Stage 4 of the Criterium du Dauphine was supposed to be a stage for the sprinters and a relative day off for the overall contenders, and although Edvald Boasson Hagen came away with the win, it was Chris Froome (Team Sky) who benefited after his principle rivals lost time in the uphill finish.
The Team Sky rider glued himself to the front runners and finished 14th on the stage. Alberto Contador and Richie Porte – the two other favourites for the Dauphine – finished nine seconds down. Contador still leads the race but his advantage has been cut from 13 to four seconds over Froome. With three tough mountain stages to come the Team Sky rider is breathing right down Contador’s neck.
And while Contador has looked to deflect attention of the importance of the Dauphine, Froome has repeatedly made a case of using the defence of his Dauphine crown as part of his Tour preparation.
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“From the word go here I’ve said that this is an important race for me,” a determined Froome told Cyclingnews at the finish of the stage.
“The Dauphine is an important race in it’s own right. Yes, it’s the last race for me in the build up before the Tour but it’s important in it’s own right.”
When asked about the splits in the peloton, Froome added, “I didn’t expect to make up time today, definitely not. On paper it was a pretty straight forward sprint.”
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