, dropping Mas and setting off solo with just under 8km remaining. Behind, the elite GC group—Pogačar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel, and Tobias Johannessen—were closing fast. Vingegaard tried to ignite the fireworks, distancing Evenepoel and Johannessen, but Pogačar stuck to his wheel with stoic composure.
The front of the race reshuffled rapidly, with Martinez carving out a lead and the GC duo swallowing up Healy, Mas, and Kuss. Still, the Frenchman refused to crack.
With 1km to go and a 30-second cushion, Martinez knew the job was done. He cruised to the line in Lanslebourg to take a career-defining victory.
Behind him, Vingegaard opened up a sprint only to sit up when Pogačar didn’t contest the sprint.
Martinez proved he’s one to watch, taking the biggest win of his career against elite opposition on a brutal mountain stage. Pogačar, meanwhile, confirmed his dominance and readiness for the Tour de France with a cool, composed week of racing.
As the dust settles on the Dauphiné, the peloton now turns its eyes to July—and the battles still to come.
HIGHLIGHTS
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