Belgian Jan Bakelants (Omega Pharma) won stage 6 of the Critérium du Dauphiné Friday, taking a two-man sprint from a breakaway ahead of Dutch rider Lieuwe Westra (Astana).
Race leader Chris Froome (Sky) crashed with about 8km remaining, but was quickly back on his bike, and crossed the line with the main peloton, bruised and bloodied, with rips to his yellow jersey and black bib shorts.
In the final sprint, Westra looked poised to win as the two men came around a right-hand turn and Westra pinched Bakelants into the barriers. However Westra left open a slight gap on the inside of the turn, allowing Bakelants to just slip past for the stage win.
“Westra closed the door on me, and I actually thought I might fall for a second,” Bakelants said.
Bakelants’ teammate Zdenek Stybar took the group sprint for third, 24 seconds later.
Over three minutes later, Richie Porte led Sky across the finish line with the main bunch, with Froome looking a bit worse for the wear.
“There was a bit of a crash in the final there,” Froome said. “It’s quite painful, but I was okay to finish the stage, I’m just a little bit grazed for tomorrow. [Injuries are to] the hip, elbow, shoulder… I just want to thank the other riders for neutralizing the race. It was big of them, and showed good sportsmanship. I’m not too sure what happened. It was on a descent, there was a bit of a hole in road. I hit the hole, and lost my front wheel.”
Check back for more from the Critérium du Dauphiné, including results, photos, and quotes from the key players.
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