Pello Bilbao (Astana) won stage 6 of the Critérium du Dauphiné to La Rosiere after the intense 110km of racing across four major cols revealed the real overall contenders for this year’s race.
Geraint Thomas and his Team Sky teammates carefully defended his race lead, with the Welshman producing a late attack to gain a few extra seconds on his overall rivals before Sunday's final stage.
Thomas finished 21 seconds down on Bilbao, with Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates) third at 23 seconds. Thomas now leads Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) by 1:29, with Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) third at 2:01.
