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Chris Froome seals 2016 Criterium du Dauphine as Steve Cummings wins final stage

Froome seals third win in four years as fellow Brit wins with impressive 50km solo attack

Chris Froome (Team Sky) sealed a record-equalling third Criterium du Dauphine as fellow Brit Steve Cummings (Dimension Data) won the final stage to Superdevoluy.

Alberto Contador (Tinkoff) twice attacked Froome on the Col du Noyer but Froome and his Team Sky team-mates controlled the move to set up their fifth Dauphine win in six years.

Wout Poels, Mikel Landa and Sergio Henao controlled proceedings, and not even a late attack by Romain Bardet (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Dan Martin (Etixx-QuickStep) – enough to grant them second and third overall respectively – could deny Froome another victory.

Cummings, meanwhile, attacked from the day’s break with 50km still to race but surged to an impressive solo victory – finishing nearly four minutes ahead of anyone else.

Chris Froome sealed overall victory at the Criterium du Dauphine for the third time in four years (pic: Sirotti)

The Dimension Data man – who has now won stages at Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour of the Basque Country and the Dauphine in 2016 – was one of 20 riders to form the day’s break.

Team-mate Daniel Teklehaimanot was also present, keen to seal the polka dot jersey for a second consecutive stage with Tsgabu Grmay (Lampre-Merida) also on the hunt for mountains points.

Jurgen van den Broeck (Katusha), his former Lotto-Soudal team-mates Tony Gallopin and Thomas de Gendt and Trek-Segafredo’s Ryder Hesjedal ensured there was plenty of pedigree up the road.

Cummings bolted clear early in the stage, however, and crested the Col de Moissiere with an advantage he simply never surrendered.

With the gap to the chasers growing bigger and bigger, and the Etixx-QuickStep-led peloton untroubled by the move Cummings pressed on to prove his pre-Tour form.

The GC action proved tenser, with Team Sky responding well to Contador’s two attacks on the Col du Noyer before Froome, Contador, Richie Porte (BMC Racing) and Bardet earned a gap.

The quartet was still together, despite Froome and Bardet also trying moves, over the top of the Noyer with Dan Martin chasing just behind.

Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEDGE), Diego Rosa (Astana) and Louis Meintjes (Lampre-Merida) bridged across to the Irishman, while Bardet’s attacking efforts continued up the road.

Cummings went solo with more than 50km to race to bag his third WorldTour stage win of 2016 (pic: Sirotti)

The eight-man group was all together, more than three minutes behind Cummings, as they entered the final three kilometres however and – white jersey Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) had also gone across with Froome’s three mountain lieutenants.

Martin’s late attack proved decisive in knocking Porte off the final podium, but Froome’s yellow jersey always looked safe as Poels marshalled Bardet in that move.

Both Yates and Alaphilippe recorded the same time, allowing the Frenchman to pip the Brit to the white jersey but a British stage winner and GC winner mean it was a case, once again, of Rule Britannia at the Dauphine.

Criterium du Dauphine 2016: stage seven – result

1) Steve Cummings (GBR) – Dimension Data – 4.05.06hrs
2) Daniel Martin (IRL) – Etixx-QuickStep +3.58
3) Romain Bardet (FRA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale – ST
4) Wout Poels (NED) – Team Sky
5) Adam Yates (GBR) – Orica-GreenEDGE
6) Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) – Etixx-QuickStep
7) Diego Rosa (ITA) – Astana
8) Louis Meintjes (RSA) – Lampre-Merida
9) Richie Porte (AUS) – BMC Racing +4.03
10) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky – ST

General classification

1) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky – 29.59.31hrs
2) Romain Bardet (FRA) – Ag2r-La Mondiale +12”
3) Daniel Martin (IRL) – Etixx-QuickStep +19”
4) Richie Porte (AUS) – BMC Racing +21”
5) Alberto Contador (ESP) – Tinkoff +35”
6) Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) – Etixx-QuickStep +51”
7) Adam Yates (GBR) – Orica-GreenEDGE +57”
8) Diego Rosa (ITA) – Astana +1.13
9) Louis Meintjes (RSA) – Lampre-Merida +1.30
10) Pierre Rolland (FRA) – Cannondale +2.43

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Reports

Chris Froome seals 2016 Criterium du Dauphine as Steve Cummings wins final stage

Froome seals third win in four years as fellow Brit wins with impressive 50km solo attack

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