Jesus Herrada (Movistar) surprised the overall contenders and some late attackers to win the uphill sprint at the end of stage two of the Criterium du Dauphine in Chalmazel – Jeansagnière, after the gradual 6.8km climb to the finish tested the form and lined out the riders.
Herrada timed his final surge perfectly. He opened a gap on the peloton pushing a big gear and then passed the late attackers on the outside of the final curve, just in time to hit the front and celebrate his victory.
Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) hung on to finish a disappointed second place, with Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data) taking third place after both were in the late attack that went clear with 15km to go. They seemed set to fight for victory but Herrada passed them in sight of the finish line.
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Chris Froome (Team Sky) made sure he was at the head of the group of overall contenders, finishing eighth. Provisional results showed that Froome gained four seconds on race leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) due to a gap in the line of riders at the finish but the final results cancelled any gain, leaving Froome third overall at 13 seconds, with Richie Porte (BMC) second at six seconds.
The big losers of the day were Frenchmen Romain Bardet and Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R-La Mondiale). They tangled and crashed in the heat of the finale and Bardet lost 45 seconds despite chasing hard.
Herrada was overjoyed with his stage victory.
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