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Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) took control of the Critérium du Dauphiné by winning stage 6 atop Le Collet d'Allevard. The Slovenian showcased his form and a cohesive team strategy on the final climb, with teammate Aleksandr Vlasov playing a key role in distancing overnight leader Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) in the closing kilometres.
Roglič overpowered Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) within sight of the line to take stage victory, with Vlasov finishing third at 11 seconds. Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) followed in fourth ahead of Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike).
Roglič revealed after the stage that his shoulder was too stiff to even reach in his jersey pocket after he was caught up in the massive crash on stage 5.
"I was quite limited with the left shoulder. I couldn't reach in the pocket or anything. I was just holding it all day. But the legs are working. About the legs, I cannot complain," Roglič said.
In the final two stages, both of which are even tougher summit finishes, Roglič said he would go "back to basics" with a more cautious approach. "Finishing on the wheels, I think will be the best,” he said. “The whole race is actually just a bonus."
Evenepoel watched his 33-second lead evaporate in the face of the Bora-Hansgrohe attack. Despite a tremendous fight to the line, the Belgian lost 43 seconds and, with Roglič's time bonus, dropped to second at 19 seconds in the general classification.
Jorgenson emerged as his team's sole leader after Sepp Kuss lost touch on the final climb. The Paris-Nice winner finished fifth on the stage to move into third overall at 58 seconds, while Gee moved into fourth at 1:01 and Vlasov fifth at 1:32.
The race ignited in the final 5km, when Vlasov tacked a move from Laurens De Plus (Ineos), and then eventually waited for Roglič as he came across with a select chasing group of five.
Once Roglič bridged up, Vlasov lifted the pace, pulling Roglič the group clear and discouraging any attacks from Ciccone before Roglič launched a late surge to the line.
"The whole team, the guys showed their commitment from the very start on day one and chasing on the second stage," Roglič said of his team's work. "It didn't work out. Yesterday, all of us got hit quite hard. Today again, they showed a great performance."
How it unfolded
A battered and bruised peloton departed Hauterives in warm conditions for the 174.1km stage to Le Collet d'Allevard, the first of three major summit stage finishes that will close out the Critérium du Dauphiné.
The peloton was down by seven riders following the mass crash on stage 5, with Steven Kruijswijk and Dylan van Baarle (Visma-Lease a Bike), Remy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ), Adne Holter (Uno-X), Laurens Huys (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Axel Mariault (Cofidis) and Milan Menten (Lotto Dstny) all abandoning on the day.
More riders abandoned overnight including Kobe Goosens (Intermarché-Wanty), Jasha Sütterlin, Rainer Kepplinger and Kamil Gradek (Bahrain Victorious), Harry Sweeny and Lukas Nerurkar (EF Education-EasyPost) and Odd Christian Eiking (Uno-X).
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) signed on but felt uncomfortable riding after crashing twice on stage 5, leaving just 132 riders on the start line.
With a long run-out to the first major climbs, the breakaway wasted no time getting an advantage, and six riders escaped without too much resistance.
The group included stage 2 winner Magnus Cort (Uno-X), Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ), Thibault Guernalec (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Arjen Livyns (Intermarché-Wanty), Alessandro Fancellu (Q36.5) and Mason Hollyman (Israel-Premier Tech), who went clear in the first two kilometres.
Gregoire was the best-placed in the overall standings in 23rd at 2:53 from leader Evenepoel and he moved into the virtual yellow jersey as the breakaway's lead went over three minutes after 23km.
Guernalec led the breakaway across the first KOM, the category 4 Cote de la Cote St André but the lumpy opening was costing some of the injured riders who took to the start. Alex Kirsch (Lidl-Trek) and Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny) climbed off before the first sprint in Les Echelles after 105.3km of racing, where Cort claimed the 10 points to pad his lead in the green jersey competition.
The breakaway had a lead of more than five minutes as they started up the Col du Granier but the gap began to drop on the descent, where Hollyman and Guernalec crashed on a tightening right-hand bend. Mercifully, they both were quickly back on their bikes.
With 30km to go, the race director led the breakaway off course and they had to stop to regroup. It didn't help Hollyman, who never could catch up and drifted back to what was left of the peloton.
On the final climb, Ineos Grenadiers led the way, bringing the gap down to 1:30. Sensing the chase picking up, Gregoire attacked and only Cort could follow, but the increase in pace was no match against Ineos' pace.
Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) was the first of the GC men to lose contact, he was followed by Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Davide Formolo (Movistar) out the back.
As Cort came back with 5km to go, De Plus attacked to let Carlos Rodríguez sit on and follow the subsequent moves. The acceleration brought Gregoire's lead down to just 25 seconds and fell rapidly as the Frenchman looked glued to the road.
Vlasov followed De Plus across to Gregoire, who immediately lost contact. They had 17 seconds when Guilio Ciccone attacked from behind. While Roglič, Jorgenson, Rodríguez and Gee could follow, Evenepoel could not, though the Belgian had Mikel Landa at his side to limit their losses.
Roglič made it across with the other four to Vlasov inside 2km to go, making it seven at the front. Soon it was three as only Ciccone could follow Vlasov's pace, while Roglič bided his time for his final acceleration. Evenepoel had lost 32 seconds by the time the trio went under the flamme rouge but accelerated as the road levelled off in a bid to limit the damage.
Out in front, Roglič attacked into the finish to claim the stage win ahead of Ciccone, with Vlasov third. Evenepoel slipped out of the race lead, coming to the line 43 seconds down.
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Laura Weislo
Managing Editor
Laura Weislo has been with Cyclingnews since 2006 after making a switch from a career in science. As Managing Editor, she coordinates coverage for North American events and global news. As former elite-level road racer who dabbled in cyclo-cross and track, Laura has a passion for all three disciplines. When not working she likes to go camping and explore lesser traveled roads, paths and gravel tracks. Laura specialises in covering doping, anti-doping, UCI governance and performing data analysis.
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