Criterium du Dauphine: Team Sky win team time trial

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Team Sky took back control of the overall classification at the Critérium du Dauphiné, winning the 35km team time trial stage by 37 seconds and so putting Michal Kwiatkowski back in the leader's yellow jersey.

Team Sky set a time of 36:33 beating BMC Racing by 37 seconds, with Lotto Soudal third at 52 seconds. Mitchelton-Scott finished fourth, at a distant 56 seconds.

The time gaps mean Kwiatkowski is back in the leader's yellow jersey after he lost it to Daryl Impey after stage 2. He leads teammate Gianni Moscon by three seconds, with Castroviejo third at nine seconds and Geraint Thomas fourth overall at 21 seconds. Many of Team Sky's overall rivals are already more than a minute behind.

Team Sky fielded a tried and trusted seven-rider squad for the 35km team time trial, with Gianni Moscon, Kwiatkowski, and Castroviejo all national time trial champions. Geraint Thomas is an excellent time triallist and won the opening time trial at last year's Tour de France, while Luke Rowe, Tao Geoghegan Hart and Dylan van Baarle are all skilled rouleur riders.

Team Sky set the fastest times at the 14km and 24.5km time checks, continually increasing their advantage as their rivals suffered and lost riders. They were calculated to have covered the tailwind assisted 35km course at an average speed of 57.456 km/h, with times showing they rode a negative split – going faster in the second half than they did in the first.

Quick-Step Floors tried to start fast but soon lost two riders, limiting their performance despite the presence of Bob Jungels. The Belgian team finished fifth at 1:01.

Team Sky were more metronomic, only losing Rowe late on. Geoghegan Hart and van Baarle briefly lost contact in the final two kilometres but fought to get back in case of any problems amongst their teammates.

Kwiatkowski pulled on the yellow jersey but was happy to have won as part of the team, especially after his late crash on Tuesday.

"I'm so happy. I came up with no major issues after yesterday's crash. If I had picked one stage that I would like to win in this Dauphine, it's the team time trial. It's always a wonderful feeling to win together with the team. I think we rode a perfect stage," the Polish rider said, explaining Team Sky's strategy.

"We rode, technically, a perfect race. We used all the guys throughout the entire course. These 35km were really demanding, all the time changing rhythm and speed. I'm so happy. The prologue showed us that on paper we were probably the strongest, but it's a different thing to be out there and perform well. I'm so happy we could do it."

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A shake-up in the overall classification

The team time trial results shook up the overall classification, putting four Team Sky riders in the top four positions but also distancing many of Team Sky's overall rivals.

Damiano Caruso is now the closest threat, with the BMC leader 52 seconds down on Kwiatkowski. Jungles is at 1:08 and Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) is at 1:17.

Romain Bardet and his AG2R La Mondiale teammates limited their losses by finishing seventh at 1:29, putting the French climber at 1:52.

Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) lost time and 14 places in the overall classification and is now 40th at 2:28. Dan Martin and his UAE Team Emirates squad lost 2:28, putting the Irishman a significant 2:57 down overall.

Team Sky's dominance against the clock will no doubt set off alarm bells amongst their rivals for the Tour de France. A similar, if more technical, 35km team time trial comes on stage 3 around Cholet. If Team Sky can gain similar time gaps in just over a month's time, their rivals will be in a handicap race for the rest of Grand Boucle.

At the Critérium du Dauphiné, Team Sky will no doubt work on their race and nutrition strategy for the next four mountain stages in the hope that Kwiatkowski or Thomas can match the climbing prowess of Bardet, Martin, Jungels et al.

Thursday's mountain stage finishes in Lans-en-Vercors after a tough 181km. The final 50km includes the 17.5km hors categorie Col du Mont Noir, with the finish atop a short but steep 7.5 per cent climb.

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