Critérium du Dauphiné 2015: Stage 6

Welcome to live coverage of the Critérium du Dauphiné stage 6 from Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur to Villard-de-Lans - Vercors

Welcome to what is a rainy day at the Critérium du Dauphiné. The sunny weather has moved on today and the riders have got their rain gear out.

@TrekFactory Fri, 12th Jun 2015 08:45:57

The riders are about to set off through the neutral section. At 183km, today is the second longest day of the whole race. Here's a look at the parcours for stage 6.

The start has been given and the riders are rolling through the neutral zone. The wet weather gear is out in force.

159 riders signed on this morning. We had one DNF yesterday and Yaroslav Popovych and Jesper Hanson didn't take the start today.

@Ride_Argyle Fri, 12th Jun 2015 09:02:31

The start proper has been given. Today's start has a historic note to it as the riders trace the Route Napoleon, following the path taken by the Emperor from the Elba island to Paris 200 years ago.

Yesterday saw a huge shake up in the overall classification, with Romain Bardet's attack on the penultimate climb catapulting him back up the standings, while Tejay van Garderen rode himself into yellow.

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

@Lotto_Soudal Fri, 12th Jun 2015 09:12:31

Two riders have gone up the road, Andrei Grivko and Niki Terpstra. The pair have a slim advantage of 17 seconds over the peloton.

170km remaining from 183km

The attack of Terpstra and Grivko has come to nought. They have been brought back by the peloton.

Tejay van Gerderen is in yellow today, after finishing second to Romain Bardet on Pra Loup. Hear what he had to say after the stage in this video. We've got plenty of videos coming in the next few weeks so remember to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don't miss a thin.

Seven riders have got away, including Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) who took the points at the top of the first climb. The full list of riders in this break are: Andriy Grivko (Astana), Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEdge), Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), Jonathan Castroviejo (Movistar), Alberto Losada (Katusha), Cyril Gautier (Europcar) and Stephen Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka)

163km remaining from 183km

Maxime Bouet and Julian Alaphilippe have joined the leaders, making it a group of nine out front but they have just 10 seconds on the bunch.

It's all back together again in the peloton as the nine leaders are caught. Mountains classification leader Daniel Teklehaimanot seems to be in trouble though as he is dropped. The MTN-Qhubeka rider has been on the attack for three stages so far.

The riders are on the descent of the first climb and 15 riders have now moved clear and yesterday's stage winner Bardet seems to be one of those who have broken free.

Yellow jersey Tejay van Garderen is also part of the move.

@TDWsport Fri, 12th Jun 2015 09:45:06

A full list of the 19 riders that went clear on that descent. The group has 35 seconds on a sky-led peloton.

Vincenzo Nibali and Andriy Grivko (Astana), Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo), Romain Bardet and JC Péraud (AG2R-La Mondiale), Adam and Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge), Tony Gallopin and Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), Jonathan Castroviejo, Gorka Izagirre and Rory Sutherland (Movistar), Alberto Losada (Katusha), Tejay van Garderen and Rohan Dennis (BMC), Julian Alapahilippe (Etixx), Rui Costa (Lampre), Cyril Gautier (Europcar) and Stephen Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka).

150km remaining from 183km

Sky are one of the few GC teams that missed this move and they've got to be worried. They've put Peter Kennaugh to the front to try and bring this back. While they might be able to bring the escapees back, they're going to be wasting valuable resources early on.

There are a lot of strong riders in the breakaway group and it seems that they don't want to work together. Alaphilippe and Cummings have gone clear with one other rider.

Van Garderen, Nibali and Bardet have gone back to the peloton. Without them the break has a much bigger chance of getting away. 10 riders are now ahead.

They are: Grivko, Péraud, Adam Yates, Gallopin, Castroviejo, Izagirre, Losada, Alaphilippe, Gautier and Cummings.

The group aren't happy yet with the composition of the break and they've only got 15 seconds advantage at the moment.

It's been a very fast first hour of racing and the average speed is currently 45.4kph. The peloton have brought back all the escapees and it's gruppo compatto once again.

135km remaining from 183km

The attacks are still flying out of the peloton but nothing is sticking at the moment. Cofidis are currently controlling things on the front of the bunch as the riders near the third climb of the day the Col de la Croix-Haute.

Vicente Reynes has abandoned. He's the first rider for IAM Cycling to leave the race.

132km remaining from 183km

Tony Martin has had enough and has gone for a solo attack.

@Cyclingnewsfeed Fri, 12th Jun 2015 10:15:56

127km remaining from 183km

After going on the attack earlier on, Alaphilippe has been dropped by the peloton, along with Joaquim Rodríguez. Tony Martin remains out front.

After Reynes called it quits, four more riders have decided to climb off their bikes. They are Martin Velits (Etixx-QuickStep), Caleb Fairly, Luka Mezgec (Giant-Alpecin) and Murillo Fisher (FDJ)

Up front, Tony Martin is forging on alone. He's now got 25 seconds on the peloton after 62km of racing.

Martin has 120km still to go. It's a long way to go on his own but he's proved that he could do it in the past. Remember the Vuelta 2013?

Martin may have some company soon as six rider, including Nibali, Valverder and Talansky, try to get across to him.

The high pace and wet weather is taking its toll on the riders out there and yet another rider climbs off. Yannick Martinez makes it six riders to call it a day during this stage 6.

@daniellloyd1 Fri, 12th Jun 2015 10:35:06

115km remaining from 183km

Tony Martin still holds a 30 second advantage over the peloton as he hits the top of the third climb of the day. The chasers behind him have been caught, as Rodríguez rejoins the peloton from the back.

@dauphine Fri, 12th Jun 2015 10:41:50

After a valiant effort, Martin has been brought back by the peloton. He's been replaced by Vincenzo Nibali who has now gone on the attack.

Nibali had a bad day yesterday after he was dropped on the final climb but he seems to be back with a vengeance today.

After a short descent, the riders are climbing again. Here are the full results on the Croix Haute.

1. Simon Yates (Orica), 5 points

2. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), 3

3. Dan Martin (Cannondale), 2

4. John Gadret (Movistar), 1

Nibali is near the top of the Col de Grimone and he has 20 seconds on the bunch. He's known for his descending skills and he's got a very long descent on the other side to put them into practice.

Nibali is on the descent now and he's got 45 seconds. How much can he build on that on this long downhill stretch?

Vincenzo Nibali is currently 1:33 down on van Garderen in the overall classification after getting dropped yesterday. Perhaps he was inspired by Bardet's ride yesterday or maybe this is a super training ride.

Nibali finally has some company with Tony Gallopin, Alejandro Valverde, Tony Martin and Rui Costa all bridging over.

Best placed of the riders out front is Valverde. He is one place ahead of Nibali and has a five-second buffer.  He too was dropped during yesterday's stage.

Behind the leaders, the peloton has been cut down to an elite few riders. The race leader van Garderen is in the group along with Froome and defending champion Talansky.

This is how it looks in the second group on the road: Andrew Talansky and Daniel Martin (Cannondale-Garmin),Chris  Froome (Sky), Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo), Romain Bardet (AG2R), Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge), Jose Herrada and Benat Intxausti (Movistar), Tejay Van Garderen (BMC), Robert Kiserlovski (Trek Factory Racing) and Jose Serpa (Lampre-Merida)

After two hours of racing the riders have averaged 42.3kph, which is ahead of the fastest predicted time schedule. The riders really want to get out of the rain.

Never one to say no to a chance to go on the attack, Tony Martin has distanced his break companions. He has an 18-second lead over the Nibali group.

91km remaining from 183km

The yellow jersey group is now 1:25 behind but Talansky has a mechanical problem and he is no longer part of it.

A quick run-down of how it looks out on the road. Tony Martin has an 18-second gap on a four-man chase group that includes Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde.

The yellow jersey group, which also contains Chris Froome, is a further 1:07 back. They're on the long descent of the Col de Grimone and next up is the first category ascent of the Col du Rousset.

An update on that time check and the yellow jersey group is now 2:40 behind Martin, who is really charging down this descent. The German rider has 20 seconds on the chasers.

With the time gaps as they are, Valverde is the yellow jersey out on the road. Valverde is a former two-time champion of this race.

The Nibali group have caught back up with Martin. They have 2:50 on the yellow jersey group behind.

A lot of riders have managed to get back onto the peloton on the descent and it has grown to about 50 riders.

74km remaining from 183km

The leaders are reaching the bottom of this long descent. The road levels out for a few kilometres before they start the Col du Rousset, a 13.4-kilometre climb that averages 5.4-kilometres.

@dauphine Fri, 12th Jun 2015 11:31:45

Teammates Julian Alaphilippe and Maxime Bouet have abandoned. This has been a high attrition day.

There will be more WorldTour racing beginning tomorrow with the start of the Tour de Suisse. Get ahead of the game with our race preview.

67km remaining from 183km

The leaders are onto the first cat Col du Rousset and the gap has gone up to 3:25. The very fast pace means that the riders are well ahead of schedule.

@daniellloyd1 Fri, 12th Jun 2015 11:43:52

Arnaud Jeannesson is also out of the race.

The gap has come down a little bit but it still holds at three minutes for our five escapees.

If the break is successful then it could have a big impact on the general classification. TO include Nibali and Valverde, here is a look at how the top 15 looked this morning.

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
11 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN - Qhubeka 0:01:27
12 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:28
13 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:01:33
14 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:01:35
15 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Lampre-Merida 0:01:43

59km remaining from 183km

The advantage to the five leaders briefly dropped to under three minutes. The escapees obviously got the message to get a shimmy on and they've brought it back out to 3:10.

It's AG2R-La Mondiale doing the chase. After Bardet's big effort to move himself into a podium position yesterday they don't want to lose out.

Nacer Bouhanni is dropped from the group of favourites. An impressive job from the Frenchman to have held on that long.

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The average speed hasn't abated over the third hour. As the riders near the top of the penultimate climb, they've been averaging 41.8kph.

52km remaining from 183km

Nibali has attacked and taken Valverde and Costa with him. Martin and Gallopin have been dropped. There's 10 seconds between the two groups.

Martin and Gallopin are now 25 seconds behind the Nibali group. The yellow-jersey group are a further 2:50 down the road.

The leaders are descending the Col du Rousset and they've now got 3:30 on the peloton. This stage really has been something. Aggressive right from the off and hardly a moment for the riders to catch their breath. Valverde may be about to ride himself into yellow.

Martin and Gallopin have rejoined the other three leaders on the descent. They have 3:30 on the peloton with 45km to go. Nibali was the first over the climb, taking full points.

1. Vincenzo Nibali, 10 points

2. Alejandro Valverde, 8

3. Rui Costa, 6

4. Tony Gallopin, 4

5. Tony Martin, 2

40km remaining from 183km

The gap is edging out gradually with just only a few small rises before the final 3rd cat climb to the finish. The five leaders have 3:36 on the peloton.

34km remaining from 183km

It's now BMC at the front of the peloton. They're at risk of losing their yellow jersey. The gap is 3:12.

Tinkoff-Saxo are also helping with the chasing but they're struggling to really bring down the gap to the escapees. With 32km to go the leaders still have 3:06.

The rain is really hammering it down on the riders. They'll be happy that this is going to end quicker than expected but BMC won't be happy if they can't bring back this leading five.

BMC have brought the gap down to under three minutes once again. They now are still 2:45 down though.

25km remaining from 183km

Tony Martin has stopped taking turns on the front of the leader's group. Perhaps he's tired or maybe he's biding his time for another attack before the finish.

Van Garderen only has two teammates with him as Tinkoff-Saxo put Chris Anker Sorensen at the front. The peloton is losing ground again.

23km remaining from 183km

Vincenzo Nibali takes off his rain jacket and he is quickly followed by Martin and Costa. They're getting ready for the action to kick off.

The gap is coming out once again to 2:55. Amidst the GC contenders we can see the green jersey of Nacer Bouhanni in the main group. A great ride from the Frenchman to keep in touch as the peloton is whittled down.

The leaders are on another little rise but it isn't classified. Of the terrain left, only the final 2km of the stage are classified.

It looks like Tony Martin was tired. He's been dropped from the leading group.

19km remaining from 183km

30 seconds between Martin and the leaders now. Behind them, van Garderen is without any teammates. The peloton is 2:55 behind the four escapees.

Philippe Mauduit the Lampre-Merida DS comes up and gives some advice to Rui Costa. The Portuguese rider as a fast kick is certainly one of the favourites for the victory from this group.

Now Vincenzo Nibali drops back. He seems to have as problem with his gears. Nibali won't want to come to the line with this group. He'll have to attack close to the finish if he wants to win the stage.

Along with his former teammate Costa, Valverde is a favourite to take the stage. He can rely on e good sprint and can bide his time to the finish. Could he do the double whammy and take yellow too. Looks like he might.

We can't forget Gallopin in this group. While his palmares might not be as illustrious as his break companions the Frenchman has form. A late attack from him could deliver him to victory.

13km remaining from 183km

Tony Martin is back with the peloton now and he is immediately dropped. AG2R-La Mondiale have moved to the front to help Tinkoff-Saxo out. The gap is just over three minutes at the moment.

Tony Martin does not look like a happy man right now. He's exhausted himself with his efforts today and he's just saving energy for the days ahead.

Team Sky in the mix now at the front of the chasing group. After Froome's big effort yesterday they will be really disappointed to have missed out on this move.

11km remaining from 183km

As the peloton descend, the leaders are climbing again. 2:54 separate the two groups.

Nibali keeps putting in little digs on the front of the leading group. Looks like he's trying to soften up the others before a big attack.

Kiserlovski attacks and he is followed by Van Garderen. No reaction from Froome yet.

The rain seems to be easing off now, which will be welcomed by the riders.

10km remaining from 183km

The attacks have distanced a large number of riders. Froome has been forced to do the chasing. He's got Intxausti and Bardet in his wheel.

Froome has bridged the gap and Van Garderen has found himself on the front of the group of favourites. He's looking around for some help as he hasn't got any teammates left.

Kelderman, Simon Yates, Talansky and Dan Martin all appear to have kept touch throughout the attacks.

8km remaining from 183km

The gap is bouncing up and down as the group of favourites start looking nat each other. It currently stands at 2:50.

Lots of digs now coming off the front of the group. Talansky goes, with van Garderen leading the chase. He's then caught and the group of favourites are now working well together as Yates attacks.

Dan Martin attacks now and he's followed by Gadret, who will not give him any assistance.

4km remaining from 183km

The gap has come down really quickly and they've only got 2:21. Valverde still virtual yellow jersey though.

Riders keep trying to go off the front as Bardet crashes.

Bardet went down really hard as the bike slips out from under him. He's back on his bike but he looks dazed.

Bardet went down really hard as the bike slips out from under him. He's back on his bike but he looks dazed.

3km remaining from 183km

Gallopin attacks the lead group

No reaction from the others behind. Valverde is on the front of the group but he looks reluctant to do the work.

Behind the leaders the chasing group ihas come back together. And we get our first sight of Rodríguez.

Appologies some mis information. Martin, Gadret and Benoot are still up the road ahead of the Van Garderen group. Yates is somewhere out there too.

1km remaining from 183km

The leaders are on the final climb and Nibali sneaks up the inside and attacks after Gallopin.

Costa is chasing Nibali but Valverde can't react. He looks done. Nibali has gone past Gallopin.

Nibali's got just over a kilometre remaining. He's got 2:38 on van Garderen and he's now the virtual yellow jersey.

Froomeis struggling. He's been distanced by van Garderen.

Costa can see Nibali. He's about to catch him with 300m to go

Costa has the faster finish. Surely this is his

Costa wins

Nibali is second and now we have the countback. Will he be in yellow this evening?

Valverde beats Gallopin to take third. He gets some bonus seconds but he finishes over 30 seconds down.

Simon Yates puts in a great effort to finish fifth. He'll be in the white jersey after that ride.

Dan Martin and Gadret come over 1:53 down, with Benoot a little behnd them.

Froome passed van Garderen somewhere on the road. They come across the line a few seconds apart but they're over two minutes down on Costa and Nibali. Nibali is the new yellow jersey.

Romain Bardet has also made it home but he's about a minute behind yates. The Orica rider was only 28 seconds behind him this morning so Yates should be in white.

Wow what a stage we've just had. Yesterday's finish was great but this has been action packed since the start. Nothing is straight forward in this Dauphiné it seems.

After that stage the new overall top 10 has Nibali in yellow, 29 seconds ahead of Costa. Valverde is a further second behind with van Garderen dropping down to fifth. Bardet has dropped out of the top 10 totally after his crash.

The top 10 standings from today's great stage

1 Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 4:29:23
2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:05
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:38
4 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:00:39
5 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 0:01:24
6 Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:01:46
7 John Gadret (Fra) Movistar Team 0:01:48
8 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:59
9 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:02:12
10 Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team

As Costa steps onto the podium to accept his flowers and toy cow, let's take a look at what that stage did to the overall standings.

1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 22:34:17
2 Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida 0:00:29
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:30
4 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica GreenEdge 0:00:35
5 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:00:42
6 Benat Intxausti (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:57
7 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky 0:01:21
8 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 0:01:29
9 Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:01:30
10 Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team 0:02:07

A firm handshake from Bernard Hinault as he steps up on stage to claim his yellow jersey. His race looked over yesterday but he has come back in style. A very aggressive stage from the Italian national champion.

The fight for the general classification is far from over after today. An absolute stonker in store for the riders tomorrow with five first category climbs, including a summit finish.

@dauphine Fri, 12th Jun 2015 13:50:31

Re-live all the action from today with our report, including photos and results. We'll continue adding more as the afternoon progresses.

@irishpeloton Fri, 12th Jun 2015 13:59:34

That's it from us today, thank you for joining us for stage six of the Dauphiné. Tune in tomorrow for what is set to be another great day of racing and remember to check in on our race report.