This Friday, Georg Zimmermann won the sixth stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné after a majestic breakaway. After a breakaway the day before, the 25 year old German rider returned on the attack to take the first World Tour success of the season of his career and the first for the team of Jean-François Bourlart this season.
For the second consecutive day, Zimmermann joined the right breakaway, which was only formed after one hour of full gas racing. This group of 14 riders benefited from a maximal advantage of a little over 3 minutes, a gap which was reduced to 2 minutes at the start of the Col des Aravis, the penultimate difficulty situated 30 kilometer before the finish.
One by one, the breakaway companions of Zimmermann had to give in to the percentages of the Col d’Aravis, so the German rider reached the top with Jonathan Castroviejo (INEOS) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies). This trio eventually started the final slopes towards the finish in Crest-Vroland with an advantage of one minute and a half.
Zimmermann attacked with 2 kilometer to go and managed to create a gap, but not sufficiently big to leave behind Burgaudeau who came back after the red flag. The German rider passed the Frenchman in the sprint and triumphed in front of more than 60 partners of the Walloon team. He obtained his second professional victory after a stage in the Tour de l’Ain 2021 and the twelfth of the season for Intermarché-Circus-Wanty.
In the battle for the general classification, Louis Meintjes was again present among the favourites and occupies now eleventh place before two big mountain stages.
"I can't believe what just happened. I have no words. Yesterday I already felt really good in the breakaway, and today everything fell into place because the peloton gave us a little more room. When I saw that Burgaudeau would be coming back after my attack, I slowed a bit down to recover for the final kilometer, which flattened out. I had confidence in my sprint. He launched early, but I still had power in the legs. I followed my instinct and it was the right choice. Finishing first or second, I knew that I gave it all and that the result would be nice. It is difficult to describe what you feel when you cross the line as the winner. It is a unique feeling, especially for a rider like me who has not many opportunities to reach it. Last time was two years ago. I'm so happy. This victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné is incredible. I'm so happy to offer it to Intermarché-Circus-Wanty, a team which has always given me confidence without putting pressure."
