It’s the first climbing test of this year’s edition. The riders will cope with the ski resort Risoul, which finishes the stage nearly 2000 meters above sea level. The stage looks dull and boring before the final climb though, it’s just one, long, flat run-in to the grand finale up to Risoul. A good daily form will be needed to win this one. Dekker Spilak Contador
are listed as favourites, and especially Contador will need a good ride today, as he’s no less than 5’34 behind race leader Spilak.
Finally, France has decided to show how great the country can be. It’s a great day for cycling, the sun shines, and there’s no wind at all to speak about. It should be all about the riders today.
Bontenackels Moschella Sobota
are the first to attack on today’s stage. It looks like both Webeffect and Vesuvio don’t want to put all eggs in one basket, meaning Kashechkin and Uran don’t have their full support anymore. 5 other riders follow a bit behind, but it looks like the peloton doesn’t want any of them to escape, as they’re chasing pretty hard right from the start today.
The dust settles after 70 kilometers of aggressive racing, and we’ve got 8 riders up front. They’re: Popov Vysna Mourey El Fares Moschella Kruopis Christensen Jallays
Moschella is the best climber in the group, and there’s no doubt Vesuvio hunts stage wins after Uran’s failure in stage 3.
Christensen
is unlucky, and crashes when he looks set for a long day out in front. When he’s back on the bike, he can only see the peloton come to him, and his chances for a breakaway win looks gone.
UBS Wikipedia - Lapierre Cafe de Colombia
control the race early on, working for their leader. The gap to the breakaway has grown a bit, and with 125 kilometers left, it’s 2’40.
105 kilometers to go, and there’s another attack. Arroyo
jumps clear, and he quickly creates a gap of 1’30 back to the peloton. Though, no one follows him, and he can only hope he can catch the riders in front. He’s chasing 3 minutes behind the breakaway. Interesting, and a bit strange, move from Arroyo, he's not the man you expect to attack on flats!
It takes Arroyo 20 kilometers of chasing before he manages to make contact with the breakaway, meaning we now have 8 riders in front, with one of the best climbers being one of them. It’s looking like a desperate attempt to claw back some of the time he has already lost. At least it’s a brave try, and with 87 kilometers left, their gap is 6’10.
The gap is 5’40 with 63 kilometers left, and Spyker and Warner Brothers have raised the pace in the peloton. Dekker Spilak must be feeling good today, as there was no need to raise the pace this early, as Arroyo isn't a threat for them in the overall standing.
The 8 riders up front aren’t interested in the bonifcations with 48 kilometers left, and they just roll over. Vysna
gets the honour of 6 sprint points. Popov Mourey
follows on his wheel. Their gap is 4’48 going through the intermediate sprint. It looks like the peloton are controlling this well, but should the breakaway, and especially Arroyo, come to the foot of Risoul with a 2 minutes gap, they will stand a fair chance at the stage win.
The peloton seems confident to give Arroyo a flying start on the climb, as the gap is 4’10 with 30 kilometers to go. But Spyker Cars
has really lifted the pace back in the peloton, and it looks like it could split at any moment.
Now, it’s only climbing left for the riders. Arroyo
immediately hits the front in the breakaway, looking to motor the whole climb. And his chance for the stage win is good, as the peloton is 3 minutes back on the road. Jallays
is immediately dropped.
Vesuvio doesn’t fancy Moschella’s chances up the road, Iglinski
looks to his right, and attacks with 13 kilometers left. He’s followed by Plaza Van Der Hugenhaben
Pecharroman
paces the peloton, which is quite strange, considering Dekker is in a horrible position, way back in the peloton, together with Löfkvist Kashechkin
They will need to improve their positions pretty quickly.
Serpa
seems to ride his own chance today, he simply follows Van Der Hugenhaben, and gets a gap back to the peloton.
Up in front, Arroyo
is solo with 10 kilometers left of the stage, looking for the stage win.
Iglinski
is on fire today! No chance for Plaza Hugenhaben Serpa
to follow him, and he blasts past Vysna Popo
from the former breakaway. Back in the peloton, Pecharroman
still leads, meaning the attackers are all gaining time back to the peloton. With 10 kilometers left, Arroyo has a gap of 3’21.
Plaza
manages to catch Iglinski,
and together they’re chasing Arroyo, but they’re 2 minutes behind. They’ve got a good gap back to the peloton, it’s 1’20 with 8500 meters to go.
Back in the peloton, the 2nd best climbers continue to attack, as Siutsou
goes for it. It’s a critical move for his leader Menchov, as he sits at the back of the peloton, and he’s being blocked.
With 6.5 kilometers left, the big guns finally decide it’s time to play. Spilak
attacks, and no one follows him immediately. Has he caught all other favourites by surprise?
Spilak flies past Serpa Hugenhaben Siutsou
and he quickly opens a gap of 50 seconds back to the peloton.
Back in the peloton, race leader Phinney
has taken charge, aiming to motor the rest of the climb, to minimalize his losses. Dekker Pedraza
follow closest, and the three of them open a gap to the rest of the peloton.
Contador
realizes the danger with 4.2 kilometers left, and attacks from the peloton. He’s followed by Amador
Arroyo
seems to have pulled a masterstroke here, going in the breakaway. With only 3 kilometers left, he leads with 1’20 to Iglinski, 33 seconds behind follows Plaza, before Spilak chases 25 seconds behind Plaza.
Phinney
finds out he needs to attack to catch Spilak, and so he does with 3.3 kilometers left. He’s followed by Dekker Contador
and they blast past Moschella Mourey El Fares
from the breakaway.
Taaramäe Löfkvist
also make their moves with 3.3 kilometers left, and they’re not far from Amador.
Phinney Contador Dekker
start to co-operate with 1.4 kilometers left, but it looks like Spilak
is out of reach. They’re still 40 seconds behind him. 20 seconds behind the trio follows Amador
But whatever situation behind, it’s Arroyo
who can celebrate; a brilliant effort by him sees him take the stage win. He delivers when needed, after a couple of rough days, where his manager has been out in the media, not denying Arroyo could be for sale at the end of the season. Maybe he will change his mind now, a great win for Arroyo!
Iglinski
road an impressive climb, and he follows in 2nd, 1’16 behind Arroyo.
Spilak
climbed best of the overall contenders, crossing the line in 3rd, 1’30 behind Arroyo.
Plaza
just like Iglinski, impresses today, and takes 4th on the stage.
Dekker
wins the sprint for 5th, just ahead of Contador Phinney
But none of them can really be satisfied today, they've all lost valuable time to Spilak. Phinney looses the yellow jersey aswell.
Amador
takes 8 th, more than 3 minutes behind stage winner Arroyo, while Taaramäe
goes 9th.
And wild card rider Löfkvist
rounds off the top 10, just ahead of Uran Siutsou
That was all from the first mountain stage here in Dauphine Libere, Spilak impresses, and his ride gave him the yellow jersey, while Arroyo takes a great win for Santander.
