Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) used his sprinting skills and a late surge to win the first road stage of the Criterium du Dauphine in Saint-Vulbas.
The 186km stage was a quiet affair but exploded in the final two kilometres as the Cofidis and Katusha trains clashed at high-speed, as they fought to control the lead out.
Bouhanni is not afraid to fight for a wheel and first clashed with Alexander Kristoff (Katusha), banging shoulder, handlebars and heads as they fought for the leadout wheel. He eventually let the Norwegian sit on his teammate but then jumped on Sam Bennett’s wheel – as the Irishman started his sprint early, and then accelerated past the him to win.
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Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal) came through to finish second in the sprint, with Bennett holding on for third place. Kristoff was blocked in during the sprint to the line and finished out of the top ten.
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) finished safely in the peloton and so kept the overall race lead he secured by winning Sunday’s uphill prologue time trial. He leads Richie Porte (BMC) by six seconds, with Chris Froome (Team Sky) third overall at 13 seconds.
Froome was also involved in a scare in the final three kilometres as rider’s clashed and moved across the road. The Briton twice went close to losing his balance but stayed up and finished safely in the peloton.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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