Why not? I think we’ll have some fun

Arguably the strongest sprinter in the peloton at the 2025 Criterium du Dauphine, Jonathan Milan is among the standout contenders for victory on stage 1 of the prestigious French stage race this afternoon. Given the challenging parcours however, a sprint finish is by no means a certainty for the Lidl-Trek leader.Up and down for much of the day, climbs such as the Côte de Domérat and the Côte de Buffon on the finishing circuit could be tough enough to jettison some of the more powerful sprinters in the bunch if raced at a tough enough pace by the peloton. Something Milan himself is very aware of. “It will be a tough day. It’s a long stage, and we’ll have to control it,” he explains in a pre-stage interview with Cycling Pro Net. “It’ll be hard to control from the beginning. We can’t let too many riders go, because the parcours is hilly — up and down — and the final will be tough to keep the group together.”