After the uphill prologue on the first day, the Critérium du Dauphiné has been comparatively flat. Today, however, the race entered its final three days – all of which will be contested on some tough mountains. After the team worked to reel in a big breakaway, it was all going to come down to the final climb into the ski town of Vaujany. Responding well to the early attacks on the steep and changing ascent, Alberto worked with other GC contenders to take fifth on the stage.
The Critérium du Dauphiné hit the mountains today! While the race has covered climbs in the earlier stages, the coming three days were where the GC competition was really going to start. Today the route was punishing – while the 140km route was the shortest of the Dauphiné, it was also one of the more draining. With six categorised climbs in the first 80km, the saw-tooth profile would drain energy before the final climb to Vaujany.
The hardest of the initial six climbs was the first category Col du Barrioz, which came at the 41.5km point. This 7.8km long ascent came with an average gradient of 6.5%, with the harder sections at the bottom half of the climb reaching a maximum of 10%. While the gradient levelled of towards the top, a final 9.4% ramp would slow riders down after a shorter section averaging around 4.5% gave them a chance to rest a little.
With a short downhill following, it was a slow drag through the Isere valley with the road gradually rising upwards, before the final climb of the day to Vaujany. This was where the GC action was going to take place – the gradient was tough and changeable, with 10.8% sections hitting gentler gradients shortly after, before ramping up again to 12.5%. The riders who favoured a steady cadence would struggle here, leaving the more aggressive climbers an opportunity to attack.
As the day started, the Tinkoff riders were keeping a close eye on the attacks, not wanting to allow anyone who could challenge the yellow jersey of Alberto Contador to escape up the road. While attacks came, they were pulled in quickly. It wasn’t until almost 40km had passed and the race was starting the Col du Barrioz that a break looked as if it were finally getting away. A group of three went up the road, before being followed by a large chasing group, merging and growing to around twenty-five riders, including Robert Kiserlovski and Roman Kreuziger. While this break was strong in number, it was pulled back in within 40km, leaving a lone rider to attack and go out alone.
As the 40km remaining point came and went, the Tinkoff riders were riding strong at the head of the bunch. With the solo breakaway joined by four others, this group created a gap of 2’30” on the peloton. With one climb left, the pace rose steadily. In spite of the escapees increasing their advantage slightly, by the time the race hit its final 10km the gap was down to 1’30” and falling quickly.
The race hit the 5km to go mark and the attacks started and the pace began to rise. With Roman Kreuziger riding in support, Alberto was safe twenty seconds behind the escapees, their advantage falling quickly. With 4km to go, the route hit a shallower section, but there was no chance of recovery, as the pace continued to rise. More attacks came and while Alberto was able to chase at first, as the gradient ramped up again, he settled into a rhythm with some of the other GC contenders to stay safe in the finishing stretch. Crossing the line in fifth position, Alberto let go of the yellow jersey after holding it from the start of the race in Les Gets, five days ago.
From the finish, Alberto saw the day’s outcome as an integral part of his preparation for the Tour de France. “In the final I tried to follow Chris and Richie but it came down to having the legs, which I always said before the race was what I was here to test. I’m happy because this time it was not me in the jersey and I think that day by day we will go better – tomorrow’s another day.”
Looking back over the way the day turned out, Sport Director, Steven De Jongh, was pleased with how the team worked to support their leader. “Alberto didn’t have the legs we hoped for in the final, but the team did a great job today keeping control and protecting him. There was a big breakaway and we pulled that back in, which was good. Over the whole stage there was pressure to defend the jersey, which made things harder. We didn’t want to give it away too easily.”
Continuing, De Jongh highlighted how well the whole team was coming together ahead of the Tour. “We got the big group back, so it was less dangerous – the boys did an amazing job today. We had a really good day with the team and some showed they’re really ready for the Tour. Alberto is in a good place, and he needed some more action before the tour so this is exactly the preparation we needed. We hoped for a better result but we’re not too unhappy with how the day went.”
Tomorrow is the Dauphiné’s Queen Stage, and it’s going to be a spectacular day’s racing. The route from La Rochette to Meribel covers 141km and five incredibly tough categorised climbs, including the Hors Catégorie Col de la Madeleine. While the 19.2km, 7.9% climb is the hardest climb of the day, it may be too far from the stage finish, coming at the halfway point, to decide the outcome of the stage. What it will do however, is show who has the form to contest the stage win and compete for the GC.
The Queen Stage will be an excellent opportunity to test his legs and help fine-tune his performance, Alberto explained from the finish. “We will see what happens tomorrow. I’m sure that day by day I will go better. Anything can happen. The only thing that’s important for me is that I’m ready for the Tour de France. It’s the last race before the Tour and I want to be 100%. We’ll see how my legs feel here and we’ll do some work after the race ends, because the final week of the Tour will be very hard, and now I will work on my recovery before tomorrow’s stage.”
With Alberto going into tomorrow’s stage without the yellow jersey, the pressure was off Alberto and the team, De Jongh explained. “We can live with the result – there are still two very hard days to come in the mountains and not having to defend the jersey will make it easier. We’re expecting rain tomorrow, so that will bring an extra challenge to the day. We’re looking forward to the race.”
Stage Result
1. Chris Froome (GBR) Team Sky 03:32:20
2. Richie Porte (AUS) BMC Racing Team +00:00:01
3. Adam Yates (GBR) Orica-GreenEdge +00:00:19
4. Daniel Martin (IRL) Etixx – Quick-Step +00:00:19
5. Alberto Contador (SPA) Tinkoff Team +00:00:21
38. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Tinkoff +00:01:57
50. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO) Tinkoff +00:05:26
55. Jesper Hansen (DEN) Tinkoff +00:05:42
118. Michael Valgren (DEN) Tinkoff +00:12:39
121. Sergio Paulinho (POR) Tinkoff +00:16:08
122. Michael Gogl (AUT) Tinkoff +00:16:08
GC After Stage 5
1. Chris Froome (GBR) Team Sky 21:24:59
2. Richie Porte (AUS) BMC Racing Team +00:00:07
3. Alberto Contador (SPA) Tinkoff +00:00:27
4. Daniel Martin (IRL) Etixx – Quick-Step +00:00:37
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Etixx – Quick-Step +00:00:42
40. Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Tinkoff +00:05:48
50. Robert Kiserlovski (CRO) Tinkoff +00:09:49
65. Jesper Hansen (DEN) Tinkoff +00:15:12
119. Michael Valgren (DEN) Tinkoff +00:46:35
146. Sergio Paulinho (POR) Tinkoff +00:51:56
147. Michael Gogl (AUT) Tinkoff +00:52:03
