As a hail storm assaulted the finish line after the race, riders hid and scurried into team buses to talk to press officers and media about how the first summit finish of the lead-up race for the Tour de France played out.
Everyone was left in the wake of Primoz Roglič's attack with 650 metres to go, but some came through with more optimism than others as they look ahead to the next few days in the mountains.
READ MORE
Hail wreaks havoc at Dauphine finish
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) - 2nd, + 8 seconds
“The stage went good, I had good feelings. There was just a stronger one today. We must therefore be satisfied with this second place.”
“Right now, I think Roglič is better than the rest. Behind, we are 10 or so at the same level.”
“Personally, I feel that I made progress since the Route d’Occitanie and that’s what’s important. I now have three good days in the mountains to continue doing the best I can.”
Emanuel Buchmann (BORA-hansgrohe) - 3rd, + 8 seconds
"I felt very strong today, even though the pace was relatively fast. In the end, I tried to attack and just see what happens. I took 3rd in the end, which isn’t so bad.
"The level is very high here, there were lots of riders still present in the final stage of the race, something we wouldn't have expected, and they looked to be in good form, so in the end, we more or less had an uphill sprint to the line.
"Roglic looked very strong, and he’s definitely the favourite. But we’ll keep trying over the next few days.
"Today was certainly a good test for the upcoming stages, as well as for the Tour de France, and I think it shows that I’m one of the stronger riders here. My performance bodes well for the next few days at the Dauphiné."
Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) - 9th, +10 seconds
"Yeah, it was a bit of a strange one. It didn't look like it went so fast on the final climb but the pace was really on. A hard day, the first real test. I'm not exactly sure where I am on the GC but I don't think I lost too much time. We take it day by day and we're in a pretty good place.
"It felt nice to have a little bit of rain on the final climb. We've got it all to play for in the next day so it should be a good challenge.
"There's quite a few Col de Portes but it didn't really cross my mind today as it was so hard."
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) - 15th, + 1:01
"Today I struggled with the heat. I probably should have drank a bit more. I didn't have the legs on the final climb and struggled a bit to find my rhythm. I recovered towards the end and managed to not lose too much time. It will be a hard week but I'm confident I'll find my rhythm.”
Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) - 23rd, + 1:37
"My first race back and straight back into it with the first mountain top finish since coming back for the restart of the season.
"I’m kind of where I expected to be after quite a serious illness a few weeks ago, so all in all I knew I wouldn’t be up there with the best today, but in general all things are moving in the right direction."
Chris Froome (Team INEOS) - 49th, + 8:32
“I’ve obviously only had a handful of days of racing in over a year, so I’m still finding the race rhythm, but I’m feeling better and better as I do more days of racing and I’m still optimistic about the Tour.
“I think my preparation for the Tour de France is good. Obviously, I’m just happy to be racing again and back in the Dauphiné. This was the race last year where I had the big crash. After that in itself, it’s incredible to be back in the peloton again. I’m really enjoying being back racing.
“Everyone’s light on race days but I’ve got six months less than everyone else in that respect having been out for the second half of the season last year. I’m getting better and better as the races pass and I can already feel a big improvement through Occitanie, the Tour de l’Ain and now the Dauphiné.
"Every day is a test, every day is about pushing the condition and I’m really happy with the progress I’ve made so far. It’s been really encouraging.
“Being at the pointy end of the race today, even though I wasn’t able to do a huge amount for the guys, was good and it all adds to the preparation and intensity needed for the Tour.
“I wouldn’t expect any more from myself at the moment given where I’ve come from. I’m hugely grateful and think I can take a lot of confidence from that. We’ll see where we are in a week’s time.”
