With a profile overwhelmed by the sight of the Hors Catégorie Col de la Madeleine, riders knew that today was going to be hard. The Queen Stage of the Dauphiné brought with it not only a difficult parcours, but aggressive riders who wanted to take the stage win, and maybe create some gaps on the GC too. On a day where Alberto Contador showed he had the legs to attack on the Madeleine, he finished the day taking sixth today before the test of tomorrow’s final stage.
Today, the riders were taking on the toughest day of this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné. The 141km stage saw the race cross four categorised climbs before the final climb to the famous ski resort of Méribel. Dominating the profile was the fearsome Col de la Madeleine, its summit at almost 2,000m. The peak of the climb also marked the halfway point of the day’s stage before the long descent into Briançon.
Before the Madeleine however, riders would have to cover two categorised climbs – the ascents of which started just 6km from the start of the stage. First was the first category Col de Champ-Laurent, before going straight into the second category Col du Grand Cucheron. While these first climbs – and even the ascent of the Madeleine – might not have an impact on the outcome of the stage, the sheer difficulty of these climbs and the energy expended climbing and descending them would mark out who was going to be able to contest the pivotal final climbs of the day, and who was going to be dropped.
As has come to be expected on this incredibly aggressive edition of the Dauphiné, the attacks came the moment the flag was dropped to mark the start of the day’s racing. The pace in the first attack was so hard it fell apart shortly after going up the road – setting the tone for the day ahead of the riders – before a group of twenty-four escaped – a group that featured Robert Kiserlovski and Roman Kreuziger.
As the peloton hit the bottom of the day’s biggest climb, the Col de la Madeleine, Alberto Contador went on the attack, taking a small group with him that included Jesper Hansen, quickly gaining twenty-five seconds on the yellow jersey. While this attack was caught shortly before the summit, it was clear that the Tinkoff leader was confident in his abilities on the race’s hardest day. A kilometre from the summit, Alberto attacked again, and while this attack was also caught, the Spanish rider was taking the race to his rivals.
While Alberto had two teammates further up the road in the break, the gap was ultimately too big to bridge across, as Sport Director, Steven De Jongh, explained from the finish. “We wanted to make it a hard day, so we succeeded there. We wanted people in the break to put pressure on, then Alberto went on the attack on the Madeleine too. In the later stages though, he decided to stay in the bunch, as the gap on the break was too big to bridge to and the bunch wasn’t catching it quickly enough.”
Reaching the foot of the climb to Méribel, with 10km left to ride, the gap on the breakaway, which was now made up of ten riders, was around two minutes and falling. An attack on the front of the breakaway group didn’t appear to trouble the rest of the escapees, who were keeping an eye out for the bunch, which was chasing behind. Alberto was riding comfortably with a group of GC contenders, even while other teams’ GC riders were falling off the back as the pace rose.
The mood in the bunch seemed almost too quiet as the race neared its final 5km. The GC top three were riding together, with no signs shown by any of them of any desire to attack. Each of them was keeping their cards close to their chest and not giving anything away. With the remnants of the day’s breakaway caught and passed by the group, it was clear that the remaining two escapees were going to take the stage win. In the final kilometre then, it was down to the GC riders to push for some time at the end of the stage, the potential for bonus seconds waiting for them, the pace rising gradually. As the attacks came, Alberto went, crossing the line in sixth on the stage.
While the Tinkoff leader had lost time on the GC, the race was an essential part of preparations for the Tour, De Jongh explained. “Alberto wasn’t able to follow in the end. After all the work he put in on the Madeleine, he just ran out of legs, but we’re happy with performance of the team – it was another good day of racing and shows our preparation for the Tour is going in the right direction.”
The Dauphiné’s final stage is in no way a procession to the finish – the race will be on until the final kilometre. The 151km route from Le Pont-de-Claix to Superdévoluy takes in six categorised climbs. While the parcours is more gentle than today’s tough Queen Stage, the positioning of these climbs has the potential to have far more impact on the outcome of the day – and the race. Starting with two climbs, riders will see who has the legs to take control at the end of the day, while the first category Col du Noyer may be the perfect place to launch an attack, with only the third category ascent into Superdévoluy to come after.
Ahead of the final day, the race was far from over, said De Jongh. “We’ll be racing until the very end. The team put a lot of pressure on Sky and the other GC riders today, and it should be another day like this tomorrow – it will be an interesting day. If someone has good legs there’s a good chance of an attack on the final climb before the finish. It suits attacks on the GC for sure.”
Stage Result
1. Thibaut Pinot (FRA) FDJ 04:24:16
2. Romain Bardet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale +00:00:00
3. Daniel Martin (IRL) Etixx – Quick-Step +00:01:04
4. Christopher Froome (GBR) Team Sky +00:01:07
5. Louis Meintjes (RSA) Lampre-Merida +00:01:15
6. Alberto Contador (SPA) Tinkoff +00:01:15
12. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Tinkoff +00:01:55
23. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO) Tinkoff +00:05:14
72. Michael Valgren (DEN) Tinkoff +00:25:22
98. Jesper Hansen (DEN) Tinkoff +00:27:57
105. Sergio Paulinho (POR) Tinkoff +00:27:57
150. Michael Gogl (AUT) Tinkoff +00:33:58
GC After Stage 6
1. Christopher Froome (GBR) Team Sky 25:50:22
2. Richie Porte (AUS) BMC Racing Team +00:00:21
3. Romain Bardet (FRA) AG2R La Mondiale +00:00:21
4. Daniel Martin (IRL) Etixx – Quick-Step +00:00:30
5. Alberto Contador (SPA) Tinkoff +00:00:35
22. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Tinkoff +00:06:36
29. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO) Tinkoff +00:13:56
71. Jesper Hansen (DEN) Tinkoff +00:42:02
120. Michael Valgren (DEN) Tinkoff +01:10:50
135. Sergio Paulinho (POR) Tinkoff +01:18:46
145. Michael Gogl (AUT) Tinkoff +01:24:54
