Criterium du Dauphine: Fuglsang takes overall victory

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Jakob Fuglsang secured overall victory at the Criterium du Dauphine after his Astana team controlled his GC rivals and efficiently dissuaded any attacks on the final mountain stage to Champery across the French border into Switzerland in the heart of the Alps.

Fuglsang started the stage with an eight-second lead on Adam Yates, but the Mitchelton-Scott rider surprisingly abandoned with 50km left to race, his team revealing he was suffering with a fever. Fuglsang’s other rivals lacked the terrain and courage to try to crack him, and so the Astana blue train gave the Dane an armchair ride to the finish.

Dylan van Baarle (Team Ineos) won the 113km stage after being part of the 13-rider move of the day. He and Jack Haig (Mitchelton-Scott) were the strongest on the final climbs and rode to the finish together, with van Baarle using his better speed and sprint skills to win. Astana brought the GC group home some 1:59 down on van Baarle to begin the celebrations and give Fuglsang his second overall victory in the French stage race, two years after his first.

Yates abandonment meant that Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) finished second overall, 20 seconds down on Fuglsang, with Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) confirming his stage race credentials with third overall at 21 seconds. Wout Poels (Team Ineos) was fourth at 28 seconds.

"I jumped in the blue limousine and they rode me to the finish," Fuglsang joked about the strength of his Astana team during the final stage.

"I expect the day to be even harder than it turned out to be, but my teammates did a great job and controlled it so perfect. We got a nice group up front; the best guy was five minutes down or something in the GC. Yates stopped for some reason and Kruijswijk had problems too; maybe yesterday was hard for some due to the cold and today then the team did the rest for me.”

Fuglsang won the 2017 Criterium du Dauphine but savoured this one more after riding the final stage in the leader’s yellow jersey. In 2017 he snatched victory from Richie Porte on the final stage.

"This one is special because I got to ride in the yellow jersey. In 2017 I won 2 stages but this one is different, I’m super happy to bring the jersey to finish and win,” he said.

Next up is a certain Grand Tour in July.

"I think my next race is another one in France.... I’m looking forward to it," Fuglsang joked with confidence. "I think I’m in the right way and that this year can be a good year for me. This has been a fantastic season and I hope it can get even better.

"This year everything seems to come really easy and perfectly. It makes it so much easier, there’s no stress and everything comes automatically. Also the whole Astana team is super strong and everybody is lifting everyone else, there’s a good atmosphere, it’s really good."

A short, controlled but intense final stage

The 113km stage was short but intense, but the lack of a steep mountain finish and the strength of the Astana squad were a blow to the hopes of Fuglsang’s overall rivals.

Team Ineos tried to set a fast pace and Thibaut Pinot made one acceleration, but Fuglsang never looked in trouble. He carefully let the break of 13 riders go away and then enjoyed the sky blue limo ride to the finish.

In the attack where van Baarle, Haig, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step), Felix Grosshartner (Bora-Hansgrohe), Carlos Verona (Movistar), Sebastian Reichenbach (Groupama-FDJ), Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Julien Bernard (Trek-Segafredo), Carl Fredrik Hagen (Lotto-Soudal), Hermann Pernsteiner (Bahrain-Merida), Alessandro De Marchi (CCC) and Warren Barguil (Arkea-Samsic).

Some were there for a GC teammate, others chasing the stage victory, but they worked well together over the rolling roads towards the Swiss border. Alaphilippe was there to sweep up the final mountain points and so win the blue polka-dot jersey. He did that with ease but then faltered when he turned his attention to winning the stage.

The 8.5km Côte des Rives with 20km to race proved fatal for Alaphilippe and saw Haig distance all his rivals. Van Baarle joined him at the right moment and everyone faded out of contention.

Hagen went close as Alaphilippe eased up, but Haig and van Baarle showed their form and talent by holding off the chase. Haig perhaps made a mistake in the sprint, and van Baarle made sure he hit out from the front close to the line, punching the air in celebration and giving Team Ineos a second consecutive stage victory after the emotions of Chris Froome's crash.

"The plan was that me and Gianni Moscon would go in the breakaway to try and help Wout (Poel), but it turned out a bit differently. I’m so happy," van Baarle said.

"This week had its ups and downs and everyone knows what happen with Chris. I’m happy the team did really great with that. I’m just really happy. In the past I really struggled in this race but I trained and worked so hard to be good here, I’m happy this came out of it all."

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