Wout Van Aert once again led the peloton in the second stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné on Monday, but instead of winning his second stage of the race, he finished sixth behind a breakaway group.

The Jumbo-Visma all-rounder was out of the race leaders after his stage 1 win in Beauchastel, and the yellow jersey went to Alexis Vuillermoz (Total Energy).

After the race, Van Aert said the entire peloton miscalculated on the chase on the road to Brive-Charansac.

"I think the whole bunch miscalculated, including us. I think the whole peloton miscalculated, including us. We put Chris Harper in the lead from the first minute. After Chris crossed the finish line, Kruijswijk, Benoot, and even Primorsch were pulling at the front.

"If we had known we were going to come up short like this, we would have started earlier. I thought if there was a kicker in the last 15 kilometers, it would have made things easier."

Van Aert, who holds the green points jersey after this stage, said he no longer believed in the possibility of catching a breakaway once the group held a 30-second advantage in the last kilometer of the hilly 170km stage.

Vuillermoz outpaced Anders Skarses (Uno X Pro Cycling) and Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ) by five seconds, and Van Aert held off Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) to take sixth place.

"It was really close at the end. I could see them right in front of me," Van Aert said. On the other hand, when the gap was 30 seconds or so in the last two kilometers, I wasn't sure I could catch them any more. It's a shame because I had the legs to win another race.

"We all could have tried a little harder. They pulled hard on the climb with De Plus and later with Amador, but still four riders could have done something."

"I think it's disappointing for everyone that we didn't come so close in the end to a sprint win. On the other hand, I didn't think we needed to pull more. In the final, I thought, "I'm pretty fast, I can definitely catch them," but apparently the breakaway group was faster."

Tuesday's third stage to Chastelet-Sancy concludes with a 6.2-km climb averaging 5.6%. It is a unique opportunity for the versatile Van Aert, but he admitted that the finish climb suits his teammate and team GC leader Primosz Roglic.

He said that Jumbo Visma will sort out its tactics on the road, but Roglic's overall win target should be on the first crucial GC stage of the race.

"If we win the stage, I think we can get [the yellow] back with a bonus, but Primosch is a really strong rider and I expect him to do something on a stage like tomorrow.

"He will definitely be in the final. For me and for the team we have to have a clear plan tomorrow, it will be an important stage for Primoš on GC. We have to see if it is possible for me to hang on and go for the sprint."