Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard won the 2023 Criterium du Dauphine cycling race Sunday to warm up for his Tour de France title defense in three weeks.

Vingegaard finished second behind Italy's Giulio Ciccone in the eighth, and final, stage to seal his 11th win of the season.

"It's a great result for me," said the Jumbo-Visma rider, who finished second last year behind Slovenian Primoz Roglic. "The Dauphine is one of the most beautiful races in the world. I'm very happy to have been able to win here. I've never been alone, my team has done a great job throughout the week."

The 26-year-old Dane, already winner of the Gran Camino and the Tour of the Basque Country in 2023, flew over the Dauphine, a traditional dress rehearsal before the Tour de France.

Winner of two stages, including Saturday at the top of the Croix-de-Fer, he finished with a 2 minute, 23 second lead on Britain's Adam Yates, with Australian Ben O'Connor third nearly three minutes off the pace.

"I'm a little surprised by the gaps, I can only be very satisfied, I'm in good shape," added the Dane. "Now, I'm going to relax for a few days and refine the preparation for the Tour de France." 

On Sunday, he was content to control the race behind the breakaway of the day led notably by Julian Alaphilippe, on his 31st birthday.

The Frenchman was only caught at the end of the Col de Portes, the penultimate of the six climbs of the day, where Trek-Segafredo's Ciccone broke clear.

In the gruelling final climb over 1.8 km at 14.2%, Vingegaard shook off the group of favorites but did not manage to catch the Italian climber, who kept 23 seconds ahead.

"The last 500 meters were terrible, but the public pushed me," said Ciccone, a three-time stage winner on the Tour of Italy. 

"It's a gift for my future wife," added the Italian, who is due to get married next week before the Tour de France, after having had to give up on the Giro this year because of COVID-19.