Daniel Martinez wins Critérium du Dauphiné

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Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling) claimed the biggest win of his budding career when he finished second to Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) on the final stage 5 of the Critérium du Dauphiné at Megève Altiport. The 24-year-old Colombian finished 29 seconds clear on GC of Frenchman Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), who had started the day as race leader following the abandon of Jumbo's Primož Roglič, with Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) 41 seconds back in third.

The topsy-turvy stage enhanced the Dauphiné's reputation for producing thrilling action over its final weekend. After a deliberately slow start by the riders to protest their displeasure with the poor condition of yesterday's descent from the Col de Plan Bois, four hours of relentless attacks and counters began with an offensive by an 11-man group containing Pinot and several other GC contenders on the Côte de Domancy, the first of eight climbs.

When the race returned to the slopes of that famous hill that was the main difficulty on the circuit where Bernard Hinault won the world title in 1980, Pinot lost ground on his rivals, and Martínez became the leader on the road. Although the Colombian's advantage fluctuated and he came under pressure from compatriot Miguel Angel López (Astana) and, late on, from a resurgent Pinot, he controlled the situation perfectly, judging his effort particularly well on the final climb.

"When they told me this morning that Roglič wasn't starting, I knew that the race would be frantic from the start. When Pinot and Landa went clear, the team worked for me and I kept myself as fresh as possible in the hope that I could win the race," said the Colombian.

"My DS was giving me the time gaps on Pinot on the final climb. I was right at my limit but completely determined right to the end. This is one of the most important races in the world, some famous Colombians have won it and to join them makes me very happy. The Tour is also one of my objectives but I'm staying calm and keeping my feet on the ground."

Freed of the responsibility of protecting Jumbo leader Roglič, Kuss seized the chance to confirm the impression that he has been one of the strongest climbers at the Dauphiné. The 25-year-old American reached the climb up to the Altiport as part of a five-man group of precocious talents that also included Colombian duo Martínez and López, plus Pavel Sivakov (Team Ineos) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates).

As soon as the quintet reached the steepest ramps, López slipped back while Kuss accelerated off the front, his stage win never looking in doubt over the 8km climb up to the line.

"After yesterday it was strange waking up in the morning, we were all a bit shocked," said Kuss. "It was weird day with all of the crashes. But it gave us the opportunity to race aggressively. It was one of the hardest days I've ever had on the bike. It was full on from the start, everyone was really tired and I thought I could take advantage of that and also take advantage of being lower down on GC.

"I love being a helper but I also want to win races. This is a nice confirmation after my Vuelta win. It's nice winning from a break like I did at the Vuelta, but on a stage like today I had to go head to head with the best riders," said Kuss. "It's a morale boost going into the Tour, it gives you a sense of calm too."

How it unfolded

Roglič's pre-stage abandon left everyone wondering who would control the stage with Jumbo, the race's dominant team, no longer having a rider in contention for the title. The answer was quickly revealed: nobody would. A stage of frantic attacking began with that first ascent of the Domancy, Pinot among the escapees, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Sivakov and Pogacar also prominent.

On the first-catgory ascent of the Col de la Colombière, the stage's third climb, Sivakov went clear and was joined by Alaphilippe, the pair gaining a lead of close to two minutes. Behind, the sorting of the GC contenders was already well under way. Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic), Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) slipped out of the picture.

Descending from the stage's fifth climb, the fourth-cat Côte de la Frassette, Sivakov lost control of his bike and slid to the ground. Despite significant grazing down his left side, the Russian was quickly back in the saddle and managed to regain contact with Alaphilippe going onto the Domancy for the second time.

The GC favourites were now within a minute of the pair, though, and closed in further when Pogacar attacked at the foot of the Domancy. López joined him immediately. Kuss and Martínez then bridged across to them, with Pinot unable to respond. These four then swept across to Sivakov and Alaphilippe ahead of the penultimate climb of the Côte de Cordon, where their advantage of Pinot's group reached 1-20.

Alaphilippe couldn't stay with the pace here and fell back to the Pinot group, where he pulled hard on the front for his compatriot before dropping away for good, leaving his compatriot in a pursuit match with Martínez and López over the final dozen kilometres. As the five leaders played cat and mouse, Pinot's group closed to within 30 seconds.

Heading towards the final climb, López, just six seconds behind Martínez on GC, took a flyer, but was quickly reeled in and then dropped as the ascent began. Freed of his closest rival, Martínz's task was now tactically simple: ride as hard as he could and maintain his advantage on Pinot. He didn't try to chase Kuss when the American attacked, but kept working with Sivakov and Pogacar, until the final kilometre where he first dropped the Russia and then outsprinted the Slovene. The title was his.