Chris Froome wins Criterium du Dauphiné 2016
Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) made a solo attack out of the breakaway in stage 7 of the Criterium du Dauphiné and held on for over 50 kilometers to take the stage win. Just over four minutes later, Sky’s Chris Froome arrived at the finish with a select group of GC favorites to seal the overall race victory.
With 12km to go, the action started when Alberto Contador attacked. Pierre Rolland (Cannondale) tried to join him but the Spaniard opened a gap alone. Daniel Martin (Etixx – Quick-Step) tried to attack but was passed by the Sky train as Poels slowly reeled Contador in. However, as Landa exploded in third position, Contador and Poels suddenly got a small gap. The Dutchman waited for his captain but Froome passed him with the rest of the favourites in tow.
Behind Contador, a group with Henao, Froome, Navarro, Martin, Porte and Bardet was formed and it was the Colombian who dug deep to try to bring Contador back. When he swung off, Froome accelerated and quickly bridged the gap. Only Porte and Bardet could follow the Brit while Martin was now in pursuit at 16 seconds behind and was joined by Yates, Meintjes and Rosa on the lower slopes of the descent.
Bardet tried to attack in a flat section but again Froome responded immediately. As the group slowed down, the four chasers approached and this prompted Contador to up the pace. However, he couldn’t keep them at bay and so the two quartets merged. Poels, Landa, Henao and Alaphilippe were not far behind and the Sky riders worked hard to make the junction before they hit the final climb.
Froome defended his lead to take the overall victory but Bardet moved to second, just 12 seconds behind. With the small gap and the bonus seconds, Martin also passed Porte who slipped to fourth. Contador rounded out the top 5.
Criterium du Dauphiné 2016 – stage 7 results (Le Pont – Superdévoluy):
| 1 | Stephen Cummings (Dimension Data) |
4:05:06 |
| 2 | Daniel Martin (Etixx – Quick-Step) |
+03’58” |
| 3 | Romain Bardet (AG2R) |
,, |
| 4 | Wouter Poels (Sky) |
,, |
| 5 | Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEDGE) |
,, |
| 6 | Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx – Quick-Step) |
,, |
| 7 | Diego Rosa (Astana) |
,, |
| 8 | Louis Meintjes (Lampre – Merida) |
+04’01” |
| 9 | Richie Porte (BMC) |
+04’03” |
| 10 | Christopher Froome (Sky) |
,, |
Final general classification:
| 1 | Christopher Froome (Sky) |
29:59:31 |
| 2 | Romain Bardet (AG2R) |
+12” |
| 3 | Daniel Martin (Etixx – Quick-Step) |
+19” |
| 4 | Richie Porte (BMC) |
+21” |
| 5 | Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) |
+35” |
| 6 | Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx – Quick-Step) |
+51” |
| 7 | Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEDGE) |
+57” |
| 8 | Diego Rosa (Astana) |
+01’13” |
| 9 | Louis Meintjes (Lampre – Merida) |
+01’30” |
| 10 | Pierre Rolland (Cannondale) |
+02’43” |
