Everything is relative. Primoš Roglic's form was questionable ahead of the Criterium du Dauphiné's crucial weekend of mountain stages, but he still placed third overall and was among the pre-race favorites to win the race.

It's the kind of aura this Slovenian has built up over the last few years, where anything other than super-dominance is perceived as a fatal weakness.

On Saturday in Vauzhany, Roglic tried to dispel such doubts by jumping out of the tired GC group on the final climb. The attack not only confirmed that he was in good shape for the Tour de France, but also gave him the yellow jersey, a chance to win the Dauphiné for the first time in Jumbo-Visma's history.

Tao Geoghegan Hart revealed that Roglic was riding differently this week, feeling like he was drifting through the pack, and Roglic himself admitted that he was "not at his best."

The attack in Vujany was a statement of sorts, especially since he had not raced since late April and had been forced to change his schedule due to a knee injury.

"Definitely, it was super important for my confidence," Roglic said at the yellow jersey press conference.

"It took me a while to get back into it now. I've been getting better and better this past week. I was able to push a little bit in the time trial. I'm really happy to be back today.

And I feel there is more to come. Roglic's attack was 15 to 30 seconds ahead of his rivals, but as long as it was relative, it wasn't as destructive as a Roglic in good shape.

"Definitely," replied Roglic.

"In terms of preparation, I didn't prepare for Dauphine. I had to come here and use my legs for a number of days in an intensive way. With this intensive week of racing, I should be fine for the start of the Tour."

The Tour is three weeks away, but now here Roglic has a race to finish, and although his victory in Paris-Nice in March broke his spell in the major French stage races, he still has the Dauphiné title in the bag, along with the Vuelta a España, Tour of the Basque Country, Paris to Nice, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour de Romandie, etc., and is a prestigious additional title for riders who have already competed in stage races.

Remarkably, he has worn the leader's jersey in every stage race since 2018 except the 2021 Tour de France, which he abandoned due to a crash.

"I didn't know that," he said. 'It's a fun fact,' he said. But I like to have the jersey at the end of the race.'

It seems likely that will happen. Only Ben O'Connor was able to follow before the Slovenian attacked.

Vingegaard is clearly in great form and is currently in gorgeous domestique, in second place overall by 44 seconds, with O'Connor in third by 1:24.

"Tomorrow is another big day," Roglic said of Sunday's category summit finish on the Solaison plateau. The queen stage is right in front of us."