The script for this year’s Criterium du Dauphine appeared to have been written after the first stage. Chris Froome (Sky) won the individual time trial, taking the maillot jaune, and it seemed as if he would carry that lead all the way to the finish of the eight-stage race. And when Froome beat Contador on the summit finish at Col du Beal on stage 2, showing he was the strongest climber in the race, back-to-back victories in the Tour de France warm-up race seemed all but assured. But things are rarely so certain in bike racing.
Froome held steady on stage 3 when Nikias Arndt (Giant-Shimano) took the bunch sprint and went into stage 4 still with 12 seconds over Contador. And on that stage he finished on the same time as Contador, 2:10 behind solo winner Yury Trofimov (Katusha), again preserving his overall lead.
He faced stiffer opposition on stage 5 when Contador attacked from the peloton on a descent inside the final 30km. The hard work of Froome’s teammates saw the Spaniard reeled in before the finale, however, and the pair finished in the chase group 17 seconds behind stage winner Simon Spilak (who made it two from two for Katusha).
But it was on stage 6, won by Jan Bakelants (OPQS), that the race really changed. Froome crashed heavily, losing more than a little skin, and while the peloton waited and Froome didn’t lose any time to his rivals as a result of the crash, the crash seemingly hampered Froome in the remaining two stages.
With two kilometres remaining in the climb to the summit finish of stage 7 Alberto Contador attacked and Froome wasn’t able to respond. The Spaniard finished 20 seconds clear of Froome (and 1:33 behind stage winner and stage 6 runner-up Lieuwe Westra), enough to pull the maillot jaune off Froome’s shoulders for the first time in the race.
And so Alberto Contador went into the final stage wearing the leader’s jersey, eight seconds clear of Chris Froome. But despite all eyes being on those two for the whole eight days of the race, neither of them would win the race overall. Andrew Talansky got in a group of heavy-hitters who got away from the peloton after the first climb of the final stage. And despite the best efforts of Contador, the group stayed clear and Talansky’s fourth on the stage was enough to take the overall win.
Mikel Nieve won the stage while his team leader Chris Froome, clearly feeling the effects of his crash, faded out of contention and eventually finished the race 12th overall.
There were no stage wins for Andrew Talansky, and no podium placing throughout the race either. Instead he was there when it counted, climbing with the best and ensuring he minimised his losses whenever necessary. He put himself in contention with a great fourth place in the first stage ITT and improved from there before making the most of a decisive break on the final day.
Not only was the 2014 Criterium du Dauphine a fascinating race in its own right, it also sets the scene for a fascinating Tour de France. Was Chris Froome only suffering from the effects of his stage 6 crash? Who is the stronger climber out of he and Alberto Contador? Do we need to look beyond those two (as we did at the Dauphine) to find a winner of this year’s Tour? A lot can happen in three weeks of bike racing.
Until then, check out the gallery below for some great photos from this year’s Criterium du Dauphine.
Final Classification: > - Stage Result
Sunday 15th June 2014
| 1. |  |
TALANSKY Andrew
Garmin Sharp
|
31:08:08 |
| 2. |  |
CONTADOR Alberto
Tinkoff-Saxo
|
0:27 |
| 3. |  |
VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen
Lotto Belisol
|
0:35 |
Talansky
De Marchi
Froome
Kelderman
Astana Pro Team-
- Chris Froome established his dominance early in the race, winning the stage 1 ITT and looking like he was going to lead the Dauphine from start to finish.
- Richie Porte is still on his way back from illness and finished 23rd in the stage 1 ITT. Alberto Contador was second on the stage behind Froome, and went into stage 2 eight seconds down.
- Luxembourg’s Bob Jungels (Trek) was impressive on stage 1 as well, slotting into third place just one second behind Contador.
- Chris Froome in yellow is a familiar sight … as is the sight of him staring intently at his stem.
- Danny Pate was on drinks duty for Team Sky on stage 2.
- Richie Porte showed flashes of brilliance throughout the Dauphine and it will be very interesting to see if he’s back to his best come the Tour de France.
- With the summit finish at Col de Beal on stage 2, it didn’t take long for the big hitters to come to the fore.
- Coming off a super-impressive ride at the Giro d’Italia, where he was seventh overall, Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) was in amongst the big names all week at the Dauphine. On stage 2 he was third on the stage, behind Froome and Contador.
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- It was an aggressive end to stage 2 with a flurry of attacks from the GC contenders, including Froome who attacked in the dying kilometres. Only Contador was able to stay on his wheel, and despite being perfectly placed for the final sprint he simply couldn’t get past last year’s Tour de France winner.
- With two wins from two stages Chris Froome looked to have his second consecutive Criterium du Dauphine in the bag.
- Winner Anacona crashed heavily on stage 3 and would go on to abandon the race on stage 5.
- Nikias Arndt (Giant-Shimano, right) was the victor on stage 3, winning the bunch kick just ahead of Kris Boeckmans (Lotto-Belisol) and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (also Giant-Shimano).
- The “Sky Train” has become a familiar sight in stage races over the past few years, riding in support of their GC leader. The Dauphine was no exception with Sky controlling the bunch for Froome throughout the race.
- On stage 4 Katusha’s Yury Trofimov took an impressive solo win, attacking on the Col de Manse and dropping the remainder of the 13-rider breakaway that had escaped the peloton early in the stage.
- Australia’s Jack Bobridge crashed on stage 5 but was able to continue on. He later retired from the race on stage 7.
- On stage 5 Simon Spilak was the solo survivor of an early 17-man breakaway and made it back-to-back stage wins for Katusha. In doing so he also put in his bid for the year’s best victory celebration.
- Chris Froome might have defended his lead on stage 5, finishing 17 seconds behind Spilack, but it was far from easy. Alberto Contador attacked on a descent 30km from the finish and it took Sky much of the remaining road to reel the Spaniard back in.
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- When race leader Chris Froome crashed on stage 6 the bunch sat up and waited for him, but the bigger problem was still to come. While Froome didn’t lose any time to Contador or his other rivals on stage 6, the crash appeared to take its toll and Froome struggled on the final two days of the race.
- Jan Bakelants was the victor on stage 6, outfoxing Lieuwe Westra (Astana) in a two-up sprint. The two had been part of the day’s early break and a volley of attacks in the closing kilometres saw the pair emerge as contenders for the stage. Westra tried forcing Bakelants into the barriers in the sprint, but the Belgian stayed upright and took the stage.
- Chris Froome’s haul after leading the race for six stages.
- After the disappointment of the previous day’s stage, Lieuwe Westra made amends on stage 7, coming from behind to take the stage win ahead of Katusha pair Yury Trofimov and Egor Silin. All three had been in the day’s main escape before Trofimov attacked solo on the penultimate climb. Silin left the group too and eventually joined his teammate, but it was Westra who fought across the gap on the final climb, and took the lead with just 150m to go.
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- Back in the main field Alberto Contador attacked inside the final 2km and left a struggling Chris Froome behind. Contador finished fourth on the stage, but more importantly he finished 20 seconds clear of Froome — enough to take the overall lead.
- Wilco Kelderman, in the white jersey of the best young rider, was 12th on stage 7, dropping to fourth overall while Andrew Talansky’s fifth place allowed him to move into third overall.
- Going into the final stage Alberto Contador had an eight-second lead over Chris Froome while Andrew Talansky was third, a further 31 seconds back.
- After losing the overall lead, Chris Froome was relegated to wearing the green jersey of the points classification leader.
- Mikel Nieve won the final stage of the Dauphine but it was just behind him that the race was being decided.
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- Having got himself in the day’s main escape just after the first climb of the day, Talansky was the virtual leader on the road. Alberto Contador chased hard from the peloton to try and close down the gap and preserve his overall lead, but after finishing more than a minute behind Talansky it wasn’t enough to protect the maillot jaune.
- Wilco Kelderman slotted in for seventh on the final stage, enough to see him finish fourth overall.
- Contador finished second overall, 27 seconds behind Talansky.
- He didn’t win a stage, but great consistency throughout the eight stages (including four top-five finishes) saw Andrew Talansky take a come-from-behind victory — the biggest win of his career.