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Ciccone attacked on the penultimate climb of the Col de Porte and held off Vingegaard on the steep ascent to the Bastille Fortress, where he crossed the line 23 seconds ahead of the Dane.
Second place on the stage was enough to earn Vingegaard victory in the general classification, with Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) finishing second and Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) rounding out the final podium in third.
Yates had tried to test Vingegaard over the final two climbs but could not cut into the Jumbo-Visma star’s overall lead, instead settling for third place ahead of O’Connor and Guillaume Martin (Cofidis).
Ciccone, meanwhile, was very happy with his performance, particularly as it pertains to his preparation for the upcoming Tour de France.
“I had 10 days off the bike, my condition wasn’t 100 per cent so (I) started here with the Tour de France in the head but saw this week my condition getting better and better,” Ciccone said.
“So, I’m really happy to close this week with a victory. The last 500 metres were really long, but with all the people there, it was really nice.
“I looked behind and saw I was still in front with some gap, so I just went straight. I’m really happy.”
The Trek-Segafredo rider formed part of a strong breakaway that took shape on the Cote de Pinet, one of six climbs scattered along the 152.8-kilometre stage.
Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) was also among the nine men in the move, as was Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma) and Clement Champoussin (Arkea-Samsic) – a trio that, together with Ciccone, would eventually edge further ahead on the Col du Granier.
Jumbo-Visma led the bunch in pursuit of the quartet over the Col du Coucheron, but they could do little to prevent Ciccone from going solo on the Col de Porte.
The Italian’s advantage grew to almost a minute on the 15-kilometre descent and he maintained that intensity on the final 1800-metre climb, with Vingegaard unable to make enough ground.
Nevertheless, the defending Tour de France champion defeated his GC rivals with relative ease – his 2’23” gap to Yates being the largest winning margin at the Dauphine in 20 years.
“It’s very, very big for me to win this race,” Vingegaard said after the stage. “It’s one of the biggest races in the world, so I’m very happy to win.
“Yeah, in some kind of way I’m surprised [by the winning margin]. I knew I was in good shape but yeah.
“Now I relax for a few days then start preparing the last bit for the Tour de France. I still have a little bit of work to do but not a lot.”
