Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard took control of the Criterium du Dauphine before the race's Alpine finale with a solo victory in Thursday's fifth stage.

The reigning Tour de France champion finished half a minute ahead of a group including some of the other race favourites to pull on the leader's jersey at the expense of compatriot Mikkel Bjerg of the UAE team.

Jumbo-Visma's Vingegaard made the break with 15km to go on the tough Thesy climb over 3.6km with an 8.8 percent gradient, after the 191.5km ride between Cormoranche-sur-Saone and Salins-Les-Bains.

Vingegaard claimed his ninth win of the season to lay the groundwork for his Tour de France title defence from July 1-23.

jk/hpa/ea/lp