The German professional cyclist Georg Zimmermann has won the sixth stage of the 75th Criterium de Dauphine and thus celebrated the biggest success of his career so far. The 25-year-old from the Intermarche-Circus-Wanty team beat Frenchman Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Direct Energie) in the sprint on Friday after 170.2 km from Nantua to Crest-Voland.
“I can’t believe it. I just did my best. It worked out perfectly. It didn’t work out yesterday, so I just tried it again today,” said Zimmermann, adding: “I’m proud. All the hard work paid off.”
Almost two kilometers before the finish, the man from Augsburg attacked from the leading group and ended up with better legs than Burgaudeau, who had caught up about 500 m from the finish. It is the first German stage win at the Dauphine in three years, Lennard Kämna triumphed in 2020.
Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo-Visma) defended his overall lead the day after his dominant stage win that saw him take the yellow jersey. The seventh stage on Saturday covers 147.9 km from Porte-de-Savoie to Col de la Croix de Fer. The tour ends next Sunday.