As Richie Porte (BMC Racing) no doubt will be aware, the final podium at the Criterium du Dauphine can change in the blink of an eye. So with one stage still to go the Australian will be wary of celebrating before the moment he crosses the line on stage 8.
Porte leads the race by over a minute from Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), with the former virtually admitting that the race for the yellow jersey was effectively over after Porte dropped him on the slopes of Alpe d’Huez during stage 7.However stage 8, the final day’s racing in this year’s Dauphine, is far from straightforward, with four major climbs sandwiched into just 115km between Albertville and Plateau de Solaison.
Last season, Porte lost out on a podium spot on the last climb of the last stage after Team Sky blocked him on the dash to the line. If that can happen in the final few hundred meters, then almost anything can happen over 115 kilometres of mountainous terrain.
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“The stages like tomorrow are always the trickiest,” Porte said in his stage 7 post-race press conference.
“There are guys who are around a minute off GC, and you just don’t know who is going to try and jump in the breakaway or attack. Tactically for us we’ve got a really good team, and I’m going to rely on them tomorrow. We’ll see who wants to gamble their GC because Jakob Fulgsang showed that he’s in super form, too, and I’m not sure he would rather podium.”
Fabio Aru has looked spritely in this year’s race and sits fourth at 1:41, while Alejandro Valverde, Romain Bardet and Alberto Contador are all within 2:15 of Porte. Contador has steadily improved over the last few days and although his gaze is firmly on the Tour he may initiate an early break over a parcours that suits him.
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