Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) beat BMC's Richie Porte, Sky's Chris Froome and his teammate Fabio Aru in a throw to the line after the four distanced their rivals on the fearsome Mont du Chat climb and the equally fearsome twisting descent on stage 6 of the Criterium du Dauphine.
Fuglsang and had Aru attacked together near the summit of the 10 per cent climb, with Aru first to the summit as he showed he is back on form after a terrible spring. He was joined by the other three on the nerve-wracking descent, with speeds measuring over 90km/h.
Froome managed to go clear at one point, but the quartet came back together on the final flat roads, with Froome obliged to chase down a late attack from Fuglsang after he was caught taking a late drink from his bidon.
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Fuglsang still had something left for the sprint, and so did Froome and Porte. However, the Briton closed the door on Porte along the barriers as Fuglsang kicked down the middle of the road. Froome’s move delayed Porte’s effort and so Fuglsang beat him by an inch or so after both threw their bikes at the line. Froome was third with Aru just behind. It was thrilling to watch.
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale), Dan Martin (Quick-Step Floors) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished 50 seconds back, with Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo) a further back at 1:06 as a clear pecking order of form emerged. With Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal) losing eight minutes, Porte pulled on the leader’s yellow jersey and set up his shot at overall victory. He now leads Froome by 39 seconds with Fuglsang third overall at 1:15 and Valverde sitting in fourth at 1:20.
It was Fuglsang’s first ever WorldTour victory, his first win since 2012 and his first in Astana colours. After a difficult spring for Astana, marked by the tragic death of Michele Scarponi just before the Giro d’Italia, the Dane was happy to have made a breakthrough.
The Mont du Chat shake out
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