Criterium du Dauphine 2025 Stage 3 recap - Ivan Romeo leaps into yellow with first UCI World Tour victory

Movistar’s 21-year-old time trialist Ivan Romeo got the jump on several big names, including Mathieu van der Poel, in the closing kilometres of the Dauphine’s Stage 3. The Spaniard timed his move perfectly, riding away to a first UCI World Tour victory and the first leader’s jersey of his career. 

On a lumpy stage that looked beforehand, on paper, like it could have gone to the bunch or the break, a 13-rider group was able to make it up the road in the early phase. Among their number was the points leader Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and likely general classification contenders Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla).

As the race headed east towards the foothills of the Alps, the group was never allowed much of a lead, their advantage topping out at 2’20". Nor, however, did the peloton show much concern for bringing it to heel completely. By the time all but the last of five categorised climbs had been tackled, the baker's dozen still held 90 seconds with the cooperative intact.

Only on the final climb, the Cote du Chateau Jaune, did things start to split apart. Julien Bernard was given word that his Lidl-Trek team-mate, and incumbent race leader, Jonathan Milan was not going to be in position to contest the finish. That gave him permission to ride in search of a rare victory for himself.

Bernard was able to form a small select group over the top, along with Lipowitz, Harold Tejada (XDS Astana) and Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) but they were not able to work well enough to keep Van der Poel and others from getting back to the front.

With 10km remaining, it was clear the stage was going to the break. All bets were off and the games were on. Uphill attacks by Lipowitz and Tejada failed, but one on the flat from Romeo succeeded and he was able to gain and then hold a gap. All he needed was for the rest to look at each other, which is what they did. The world Under-23 TT champion went into time trial mode to pull off a famous win.

Tejada and Louis Barre (Intermarche-Wanty) took second and third respectively, with Lipowitz taking, in the end, only 40-odd seconds out of his erstwhile GC rivals back in the bunch.

Not a long one, but a bit of a lump. Time will be gained and lost.

And you'd have to say with a very good chance of keeping it tomorrow. His lead is 17 seconds, but over the rider most likely to threaten his place, Mathieu van der Poel, it's 29.

Fourteen seconds behind Romeo. The peloton is led over, just over a minute back, by Fred Wright, who can't help but race, and show how strong he is.

A first WorldTour win for him, and with it, almost certainly the yellow jersey.

Romeo has this you'd think, with 300m lead.

It's looking great for the Spanish time triallist. It's not a huge gap but every time someone from behind goes after him, they get chased down by the others, and then all impetus evaporates and it's advantage Romeo.

Which looks massive on the screen, and is huge with so little road left. He stands to go into yellow unless Van der Poel wakes up. Matt Winston suggests the Dutchman might already be thinking about tomorrow and taking it from the time trial.

But a gap emerges. Romeo knows he can't afford to take the fast guys to the line and hope to get anything out of today, and this time they do look around at each other. The gap can amplify so quickly at this point and with all cooperation gone, it's every man for himself. Julien Bernard tries to go it alone but it looks hopeless.

Van der Poel says 'I'm not doing everything' and obliges others to get on it. Lipowitz is clearly in fantastic shape.

Followed by Axel Laurence, but there's no separating them. Ivan Romeo (Movistar) takes advantage of the lull to attack, and while they take a moment to contemplate the chase, they do eventually get their act together and bring him back.

He'd like this group to cooperate a bit better, but they're messing around has allowed Dunbar and friends to make it up to them and form a ten rider group again. Van Der Poel channels his frustration into pedal power but his colleagues are alert to it. It certainly looks to be advantage breakaway, which has 1'20 over the peloton.

Just trying to keep Van der Poel at bay, but it's no use. The green jersey gets across to the front, and now it's the Dunbar group with work to do. The Irishman will be less concerned about the stage win, but won't want Lipowitz to take time out of him.

They've only got about 12 seconds on another sextet containing Mathieu van der Poel and Eddie Dunbar. Van der Poel is putting in some strong turns, which will motivate the others to cooperate with him, you'd think.

Hence Bernard's effort, as Lipowitz, Leknessund and Tejada come across to him. UAE Team Emirates are in charge of the bunch, and while the gap has come down, it's still close to one minute. I don't think Milan will be contesting this finale.

Cote de Chateau Jaune is 1.2km and an average of 9.2%. The peloton knows what's to come and they are flying up the road, battling for position. The breakaway is turning it on and beginning to break it up. Julien Bernard, Milan's team-mate, is the rider making it hard, striking out for something special of his own.

And looking a bit more determined as they negotiate some sketchy looking road furniture and seriously narrow roads. Ineos Grenadiers are also up there, with UAE of course.

Which is far from assured, but they are the two riders in the break who you would expect to be up there at the weekend. What the peloton was doing allowing them up the road, well, you'd have to ask them.

That is rapid considering how much climbing they've done, and it's only going to increase from here. The stress is on in the peloton as they twist and turn through a few small towns in the lead-in to the final climb, which is where we're expecting fireworks, of sort.