It was a long day in the saddle for Mark Donavan on stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, as the Q36.5 Pro Cycling rider went up the road 5km into the stage and was alone for around 30km before being joined by Arkéa-B&B Hotels rider Mathis Le Berre, to make it a two-man breakaway at the head of the race, which would not be caught until 16km to go.
When asked in his post-race interview whether he would have liked more companions with him in the breakaway, Donovan said “I was hoping a couple more guys would have come. Those same thoughts ran through my head a few times when I was there on my own. Luckily, at least one guy caught up and I had a bit of company for about four hours. It was a nice first day, but definitely took a bit out of the legs”.
On whether he thought they had a chance of making the move stick until the finish, the British rider stated “not really, no. It was only the two of us. If it had maybe been four or five, then we could really get a good group rolling through, but the numbers were just against us. You could tell that they had us in check pretty early. Also maybe if the profile was a bit different and the climbs came towards the end, but with the flat two laps that we had in the end, it was always going to come down to a sprint really. But it was nice to be out the front anyway”.
Of the 172.5km that featured on the opening stage, Donovan spent 152km at the head of the race, winning the combativity award for the stage, as well as taking the lead in the mountains classification after he took the maximum points on all three of the categorised climbs. He also took two bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint, which means that he currently sits in fifth place in the general classification and third in the youth classification.
However, this will likely be of very little significance to him, as his sights seem to be firmly set on holding onto the maillot à pois, as he said “it was a goal before to get in a jersey from the start. It’s great for the team and really good visibility. Now it’s a nice thing to focus on for the rest of the week”.
Donovan is currently in his second year with Q36.5 Pro Cycling after moving across from Team DSM. He had a strong season in 2023, in which he took the overall victory at the Sibiu Tour in Romania, along with fifth place finishes in the general classification at both the Tour of Britain and the Giro di Sicilia.
At a race as big as the Critérium du Dauphiné, the Cumbrian from Penrith will be well aware of what a strong showing here could mean for his future, as he is currently set to be out of contract at the end of the season.
With four categorised climbs and more points on offer in the mountains classification on stage two, which features a summit finish on the Col de la Loge, Donovan will have to work hard to maintain his lead in that competition in order to hold on to the polka dot jersey.
