Dauphine: Fuglsang wins stage 6

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Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) beat BMC's Richie Porte, Sky's Chris Froome and his teammate Fabio Aru in a throw to the line after the four distanced their rivals on the fearsome Mont du Chat climb and the equally fearsome twisting descent on stage 6 of the Criterium du Dauphine.

Fuglsang and had Aru attacked together near the summit of the 10 per cent climb, with Aru first to the summit as he showed he is back on form after a terrible spring. He was joined by the other three on the nerve-wracking descent, with speeds measuring over 90km/h.

Froome managed to go clear at one point, but the quartet came back together on the final flat roads, with Froome obliged to chase down a late attack from Fuglsang after he was caught taking a late drink from his bidon.

Fuglsang still had something left for the sprint, and so did Froome and Porte. However, the Briton closed the door on Porte along the barriers as Fuglsang kicked down the middle of the road. Froome’s move delayed Porte’s effort and so Fuglsang beat him by an inch or so after both threw their bikes at the line. Froome was third with Aru just behind. It was thrilling to watch.

Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished 50 seconds back, with Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) a further back at 1:06 as a clear pecking order of form emerged. With Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) losing eight minutes, Porte pulled on the leader’s yellow jersey and set up his shot at overall victory. He now leads Froome by 39 seconds with Fuglsang third overall at 1:15 and Valverde sitting in fourth at 1:20.

It was Fuglsang’s first ever WorldTour victory, his first win since 2012 and his first in Astana colours. After a difficult spring for Astana, marked by the tragic death of Michele Scarponi just before the Giro d’Italia, the Dane was happy to have made a breakthrough.

“There's been a lot of bad luck for our team this year, but finally everything seems to come together, and we start to be competitive. Luckily it's now, right before the Tour de France,” he said. “To ride like this at the Dauphine like this, with two guys at the front with the two other favourites for the Tour, it's really nice. It’s also nice for me personally to win for the first time. It's a huge relief.”

Porte was equally as happy and equally as upbeat after the first test in the Alps before the Tour de France.

“There were a lot of attacks, but we stayed calm, but I was just happy to come over the top with Chris Froome, Jakob Fuglsang and Fabio Aru in front. It was a good stage with a crazy descent. I think I'm in a good place,” he said. “It's just incredible feeling to get the yellow jersey, but I know the next two days will be super hard. However, I feel up to it. I've got the team to try and finish it up on Sunday.”

The Mont du Chat shake out

The Mont du Chat revealed the true values and form of the riders at this year’s Criterium du Dauphine after five stages of breakaways and the 23.5km time trial on Wednesday.

The 8.7km climb rises through the trees at 10.3 per cent, while the descent overlooks the Lac du Bourget and Aix-les-Bains in the heart of the Alps. The Mont du Chat will also be part of a key mountain stage in the Tour de France, with the climb and descent likely to be just as important as it was at the Criterium du Dauphine.

This time the gradient quickly shook out the peloton, first from the back as many slipped out of contention, then up front as attacks were made and were pulled back. An early break gained over eight minutes, but the chase by the BMC team and then AGR La Mondiale confirmed Porte and Bardet’s intentions. The Frenchman was one of the first to attack but paid for his effort and was a caught and passed by his rivals in the decisive final two kilometres.

Aru showed his return to form with an aggressive attack and joined and then passed Fuglsang in the final kilometre. Behind Valverde – who had also tried an early move, faded with Contador, while Porte, Froome paced their effort better and went after Aru. Behind Dan Martin, Valverde and Bardet came together. They pulled back some seconds but are now more than a minute down on race leader Porte.

Porte will have the honour and responsibility of wearing the leader’s jersey during Saturday’s second big mountain stage to Alpe d’Huez. The stage climbs to the sky resort via the back roads of the Col de Sarenne rather than the famous hairpins, offering another chance to see the overall contenders fight for the victory right to the very finish line.

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