Critérium du Dauphiné 2015: Stage 5

Welcome to live coverage of Critérium du Dauphiné stage 5 from Digne-les-Bains to Pra-Loup

Stage five is almost underway as the last of the riders make their way to the start line. Today is the first of the big mountain tests for the general classification riders.

Today is not just a key stage for the Dauphiné but it is a chance for the Tour de France contenders to recon part of this year's Tour route. The 161-kilometre stage will feature on stage 17 of the Tour.

@dauphine Thu, 11th Jun 2015 09:09:10

There are five climbs today including the first category Col d'Allos and the summit finish up the second category Pra Loup. Here's a look at the profile for today.

All 162 riders that finished yesterday's stage signed on this morning and they are about to go through the start proper.

@dauphine Thu, 11th Jun 2015 09:17:37

The start proper has been given and we are racing!

Rohan Dennis is still in the yellow jersey today after BMC's team time trial victory on Tuesday. He's likely to be handing it over today but BMC will be hoping that they can keep it in the team with Tejay van Garderen. Here's how the standings look this morning.

1 Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team 13:31:30
2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team
3 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:00:04
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
5 Lieuwe Westra (Ned) Astana Pro Team
6 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team
7 Rein Taaramae (Est) Astana Pro Team
8 Gorka Izagirre (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:05
9 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
10 John Gadret (Fra) Movistar Team

@friebos Thu, 11th Jun 2015 09:27:02

Daniel Teklehaimanot has gone on the attack. The Eritrean is currently in the mountain's jersey but with plenty of points available over the five climbs, he needs to add to his tally if he wants to keep it by the end of today. 

Teklehaimanot is one of a number of riders who broke free at the four-kilometer mark. We'll bring you the rest of the names as we have them. Here is how the mountains classification stands at the moment.

1 Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) MTN - Qhubeka 25 pts
2 Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar 11
3 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ.fr 8
4 Bjorn Thurau (Ger) Bora-Argon 18 7
5 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka 4
6 Tosh Van Der Sande (Bel) Lotto Soudal 3
7 Romain Guillemois (Fra) Team Europcar 3
8 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 2
9 Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis, Solutions Credits 2
10 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida 1

The seven riders that escaped are: Christophe Riblon (AG2R-La Mondiale), Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), Pieter Serry (Etixx-QuickStep), Romain Sicard (Europcar), Arnaud Courteille (FDJ), Albert Timmer (Giant-Alpecin), Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka). After seven kilometres of racing they have 45 seconds on the peloton.

The leaders continue to build their advantage over the peloton and after 13 kilometres the seven men have 3:05 on the peloton.

Today will be a tough battle for Rohan Dennis to keep his yellow jersey but the Australian says that he's going to fight for it. Read what he had to say after yesterday's stage here.

134km remaining from 161km

The escapees continue to draw out the gap. They've got 3:40 on the peloton as they approach the first climb of the day the Col des Lèques.

The Col des Lèques is a third category ascent that averages 5.3 percent over its 6 kilometres.

Away from the Dauphiné and Lance Armstrong has been talking to the press. The American says he's worried he could go bankrupt if the whistleblower case proves successful. Read the full article here.

Romain Bardet is one of the home favourites for this race. The Frenchman is almost always aggressive in the mountains. He's got a teammate up in the break today but he's hoping that he can do something himself.

"We expect more from the next few days in the mountains. We've lost a lot of time to our rivals including BMC but we have to deal with that if we want to do good overall classification."

Read Bardet's full thoughts on his race so far here.

@dauphine Thu, 11th Jun 2015 10:25:23

Arnaud Courteille adds two points to his tally in the mountains classification as the first over the Col des Lèques. Teklehaimanot follows him over to add one to his. It looks like the MTN-Qhubeka rider has a fight on his hands today if he wants to keep the polka-dot jersey.

@antmccrossan Thu, 11th Jun 2015 10:37:43

111km remaining from 161km

There is little respite for the riders and after making it down the descent they are already climbing again. It's not a classified climb, that won't be for another 10 kilometres. The next classified ascent is the Col de Toutes Aures a 6.1km climb that averages 3.1 per cent.

106km remaining from 161km

The gap is still edging out four our seven escapees. After almost an hour and a half of racing they have 4:10 on the peloton.

106km remaining from 161km

The gap is still edging out for our seven escapees. After almost an hour and a half of racing they have 4:10 on the peloton.

106km remaining from 161km

Over the first hour of racing, the average speed has been 38.1kph.

Nacer Bouhanni was the stage winner yesterday, his second of the race so far. After a challenging start to the year, the Frenchman looks to be on track for the Tour de France. Read what he had to say about his stage win yesterday.

BMC are doing the work on the front of the bunch as we approach the second climb of the day as they look after race leader Rohan Dennis. The seven leaders have almost reached the top, but who will take the points?

@Cyclingnewsfeed Thu, 11th Jun 2015 11:14:10

In reverse of the results at the top of the first climb of the day, Teklehaimanot takes full points on the Toures Aures with Courteille following him over in second. The pair have now taken three points each in the mountains competition but we've still got two second category ascents and a first category.

87km remaining from 161km

The escapees continue to extend their lead over the pack. They now have an advantage of 4:40.

Today's stage finishes at Pre Loup. Bernard Thévenet won there back in 1975, catching and passing Eddy Merckx in the process. Now the race director of the Dauphiné, he will return to the scene today.

"It's emotional for me to come back on this course. I had been to Pra Loup several times since 1975 but never at col d'Allos. In the downhill, I had a hard time. But I remember the curve where I passed Eddy very well. After that I knew I was going to regain some time on him but I didn't think I'd take the yellow jersey over from him," he told the Letour website.

"Now in this Dauphiné, today is the first mountain stage so we'll know more about who is strong tonight. There hasn't been any direct fight yet so we don't know much yet but during the team time trial, Chris Froome looked strong."

The average speed over the second hour was a little faster than the first at 39.7kph. The overall average speed so far is 38.9kph.

@jarradvz Thu, 11th Jun 2015 11:37:15

The riders have passed through the feed zone. They'll want some energy for what's to come. Next on the agenda is the 2nd cat Col de la Colle-Saint-Michel. As the pace relents a little, the gap has gone out to 5:05.

73km remaining from 161km

It's still BMC controlling things at the front of the peloton. They've put the whole squad up front.

@Cyclingnewsfeed Thu, 11th Jun 2015 11:45:09

The escapees are almost at the top of the third climb of the day. The Col de la Colle-Saint-Michel is a 11 kilometre ascent with and average 5.2 per cent gradient.

66km remaining from 161km

The peloton have begun to bring back the escapees once again. The advantage is back down to 4:30.

Vincenzo Nibali is one of a number of riders that could move into the yellow jersey today. The Italian is currently fourth in the overall classification thanks to Astana's strong performance in the time trial. Nibali is currently building up to the defence of his Tour de France title, but he says that winning a second is not an obsession for him. Read his full thoughts here.

Daniel Teklehaimanot was the first over the top of the Saint Michel. He added five points to his tally giving him 33 overall. The peloton followed the leaders over the top at 4:15 back. Here are the full standings at the top.

1. Daniel Teklehaimanot, 5

2. Arnaud Courteille, 3

3. Albert Timmer, 2

4. Romain Sicard, 1
 

Brian Bulgac has decided to call a day on his race. The LottoNLl-Jumbo rider has climbed off and abandoned.

The good news for the riders is that the nice weather that they've got at the moment should hold to the finish. It's currently 25 degrees up on Pra-Loup with just a few clouds around. There's not much wind to speak of either.

50km remaining from 161km

The gap to the break continues to drop. As the leaders start the Col d'Allos they have just 3:20 on the bunch.

Awarded first category status the Col d'Allos is the toughest climb in today's stage. The 14 kilometre ascent averages 5.5 per cent and hits gradients of over 10 per cent in the latter part of the climb.

46km remaining from 161km

The average speed has dropped with the terrain getting tougher. After three hours of racing the average speed has fallen to 36.7, as the escapees extend their advantage to 4:06 on the bunch.

40km remaining from 161km

Alberto Timmer had a go off the front but he is caught. The dig has shelled Christophe Riblon from the group however.

BMC are still on the front of the peloton. They have been there since the start of the stage and the other teams have been happy to let them do the work. Tinkoff-Saxo are sitting just behind them.

35km remaining from 161km

Serry has attacked the breakaway. He is the yellow jersey on the road.

Christophe Riblon is already 1:45 behind his former break companions. It won't be long before he is caught by the peloton.

33km remaining from 161km

Sicard is leading the chase down of Serry. The Europcar rider has a small gap on the other chasers as they split up under the pace.

31km remaining from 161km

Serry has been joined by Sicard, Wellens and Timmer. It looks like Teklehaimanot has dropped back a bit.

Courteille is also missing from the front group. Like Teklehaimanot, he's been on the attack earlier in this race already.

Several riders have been distanced from the peloton. Young rider Julian Alaphilippe is among them.

28km remaining from 161km

Astana and Cannondale-Garmin are moving up towards the front of the peloton for the first time today.

Lieuwe Westra accidentally bumps into Chris Froome in the peloton. The Dutchman says sorry and all is good again. Both manage to remain upright.

Team Sky are now on the front of the peloton with Ian Stannard pushing the pace. Thomas Voeckler can't keep up and he is dropped.

Alberto Timmer is the next of the escapees to be dropped. The three remaining escapees have 1:45.

27km remaining from 161km

Team Sky mop up Courteille and Teklehaimanot as the gradient ramps up.

@jeredgruber Thu, 11th Jun 2015 13:10:23

Bauke Mollema has been distanced by the peloton. Sky are really putting on the hurt at the moment.

25km remaining from 161km

As more riders continue off the back, the gap to the escapees has come down very quickly. The Three men out front have just 47 seconds on the bunch.

Jean Christophe Peraud has been dropped. AG2R-La Mondiale still have Romain Bardet in the main group.

Rohan Dennis has been dropped too. He has no teammates with him as they look after Tejay van Garderen.

The peloton can see the escapees as they catch Serry. Sicard and Wellens are the only two left out front.

23km remaining from 161km

Gruppo compatto now as the escapees are all mopped up. Only 30-40 riders remaining int he peloton.

23km remaining from 161km

Peter Kennaugh is just about hanging on to the back of the main group. Sky still putting on the pace with Boswell at the front.

The main group has been reduced to less than 30 riders un the peloton as AG2R move up towards the front of the group.

@TeamMTNQhubeka Thu, 11th Jun 2015 13:23:05

Bardet attacks

21km remaining from 161km

Bardet goes over the top alone and he's really hammering it down the descent.

Bardet has nine seconds on the sky-led peloton.

@Lotto_Soudal Thu, 11th Jun 2015 13:28:51

Race leader Rohan Dennis is now almost three minutes behind the peloton.

17km remaining from 161km

Bardet is really taking risks going down this very technical descent. He almost overcooks it on one of the hairpins but it quickly back on his way. He has almost 30 seconds on the bunch now.

14km remaining from 161km

The gap continues to go out. Bardet has just over 8 kilometres to the bottom of this descent. It's going to be touch and go.

Sky are down to three riders at the front of the peloton. Bardet is still hammering it down the descent. He's got 45 seconds now. Could this be enough to give him the stage win and maybe move him into yellow?

10km remaining from 161km

Sky don't seem to be able to reel in Bardet and he continues to add to his advantage. He has a whopping 56 seconds with 10km to go.

@katushacycling Thu, 11th Jun 2015 13:38:49

7km remaining from 161km

A worrying moment for Bardet as his back wheel steps out. He doesn't panic though and holds it up nicely. The advantage is now at 1:14

Bardet at the bottom of the climb and he goes straight back up Pra-Loup.

Froome on the front of the peloton as they hit Pra-Loup. He looks behind and Nicolas Roche moves ahead od him. They have 1:24 to make up in 5.2km.

4km remaining from 161km

The peloton don't appear to be making any inroads into Bardet. It looks like he's racing himself into yellow with this ride. What a great move from the young Frenchman.

Sky have managed to regroup and they have four riders, including Froome, at the front of the peloton. Nibali and Talansky are sitting just behind them.

@inrng Thu, 11th Jun 2015 13:44:57

3km remaining from 161km

Bardet getting some words of advice from the team car as he passes the 4km to go banner. He's holding the peloton off still with a 1:25 advantage.

Boswell looks like he's in a world of pain at the moment and he finally pulls off. Poels takes up the pace setting.

The peloton splits and Valverde is dropped.

There is only around 15 riders in this group. Van Garderen and Dan Martin are also among those that remain.

Nibali cracks

2km remaining from 161km

Bardet still has 1:14 on the bunch.

Kelderman is the next rider to pop off the back of the group.

Roche takes up the pace setting and puts it in the big ring

Froome attacks

1km remaining from 161km

Van Garderen chasing Froome

Bardet under the flamme rouge. He's got 57 seconds.

Froome now under the flamme rouge still being chased by Van Garderen and Izagirre.

250 metres for Bardet

Van Garderen is now alone behind Froome

Bardet wins

Van Garderen passes and dropped Froome for second with Froome in third.

@dauphine Thu, 11th Jun 2015 13:57:28

Confirmation of the GC shows that Van Garderen has moved into the race lead.

Final confirmation of the stage result

1 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 4:31:22
2 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:36
3 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:40
4 Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:42
5 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 0:00:50
6 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka 0:00:50
7 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:00:55
8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:57
9 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar
10 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling

And here is the general classification. The yellow jersey has stayed with BMC but Bardet has really put himself back int he mix.

1 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 18:03:22
2 Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:17
3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:20
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:31
5 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:00:41
6 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 0:00:43
7 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:01:08
8 Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:01:16
9 Mathias Frank (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:01:17
10 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky 0:01:25

That's it from us today, head to our report for a full recap of today's action plus pictures and full results.