It was racing until the very end on the final day of the Critérium du Dauphiné – this was to be no procession to the finish, but a day where every one of the 151km was going to be contested. In similar form to yesterday’s Queen Stage, Alberto Contador went on the attack on the day’s toughest climb an incredible three times before finishing just outside the top ten in the final push for the finish. After a strong performance throughout the week, Alberto finished the race 5th overall.
With thirty-five seconds separating the top five places in the GC, there was everything still to race for on the final day of the Critérium du Dauphiné. While the 151km stage’s profile was marginally less difficult than the previous day’s Queen Stage, it was still going to be a hard day in the mountains for everyone. From the moment the flag dropped, the riders were climbing, with two categorised climbs out of the way before 35km were out of the way.
While the day’s climbs would be tough, it was likely to all come down to the final 20km, where the race would climb the first category Col du Noyer before the final, short, category three climb to the finish in Superdévoluy. The 14% ramps towards the top were the perfect lanchpad for a punchy late attack.
Like yesterday’s stage, a large group managed to get away and build up an advantage on the peloton. For the second day, Robert Kiserlovski went away, his breakaway group quickly building up an advantage, with the yellow jersey’s team unable to pull such a strong group back.
Just past the halfway point, a lone rider attacked from the front of the break, quickly distancing them and building up a lead of thirty seconds. While it was clear the effort was hard, it looked as though his lead was sticking, with the peloton and the yellow jersey group were more than two minutes further back down the road. The aggressive attack had shattered the breakaway as they struggled to chase him down.
As the final 20km came and went, the solo breakaway had a lead of more than four minutes, and there was every chance he would be able to stay out in front to the stage’s finish. All eyes were on the yellow jersey’s group however, as they hit the Col du Noyer for the day’s penultimate final climb.
Looking comfortable and totally relaxed in the bunch, Contador attacked 12.4km out and immediately put other riders in difficulty. It was clear the Team Sky riders who were trying to chase him down were suffering horribly, yet the Spanish Tinkoff leader looked as though he was barely breaking a sweat. Going again when it looked as though he would be pulled back in, on the most difficult part of the climb, Alberto distanced the yellow jersey group once again. Three attacks in under 4km had left the yellow jersey isolated as his teammates dropped off – his strong effort cracking the yellow jersey’s support.
Alberto was well aware how much effort he was causing the yellow jersey’s domestiques to put in. “I tried my best until the very end. In the last climb, which was long and quite windy. In the previous climb, which was shorter but steeper, I tried to attack as well but I still don’t have the rhythm. I saw that Sky started pulling but we decided to keep our pace and we saw them one by one being dropped until Froome was left alone.
Sport Director, Steven De Jongh, saw how close the Spanish rider’s attacks came to sticking. “Alberto was feeling good and so he tried to go on the Col du Noyer. For a time it looked good for him and it looked like he might get away, but everything came back together.”
After a short downhill, the final climb of the day began. With the yellow jersey group back together, the small group was nervously eyeing Alberto to see what he would do next. With the stage won by the solo breakaway, the attention was on the bunch. As the approach to the finish came and the sprint for positions started, Alberto was blocked from joining the attack and was unable to take a higher place on the stage, but instead crossed the line next to the yellow jersey, just outside of the top ten.
De Jongh was supportive of the whole team’s efforts, and was pleased to see a rider in the breakaway again, as well as a worthy stage winner. “It was good to be in the breakaway for the second day in a row with Kiserlovski. Steve Cummings did a fantastic job today though, putting on a big show. It was a really good outcome for him.”
Coming into the race top of the UCI WorldTour rankings after top performances in the season’s early races and finishing fifth in the GC today and after some strong performances throughout the week, the race was all about Alberto and the team putting in some last checks of their form and abilities in advance of the Tour de France, and it was clear that Alberto had done what he set out to do, taking a stage win, wearing the yellow jersey for four days and launching some incredibly aggressive attacks multiple times on the very hardest climbs of the race, putting the hurt into his rivals.
After a hard-fought race where the Tinkoff leader was in contention for the GC and was competitive on every stage, Alberto was pleased with the outcome of the race. “I am very happy with the way I feel and I think my preparation couldn’t have been better. In the end I finished fifth but that doesn’t bother me. Second or fifth doesn’t change anything because the goal was to keep improving my form. We achieved it as we also scored a stage win on a day in which one could assess if he legs were strong or not. I’m happy and very motivated to recover, assimilate the work done here and reach the Tour in optimal form.”
Looking back on the race, De Jongh was pleased with how the whole team was coming together ahead of the Tour de France. “We can be happy we made a step forward, and now we’re going to work towards the tour. It was a good race and a good performance for the team all round. We had a good couple of days, and the last week of the tour is still a long way away so there’s time to look at our performance and prepare. We’re happy with what we got out of the race – we were up front a lot of the race, controlling the pace, and are looking forward to the tour. We’re definitely going in the right direction.”
Alberto’s strong performance in the race was buoyed by his top ranking in the UCI WorldTour – something that wouldn’t have been possible without the support of their sponsors. “Last but certainly not least, I now lead the UCI WorldTour ranking. It was never a goal but, obviously, every rider is happy to reach that position. It also is a bonus to the sponsor, Tinkoff Bank, and Oleg Tinkov that have shown their strong support. We lead the team ranking and sit on the two top spots of the individual ranking.”
Stage Result
1. Stephen Cummings (GBR) Dimension Data 004:05:06
2. Daniel Martin (IRL) Etixx – Quick-Step +00:03:58
3. Romain Bardet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale +00:03:58
4. Wout Poels (NED) Team Sky +00:03:58
5. Adam Yates (GBR) Orica-GreenEdge +00:03:58
11. Alberto Contador (SPA) Tinkoff +00:04:03
18. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Tinkoff +00:05:25
33. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO) Tinkoff +00:09:31
45. Michael Valgren (DEN) Tinkoff +00:12:58
66. Jesper Hansen (DEN) Tinkoff +00:17:32
93. Michael Gogl (AUT) Tinkoff +00:26:13
DNF Sergio Paulinho (POR) Tinkoff
GC Overall Standings After Stage 7
1. Chris Froome (GBR) Team Sky 29:59:31
2. Romain Bardet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale +00:00:12
3. Daniel Martin (IRL) Etixx – Quick-Step +00:00:19
4. Richie Porte (AUS) BMC Racing Team +00:00:21
5. Alberto Contador (SPA) Tinkoff +00:00:35
19. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Tinkoff +00:07:58
26. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO) Tinkoff +00:19:24
54. Jesper Hansen (DEN) Tinkoff +00:55:31
69. Michael Valgren (DEN) Tinkoff +01:19:45
122. Michael Gogl (AUT) Tinkoff +01:47:04
