Critérium du Dauphiné: Trofimov wins alone in Gap

Yury Trofimov (Katusha) escaped from the break of the day on the Col de Manse to win alone in Gap after another aggressive afternoon of racing at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

The 30-year-old Russian last won a race back in 2009 but switched from domestique to winner on the climb above Gap, attacking alone from the 13-rider break of the day and then used his technical skills to stay away on the twisting descent. He managed to open a 30-second lead and held it to win alone, celebrating without even zipping up his Katusha jersey.

Gustav Larsson (IAM Cycling) out-sprinted Pim Ligthart (Lotto Belisol) for second place at 23 seconds, with the remains of the break just behind them. Chris Froome (Team Sky) finished in the main peloton, 2:10 behind Trofimov but alongside his overall rivals, and so kept the race leader's yellow jersey.

Trofimov has just four career victories to his name before this win, taking a first stage victory back in the 2008 edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné.

"I can't believe I won. I knew this climb since the Tour de France last year. I planned to target it and ensured I was in the breakaway," he said in a mix of Russian and French afterwards.

"In the beginning of the stage, I saved my legs for the end, then I rode flat out on the climb. I gave the maximum. I'd like to win a stage at the Tour de France as well."

Froome tries to let the race lead go

Froome still leads Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) by 12 seconds in the overall standings, with Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) third at 21 seconds and Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) fourth at 33 seconds.

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp), Romain Bardet (AG2R-La Mondiale) and Tejay van Garderen (BMC) went on the attack on the Col de Manse and finished 40 seconds ahead of the Froome group. However they remain well down on Froome, with Bardet 12th at 1:40, van Garderen 19th at 2:22 and Hesjedal 33rd at 3:50.

Froome revealed that he tried to loose the race leadership to a rider in the break to save his and his teammates' strength for the decisive mountain stages this weekend. Maxime Bouet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) was the best placed in the break, only 2:43 behind Froome but the NetApp-Endura team also helped the chase and meant Bouet was only able to move up to seventh place overall.

"It was our intention to let the yellow jersey go and another team take it before the weekend of racing but in the end, the race was just so fast that we reached the finishing line quickly after the breakaway riders," Froome explained after pulling on the yellow jersey for another day.

Froome praised his teammates, who helped control the race for much of the day despite the heat and hilly terrain. The Kenyan-born Britain seems set to have many of his Critérium du Dauphiné teammates with him for the Tour de France.

"I wouldn't say it was an easy stage but, once again, I have say thank you to my teammates for having made it a trouble free day. This is a team building for the Tour de France and we got really good signs today," he said.

A day for a breakaway

Given the rolling stage profile and the proximity of the Col de Manse to the finish in Gap, stage 4 was always going to favour a breakaway move and the 13-rider échappée formed after some early skirmishes and attempts by French champion Arthur Vichot (FDJ.fr) and his compatriot Sylvain Chavanel (IAM Cycling).

The 13-rider breakaway formed at the 21 km mark, with Andriy Grivko (Astana), Christian Meier (Orica-GreenEdge), Imanol Erviti (Movistar), Maxime Bouet (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Romain Sicard (Europcar), Pim Ligthart (Lotto Belisol), Gustav Larsson (IAM Cycling), Damiano Caruso (Cannondale), Bob Jungels (Trek Factory Racing), Peter Velits (BMC), Yury Trofimov (Katusha), Jan Bakelants (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Lars-Petter Nordhaug (Belkin) in the action.

Their maximum advantage of 4:50 was recorded after 60km. However with Bouet being so well placed, Team Sky couldn't allow the move to enjoy total freedom. Eight teams had also missed the move, sparking a long, hot day of chasing between the 13 and the peloton.

The racing remained steady and the break was united until the bottom of Col de Manse. Caruso was the to accelerate, trying his hand, but the front group came back together as the road wound up the hillside. Trofimov timed his surge perfectly and rode clear alone, two kilometres before the top. He then dived down the descent in a thrilling finale. Behind Hesjedal, Bardet and van Garderen tried their hand but did not worry Froome and Team Sky.

While Trofimov took risks but stayed upright, the tight corners and melted surface was too much for Erviti and Jungels, who crashed on the descent. Both got up to finish the stage but suffered road rash. Other riders also went down but no one was seriously inujured.

The peloton avoided taking any risks and finished together, with their minds already thinking to Thursday's 189.5km stage from Sisteron to La Mure. It again seems perfect for a breakaway, as the overall contenders await Saturday's mountain finish to Finhaut-Emosson and Sunday's finish in Courchevel.

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