The last metres of the last stage. Jacob Fuglsang has attacked on the final climb, dropped Daniel Martin and the stage win is his. Behind Richie Porte has been chasing alone for the best part of 35km to defend his yellow jersey, first from an attack by Fabio Aru and Alejandro Valverde, then to contain Chris Froome and finally to try and prevent Fuglsang. But the Dane won the stage, took the time bonus and with it the overall classification.
The final stage, 115km with four major climbs packed into the route before the tough summit finish to the Plateau de Solaison.
More mountains as the Dauphiné swaps the unfamiliar Jura mountains for old haunts among the Alps. There’s novelty with the climb of the Col de Sarenne used to approach Alpe d’Huez instead of the famous 21 hairpins.
The mountains are here and no less than the Mont du Chat, once rated by Le Cycle magazine as “one of the hardest” climbs in France. There’s no escaping the double-digit gradients, nor the sluggish road surface and this makes a novel challenge, the kind of climb rarely seen in French stage races. It’s a selective climb followed by a perilous descent to the finish.
So far the breakaways have had fared well, can they defy the sprinters again? Surely not because this is the last chance for the sprinters before the mountains appear.
The crucial time trial stage to reshape the overall classification and an early test of fitness for all the Tour de France contenders.
Another sprint stage after scenic riding, some memories from the past for Fabio Aru and all one day closer to the Alps.
A day characterised by long straight roads more than the climbs, this should be one for the sprinters.
A scenic tour out of the city of Saint Etienne with a tough finishing circuit that could allow the overall contenders to show their form already, if not then some of the more versatile sprinters on the startlist will seize their chance.
The Critérium du Dauphiné starts on Sunday 4 June and lasts for a week. A concentrated version of the Tour de France including some roads ahead of July as well as an A-list of Tour de France contenders in action. Here’s a look at the contenders for the yellow jersey.