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Chris Froome (Sky) has taken out Stage 5 of the 2016 Criterium du Dauphine with a brutal attack on the final climb, beating Richie Porte (BMC) in the final sprint.
It didn’t appear to be all smooth sailing though for Froome, who struggled early on the final climb into Vaujany, dropping back down the group of the main contenders and then being dropped entirely by a Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quickstep) attack.
When Froome caught Martin and attacked though, Porte was the only one who could go with him all the way to the line as Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) lost the yellow jersey.
Earlier in the stage, it took a long while to get the breakaway sorted out as first a three rider group went and was caught, then a four rider featuring Thomas Voeckler before finally a 25 man group was allowed to go clear.
The 25 were:
Wouter Poels (Sky), Greg van Avermaet (BMC), Robert Kiserlovski and Roman Kreuziger (Tinkoff), Steve Morabito and Sébastien Reichenbach (FDJ), Andriy Grivko and Paolo Tiralongo (Astana), Jan Bakelants, Cyril Gautier and Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R-La Mondiale), Jens Keukeleire (Orica-GreenEdge), Tomasz Marcynski (Lotto-Soudal), Edvald Boasson Hagen, Stephen Cummings and Daniel Teklehaimanot (Dimension Data), Ryder Hesjedal (Trek-Segafredo), Antonio Pedredo (Movistar), Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie), Tom-Jelte Slager (Cannondale), Jérôme Coppel (IAM Cycling), Björn Thurau (Wanty-Groupe Gobert), Paul Voss (Bora-Argon 18), Tsgabu Grmay and Luka Pibernik (Lampre-Merida).
Teklehaimanot was the man who used the breakaway the best, going over both the Category 1 and Category 2 climbs in first place to register enough points, on top of those he has already earned to move into the King of the Mountains jersey at the end of today’s stage.
That group would be pulled back by Tinkoff before long though, with another five rider group going clear. This would be the final make up of the breakaway and included Andriy Grivko (Astana), Cyril Gautier (AG2R-La Mondiale), Dayer Quintana (Movistar), Enrico Gasparotto (Wanty) and Bartosz Huzarski (Bora).
They built their lead out to a maximum advantage of around three minutes before the peloton began to bring them back in with a number of teams doing the work, including BMC, Sky, Tinkoff, FDJ, Orica GreenEdge, Ag2R La Mondiale, Etixx Quickstep and Cannondale.
As the climb started, the gap to the breakaway had been shaved to around a minute, before Gasparatto launched an attack. Only Quintana would stay with him, but the constant attack behind ensured they were caught about 4 kilometres out from the finish line.
To note was the absence of both Fabio Aru (Astana) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) who were dropped very early on the climb.
Daniel Martin was the first real attack to launch out of the peloton after Mikel Landa had been given a bit of breathing space.
Martin would at first drop Froome who set his rhythm and eventually bridged the gap, with about 10 riders in the main contenders group.
Froome would be the next to launch though in an absolutely brutal attack, dropping everyone apart from Porte who sat in his back wheel, but then in the final 2 kilometres decided to contribute to the pace making.
The pair would put over 20 seconds into Alberto Contador, who was outsprinted by Daniel Martin on the line and Adam Yates who had to bridge the gap after falling behind the Contador and Martin duo.
In the final sprint it was Porte who did the leading, but Froome found it in the legs to not only go around but put a second into the Australian on the line.
Top 10, Stage 5
1 Christopher Froome (Sky) @ 3:32:20
2 Richie Porte (BMC) + 0:01
3 Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEdge+ + 0:19
4 Daniel Martin (Etixx – Quick-Step) + 0:19
5 Alberto Contador (Tinkoff_ + 0:21
6 Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale_ + 0:25
7 Pierre Rolland (Cannondale) + 0:27
8 Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) + 0:27
9 Louis Meintjes (Lampre – Merida) + 0:27
10 Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx – Quick-Step) + 0:27
General Classification
1. Chris Froome (Sky) @ 21:24:59
2. Richie Porte (BMC) + 0:07
3. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) + 0:27
4. Daniel Martin (Etixx-Quickstep) +0:37
5. Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx) + 0:42
6. Adam Yates (Orica) + 0:52
7. Diego Rosa (Astana) + 1:08
8. Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) + 1:16
9. Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) + 1:21
10. Louis Meintjes (Lampre) + 1:27
A mere 48 seconds separates the top ten riders at the Criterium du Dauphine as the peloton enter three straight days in the mountains to close the race. Join The Roar for live coverage of Stage 5 from 10:15pm (AEST).
Edvald Boasson Hagen took out a flattish Stage 4 in a bunch sprint, but a crash near the end showed why all the general classification teams were a little nervous.
The crash caused Richie Porte and Alberto Contador to both lose a few precious seconds, with Chris Froome leapfroggin Porte into second place, just four seconds adrift of Contador’s yellow jersey.
Today might be the start of mountains which persist all the way to the end, but in reality, it is a softening up day, something to burn the legs. Realistically the main contenders who haven’t yet lost time will be on the defensive, marking and stalking each other.
It’s only 140 kilometres in length, but with seven categorised climbs it’s far from easy. Interestingly though, six of the climbs come in the first 80 kilometres, meaning there will be a long period where a breakaway is going to be able to increase their lead.
Of those six climbs, two are Category 4, two are Category 3, with one Category 2 and 1. While they won’t decide the stage, they will test the legs and ensure riders don’t go to the summit climb fresh.
The final Category 2 climb to Vaujany doesn’t seem all that steep when you look at the base statistics of it – 6.4 kilometres at 6.5 per cent – but this is a real attacking climb and for that reason Chris Froome could lose time.
The first kilometre is three per cent, the fourth kilometre is 5.8 per cent and the sixth is actually downhill. There is a steep ramp up to the line and in between it will reach a maximum gradient of up to 13 per cent.
Anyone who has ridden this climb before will know exactly where to attack, but picking those times and the right tactics will be absolutely crucial.
Most of the riders in the top ten will mark each other, with Porte, Froome and Contador particularly cagey. Two to watch out for are Daniel Martin and Adam Yates, who history has shown will take any opportunity to attack.
Fabio Aru is also likely to make a bold move, after he lost big time early in the race but attacked on Stage 3, riding 20 kilometres of flat on his own to the finish line. He was incredibly strong, and if that didn’t take too much out of him, he will go on the attack again today.
Prediction
Aru looked good on Stage 3, and there is no reason for him not to be aggressive again today.
At the same time, Adam Yates has been strong, biding his time, so I’ll take him for the stage win.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of Stage 5 at the Dauphine from 10:15pm (AEST) and don’t forget to get involved by adding a comment below.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde