However, the prologue for the Criterium du Dauphine is a different story. Andy Schleck's came in 102nd in the Individual Time Trial. Then, of course, Schleck had a few words to say about his team manager and how Bruyneel has handled team issues by talking to the press:
June 3, Stage 4: Mersch - Luxembourg 153.5km
Roelandts bests Swift in Luxembourg finale
Jakob Fuglsang gave RadioShack-Nissan its first stage race win of the season, coming tenth on the stage and holding onto his two second lead over stage 3 winner Wout Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM), with teammate Frank Schleck taking third overall.
"Luxembourg is my second home so to win the national tour of Luxembourg is important to the team but also to me,” said Fuglsang. “Especially after the difficult spring I had with bad luck and injuries. It’s nice to make a comeback like this. It was the right decision for me to not start the Giro d’Italia and give my knee more time to heal. Now I have this victory and I am very, very happy. The team was riding very strong and I have to thank them.
"The team dedicated themselves to winning, and I really have to thank them all," Fuglsang said. "We had such a strong team here. Working together on all five stages made this possible and I’m so happy it worked out for us.”
The weather on the final stage was so bad that a third of the field abandoned and officials neutralized the general classification at the start of the final circuits with 47km left to race.
"I think the organization made the right decision by ending the GC battle at that point," Fuglsang said. "There was a real risk of crashes and everyone was nervous to stay upright."
Heavy rains pounded the riders as they set out for the final 158km stage from Mersch, but it was no matter to Roelandts, who escaped early into the stage with three companions: Tom Stamsnijder (Argos-Shimano), Damien Gaudin (Europcar) and Jimmy Casper (FDJ-Big Mat). The former Belgian champion claimed the three mountain primes that were on offer, and then rode away from his companions in the final 10km to claim the stage win.
The three escapees were caught by the chasing peloton, from which Ben Swift (Sky) took the sprint ahead of teammate Davide Appollonio and Kristof Goddaert (AG2R).
Stage 4 Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team | 2:39:58 | |
| 2 | Ben Swift (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:00:25 | |
| 3 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Sky Procycling | ||
| 4 | Kristof Goddaert (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | ||
| 5 | Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | ||
| 6 | Laurens De Vreese (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | ||
| 7 | Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano | ||
| 8 | Eliot Lietaer (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen - Mercator | ||
| 9 | Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | ||
| 10 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Radioshack-Nissan |
Overall Results
| 1 | Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Radioshack-Nissan | 17:08:40 | |
| 2 | Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team | 0:00:02 | |
| 3 | Frank Schleck (Lux) Radioshack-Nissan | 0:00:05 | |
| 4 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Saur - Sojasun | 0:00:20 | |
| 5 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Argos-Shimano | 0:00:24 | |
| 6 | Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne | 0:00:25 | |
| 7 | Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Euphony | 0:00:28 | |
| 8 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Radioshack-Nissan | 0:00:29 | |
| 9 | Bob Jungels (Lux) Luxembourg | ||
| 10 | Martin Elmiger (Swi) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:32 |
June 3, Prologue - (ITT): Grenoble 5.7km
Durbridge wins Criterium du Dauphine prologue in Grenoble
Australian rider Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge) sped to victory in the 5.7km time trial prologue to the 2012 Criterium du Dauphine, holding off a spirited effort from pre-race favourite and defending champion Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky), who was the last man to ride.
Durbridge took the lead from Astana's Andriy Grivko and held onto it for over 90 minutes. Wiggins pushed hard as the wind increased and in the end was only a second down on Durbridge's winning time of 6:38:52.
Conditions definitely favoured the early starters in Grenoble, with the flat course winding through the streets of the city in the foot of the French Alps. Calm and dry conditions deteriorated slightly as the day wore on, with a light shower coming in the middle of the stage and the winding picking up significantly towards the end of the stage. With some tight bends dotted around the course, it wasn’t for the faint-hearted.
It was hardly a surprise, therefore, that half of the eventual top ten set off within the first half an hour of racing. These five included Durbridge, who posted the best time of the three Australians in the top ten.
“I’m speechless,” the 21-year-old said after watching Wiggins narrowly fail to beat his time. “I was lucky with the wind and the rain and it could have gone either way. Sometimes you just need some luck. Wearing the yellow jersey at the Dauphine? I’ll take that. It’s going to take a while for it to sink in.”
Wiggins was happy with the outcome. Despite his narrow defeat he has put himself in an excellent position for the remainder of the race, which begins in earnest tomorrow with a 187km stage featuring six categorised climbs.
"I'm happy enough to finish second but it's about the whole week. I couldn't have asked for better today," Wiggins said.
"It's always the same with prologues. With riders going three hours apart there's always different conditions. The wind changed massively today. Some guys had disadvantages on the course elsewhere at the start and also advantages.
“I'm just pleased it stayed dry really because it's never nice riding a prologue in the rain. It was perfect. I stayed safe and I'm where I want to be at the moment and I'm just trying to enjoy it."
Results
| # | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | 0:06:38 | |
| 2 | Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling | 0:00:01 | |
| 3 | Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team | 0:00:03 | |
| 4 | Carlos Barredo (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team | ||
| 5 | Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:00:05 | |
| 6 | Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge | ||
| 7 | Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank Cycling Team | ||
| 8 | Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step | 0:00:06 | |
| 9 | Cadel Evans (Aus) Bmc Racing Team | ||
| 10 | Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team | 0:00:07 |
Andy Schleck has a dig at Bruyneel at Dauphiné prologue
(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andy-schleck-has-a-dig-at-bruyneel-at-dauphine-prologue)
Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad has reported that RadioShack-Nissan rider Andy Schleck spoke out in frustration at team manager Johan Bruyneel's use of the media in recent weeks at today's Critérium du Dauphiné prologue.
Bruyneel has been outspoken in his criticism of Schleck and his brother Frank since the latter withdrew from the Giro d'Italia during stage 15 with a injuries to his shoulder and neck following a crash. Bruyneel implied publicly that the injuries weren't bad enough to warrant a withdrawal from the race and then later criticised the brothers from Luxembourg for a lack of leadership this season.
He also stated that neither rider, who both finished on the podium at last year's Tour de France, are certain to make it to the start line for this year's race in Bruges later this month. He subsequently stated that he was only using the press as a motivating tool.
"Personally, if I was a manager I wouldn't try to solve problems with my riders through the press," Schleck is quoted in the newspaper as saying. "I would discuss them internally. Maybe Bruyneel was being rushed by the team sponsors, who might be getting impatient."
Schleck finished in 102nd position at today's prologue, 29 seconds down on winner Luke Durbridge (Orica-GreenEdge).
