On the eve of the finish in Grenoble, the yellow jersey is now more than two minutes ahead of its main rivals in the general after this new show of strength in the queen stage of this 75th edition.

Alone in the world in the mist of the Alps, at 2,067 meters above sea level, the leader of the Jumbo-Visma crossed the line with 41 seconds ahead of the British Adam Yates (UAE) and 53 seconds over the Australian Jay Hindley (Bora).

The other leaders arrived in dribs and drabs, while Frenchman David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) once again finished far behind, more than three minutes behind the yellow jersey.

We knew that Vingegaard, already winner of the fifth stage on Thursday, was in good shape, three weeks before the start of the Tour de France, where he will be favourite to defend his crown against Tadej Pogacar.

The Dane confirmed this during the great mountain stage of the Dauphiné which proposed the sequence of three mythical passes, the Madeleine, the Mollard and the Croix-de-Fer.

"I wanted this win"

It only took him one acceleration, five kilometers from the finish, to make the difference, after a lot of work by his teammate Attila Valter, and win his tenth victory of the season, already.

The peloton of the Critérium du Dauphiné crosses the Col de la Madeleine during the 7th stage between Port de Savoie and the Col de la Croix-de-Fer on June 10, 2023 © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

"I felt good," Vingegaard said. I wanted that stage win. The guys did a great job all day. We had decided that Tiesj (Benoot) and Valter (Attila) would toughen the race and that I would attack when they couldn't take it anymore. That was the plan and it worked, I'm very happy."

Behind, no one managed to keep up. Yates started against to go for second place overall (2:11 behind Vingegaard), while Australian Ben O'Connor (AG2R-Citroën) narrowly saved his place on the podium by finishing fourth in the stage.

On the French side, Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) consolidated his place in the Top 10 (8th at 4:14), while Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) dropped from 3rd to 7th at 3:48), despite a good climb.

"I hung on well, it was a really nice stage," commented Alaphilippe. I'm very happy with this week of racing, it feels really good to find the legs to fight at this level, "added the Auvergnat, winner of the second stage, noting for the rest that "the strongest of the race has won".

Ready for the Tour

In fact, the fate of this Dauphiné seems to be decided, even if some riders consider the last stage on Sunday even more difficult with its six climbs.

Britain's Adam Yates (UAE) crosses the finish line of the 7th stage of the Critériuem du Dauphiné at the Col de Croix-de-Fer, June 10, 2023 © Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP

"We'll see how I feel, I think I'll run more defensively," Vingegaard said. "The Dauphiné is one of the biggest races in the world, it would be a great honour to win it. It's a race I've always dreamed of running," he added.

As for the Tour de France, Vingegaard sent a clear message this week. "I don't think I'm at my peak form, I still have work to do," he said. Enough to scare the competition which, for the most part, is present on this Dauphiné, but far behind the Danish champion.

Only one man seems able to compete with Vingegaard on the Tour: Tadej Pogacar who continues to train after his fractured left wrist during Liège-Bastogne-Liège on April 23.

But the Slovenian will run out of days in the race and no one, including himself, can know today what form he will be in in July.

Vingegaard is already ready.

© 2023 AFP