Last stage in the Criterium du Dauphine:
June 10, Stage 7: Morzine - Châtel 126km
Bradley Wiggins retains his Critérium du Dauphiné title
Daniel Moreno (Katusha) won the final stage of the Criterium du Dauphine, whilst Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) easily secured his second consecutive overall title. Moreno slipped by Rabobank's Luis Leon Sanchez just before the finish line to take the win, with Cadel Evans of BMC Racing Team third.
The final stage with its five ranked climbs and category three mountaintop finish did not change the final podium. Wiggins took the overall win, with teammate Michael Rogers second and Evans third. Christopher Froome was fourth, giving Team Sky three of the top four slots.
The final stage with its five ranked climbs and category three mountaintop finish did not change the final podium. Wiggins took the overall win, with teammate Michael Rogers second and Evans third. Christopher Froome was fourth, giving Team Sky three of the top four slots.
Five more climbs and a mountaintop finish
The final stage of the Dauphine was anything but a simple run-in to the finish. Five ranked climbs were along the way, including the category one Col du Corbier only 24km from the finish.
Several small groups got away early on, before merging into a group of eight: Dmitriy Fofonov (Astana), Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack), Christophe Le Mével (Garmin), Sylvain Chavanel and Stijn Vandenbergh (Omega), Jerome Coppel (Saur) and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM). They never had much of a lead, and with 35km to go, only Chavanel, Rolland, Coppel and Westra were still away, with Chavanel the next to be dropped.
The trio took a 1:44 lead up the Corbier. Behind them, Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) was dropped on the climb, as he continued to struggle with injuries from a crash earlier in the race. Earlier Thomas Voeckler of Europcar had abandoned with knee problems.
Sky worked to protect Wiggins's lead, moving to the front of the field. BMC had the same idea, hoping to not only hold on to Evans's third place but perhaps also with a stage win in mind.
As the field neared the summit, a handful of riders tried to get away. They never really got away and eventually Wiggins himself calmly led the chase and catch.
It was a reduced field which flew down the many switchbacks of the descent. Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas-Cannondale was at the head of things, and, after having been dropped the previous day, took off in an apparent attempt to salvage what he could.
Westra seemed to be struggling on that climb, and fell back for good on the descent, leaving Coppel and Rolland alone in the lead. Nibali was rapidly approaching, and the field wasn't far away either.
Nibali and Westra joined forces, but the Italian was unable to hold on, soon dropping back to the field. Westra was soon caught by the BMC-led field, as well, and with 13km to go, the gap was down to about 30 seconds to the two leaders.
With the two leaders in sight, Alexandre Geniez of Argos-Shimano took off out of the field. With some 6km to go, he caught them, but the field was only a few second back.
By then Katusha had moved to the head of the field, and with 5km to go, Rolland and Coppel shook hands and resigned themselves to their fate. They still took a minimal lead up the closing climb, but with 2.4km to go, they were all caught.
Katusha roared up the climb, with Evans noticeably close to the front in his green points jersey.
Evans made his move, but it was Luis Leon Sanchez who looked to have made the decisive move with 250m to go. But Moreno went with him and was able to slip past him at the last second for the win. Evans took third.
Stage Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha Team | 2:59:37 | |
| 2 | Luis-Leon Sanchez (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team | ||
| 3 | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | ||
| 4 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling | ||
| 5 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | ||
| 6 | Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge | ||
| 7 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | ||
| 8 | Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep | ||
| 9 | Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling | ||
| 10 | Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling | 0:00:07 |
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling | 26:40:46 | |
| 2 | Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling | 0:01:17 | |
| 3 | Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:26 | |
| 4 | Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:01:45 | |
| 5 | Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 0:02:12 | |
| 6 | Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team | 0:02:58 | |
| 7 | Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team | 0:03:07 | |
| 8 | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team | 0:03:26 | |
| 9 | Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling | 0:03:34 | |
| 10 | Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Radioshack-Nissan | 0:03:50 |
So Bradley Wiggins won overall. It was a great race for him and Team Sky! However, some people are saying that Wiggins hasn't even peaked yet, so I guess we'll see what he can do at the Tour de France:
Yates: Wiggins hasn’t peaked yet
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/yates-wiggins-hasnt-peaked-yet)Team Sky’s Sean Yates believes that Bradley Wiggins has yet to hit top form, with plans for the Criterium du Dauphine leader to reach optimal condition at the Tour de France this year.
Yates, a former professional and now a team director at Sky, spoke after Sky demonstrated their stranglehold over the Dauphine field with a resounding performance on the Joux Plane on stage 6.
Today was also Stage 2 of the Tour de Suisse:
June 10, Stage 2: Verbania - Verbier 218.3km
Costa steals Schleck's thunder in Verbier
Costa’s win shifted him into the race’s overall lead after stage 1 winner Peter Sagan (Liquigas-Cannondale) sat up with 12 kilometres to go.
Unlike the Dauphine, a race that this year shied away from a mountain top finish, the Tour de Suisse made no bones about including such stage conclusions, with a climb to Verbier featuring on the second stage.
Alessandro Bazzana (Team Type 1 – Sanofi) and Ryan Anderson (Spidertech powered by C10) were the early breakaway and it took a concerted effort from a number of teams, including a clearly motivated RadioShack, to bring them in check.
The pair were brought to check inside the final 30 kilometres as rain began to fall and the final climb loomed over the GC pretenders. On the early slopes RadioShack began unsettling a number of riders. As expected, Peter Sagan and his sprint rivals were quickly eliminated as Linus Gerdemann, Jakob Fuglsang and Maxime Monfort set the pace.
With 6 kilometres to go and the leading group already thinned to less than 40 riders, Schleck attacked. Within one kilometre the climber had established a 22 second buffer as Lampre struggled to mount a significant chase for Damiano Cunego.
John Gadret (AG2R) in his pink overshoes became frustrated, flying from the struggling bunch in a bid to match and catch Schleck but all his move proved to do was drop Robert Gesink (Rabobank).
Tom Danielson (Garmin-Barracuda) took off and found himself alone, rather than initiating a serious attack, but he briefly persisted as the race went under the 2km to go banner. His move was the catalyst for Costa, who closed the gap and quickly dismantled Schleck’s lead.
The Portuguese rider, the only cyclist allocated Olympic funding for 2012, and winner of a stage in last year’s Tour ,caught the RadioShack rider inside the final 200 meters and as the line approached was the first to open his sprint. Schleck attempted to respond but was no match for the Movistar man.
Full Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team | 6:21:13 | |
| 2 | Frank Schleck (Lux) RadioShack-Nissan | 0:00:04 | |
| 3 | Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:00:12 | |
| 4 | Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team | 0:00:13 | |
| 5 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat | ||
| 6 | Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:16 | |
| 7 | Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank | ||
| 8 | John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | ||
| 9 | Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team | 0:00:18 | |
| 10 | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Pro Team Astana | 0:00:22 |
Trek Bikes also released their new Madone for the RSNT team:
Trek's new aero Madone for RadioShack-Nissan
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/treks-new-aero-madone-for-radioshack-nissan)Trek's next-generation Madone isn't set for official release for another two weeks but RadioShack-Nissan riders were racing on it at the Critérium du Dauphiné. This new version borrows several key design features from the company's Speed Concept time trial machine, giving the Wisconsin company the aero road bike they’ve been missing for the past few years.
Much like Scott's Foil, the new Madone doesn't actually look all that slippery with its broad tubes and relatively shallow profiles. However, markings on the frame – not to mention strategically applied paint – point to a Kamm tail design with truncated airfoils that are said to mimic the aerodynamic benefits of a much deeper profile without violating UCI technical guidelines or sacrificing chassis weight and ride quality.
Trek have taken the radical step of moving the rear brake down below the chain stays. Just as significant, Trek has wholly adopted Shimano's new direct-mount interface, which does away with the traditional center mounting holes in the frame and fork and replaces them with twin posts on which the newly symmetrical calipers attach directly. In some ways, this is similar to the U-brake posts of old mountain bikes.
In theory, this design could save a few grams by virtue of the omitted caliper parts but the bigger expected benefit is a more direct lever feel and increased power thanks to reduced flex. In addition to locating the caliper arms closer to the base of the frame, the pivots themselves look to be adjustable for play for truly slop-free action.
Another side benefit is the more slender seat stay design. In contrast to the current version's wishbone layout, the new Madone stays are fully separate from dropout to seat tube and there's no bridge whatsoever. These changes could yield a more comfortable ride.
Given the more complicated position, the rear brake is built with a more convoluted X-shaped scissor linkage and the housing runs through the down tube. There's no barrel adjuster built into this end but seeing as how no rider would be able to safely use it anyway Trek has wisely opted to integrated one into the stop on the head tube.
Speaking of routing, Trek maintains fully internal paths throughout but with new easy-to-access ports on the head tube that provide a clea look with optional flush-fit plugs when using electronic transmissions.
Carryover features from the current Madone include a tapered 'e2' head tube, Trek's no-cut seatmast design, a pocket in the chain stay for a Bontrager Duotrap wireless speed and cadence sensor, and a 90mm-wide bottom bracket shell with correspondingly broad down tube and chain stay spacing and direct press-fit bearings.
And finally, how could I forget our buddy Andy Schleck? I have a new word to add to the dictionary:
Schleck: (verb) to give up because you aren't winning or getting your way. Ex: I 'schlecked' finishing this puzzle because it was too hard.
Andy Schleck: You can do a lot in three weeks
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-you-can-do-a-lot-in-three-weeks)Despite another disappointing display, Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Nissan) is hoping he can turn around his Tour de France preparations with training camps in the Alps and Pyrenees. The 2010 Tour de France winner abandoned midway through stage 6 of the Critérium du Dauphiné due to injuries sustained in a crash 48 hours previously.
He had already pulled out of Paris-Nice after just two stages and the Volta a Catalunya. A knee injury in May also affected his training.
“In bad things I always try to find the good things. The good thing is that I have done six stages. Some people will say ‘It is only three weeks till the Tour’ but you can also say it is ‘still’ three weeks to the start in Liège. You can do a lot in three weeks. That is my strength. I’ve shown it in the last years. I was not good in the Tour de Suisse but I was in the Tour de France. I won’t stop believing in it. I’ve worked hard for this.”
While Schleck has indeed shown almost miraculous turns of form before previous Tours, this year will take something truly special if he’s to stand any chance of competing with Bradley Wiggins and Cadel Evans – the two tipped favourites for July.
“It is just that bad luck is following me in the last months,” continued Andy Schleck. “I could not avoid it. Before this I had a left knee problem after my crash in a training camp in Sierra Nevada. It healed and then I improved. Even yesterday, after my crash I felt okay in the climbs. When I stayed in the saddle, my ribs hurt and I was suffering a lot but I came through the day. I was improving in the climbs and I was okay on the Grand Colombier.”
Schleck returned to Luxumbourg and will have an MRI scan on Monday in order to diagnose his injuries. Until then, his Tour participation is in question.
“After the crash we had hoped Andy could at least finish the Dauphiné because he needs the races and the efforts,” said team boss Johan Bruyneel.
“It is not good what happened today. If you are dealing with problems and trying to catch up on form and then when you start to build up and see some improvements but you have a setback again through a crash or an injury, you never have a solid foundation. Andy’s situation is not a good sign for his Tour preparation, especially if you look now at the level of his competitors. For the moment there is not much we can do. It is a difficult situation.”
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