Boasson Hagen sprints to Dauphiné stage win

Image 1 of 49

Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky) claimed victory on stage three of the Critérium du Dauphiné, out-pacing Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) and Gianni Meersman (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) in a keenly-contested sprint finish in Tarare, while David Veilleux (Europcar) retained his overall lead.

The Norwegian champion Boasson Hagen was well marshalled by his Sky teammates on the final climb of the Col des Sauvages, and the men in black were prominent on the subsequent plunge to the finish as they helped to shut down late escapees Bart De Clerq (Lotto Belisol) and Michal Kwiatowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep).

Geraint Thomas, in particular, played a key role – the Welshman ghosted in ahead of BMC’s Manuel Quinziato at the head of the peloton on a sharp left-hand corner with 500 metres to go and duly led out the sprint.

For his part, Boasson Hagen showed his sangfroid by sitting in third wheel behind Omega Pharma-QuickStep’s Sylvain Chavanel and then unfurling a crisp sprint inside the final 200 metres to hold off the challenges of Matthews, Meersman and his fellow countryman Thor Hushovd (BMC), while a disappointed Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) managed to get himself boxed in and finished 7th.

“I’m really happy, it was really nice to win,” Boasson Hagen said. “The team did a great job on the last climb and again to close down the two guys in the last couple of kilometres. Pete [Kennaugh] and Geraint [Thomas] were really very strong. The whole team is strong and I felt good in the sprint.”

Gianni Meersman’s Omega Pharma-QuickStep squad had also been prominent in policing affairs in the finale of the stage. Chavanel coolly shut down a move from Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM) on the final climb, while Kwiatowski was the only man to make the juncture to De Clerq on the descent to the line.

Ultimately, however, the Belgian had to make do with his third near miss in as many stages – he finished second on stages one and two – and second place on the general classification, 1:56 down on Veilleux, although he had no complaints about the outcome of Tuesday’s stage.

“Second and third has been my right place on these stages,” said Meersman, who also leads the points competition. “I will try to defend my green jersey and stage 6 is my next objective for a win.”

How it unfolded

With the crucial Parc des Oiseaux time trial to come on Wednesday, the tired legs in the peloton were grateful for small mercies when the échapée matinale slipped away in the opening kilometre of racing.

Jacob Rathe (Garmin-Sharp), Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM), Fumiyuki Beppu (Orica-GreenEdge) and Sander Cordeel (Lotto Belisol) took advantage of the détente in the peloton to build up a lead of 6 minutes with 90 kilometres still to race, at which point Europcar and, later, Omega Pharma-QuickStep began to take up the pursuit.

Their lead was already dwindling by the time they approached the final climb, the Col des Sauvages, where Sander Cordeel opted to go clear alone, but his defiance was soon quenched once the gradient pitched up in earnest.

On the climb proper, with 13km to go, Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM) was the first man from the bunch to try his luck, but his move was casually swatted aside by a comfortable Chavanel. The Frenchman then proceeded to set the tempo at the front of the race, imposing a rhythm that would drop a number of riders, including the ill Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp), and although the principal overall favourites – Chris Froome, Richie Porte (Sky), Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) – all kept a watching brief, they opted to keep their swords sheathed.

Laurent Didier (RadioShack-Leopard) was the next to attack but he was quickly overtaken by a flying Bart De Clerq (Lotto Belisol). The Belgian led by 8 seconds at the summit, with 9.5km to go, and was joined on the front by Kwiatowski on the scramble down to the finish line in Tarare. With Sky picking up the pieces behind, however, the duo’s late rally was destined to end in disappointment, and they were duly swept up inside the final two kilometres, setting the stage for Boasson Hagen.

“I need this race to get in better shape for the Tour de France and it looks like I’m on the right way,” Boasson Hagen said. On Wednesday, it will be the turn of the general classification contenders to gauge their pre-Tour form in the 32.5km time trial from Villars-les-Dombes to Parc des Oiseaux.