Critérium du Dauphiné 2020 – Stage 5 [FULL STAGE]

August 16, 2020

Critérium du Dauphiné 2020 – Stage 5 – Clermont-Ferrand – Saint-Christo-en-Jarez : 218,5 km

The Critérium du Dauphiné – the most recognised Tour de France warm-up race – returns later this week (August 12-16) with a hugely impressive start list that includes Egan Bernal, Chris Froome, Primož Roglič, Tom Dumoulin, Julian Alaphilippe and Thibaut Pinot. Race organisers, have reduced the race from eight to five days and shifted it from June to August but have ensured that the GC riders on show will have a thorough workout ahead of the Tour de France. The route comprises five uphill or mountain-top finishes, with the race culminating in back-to-back mountain stages to Megève. There are no time trials or sprint stages, with the route instead of focusing on the Tour de France contenders. The start-list is nothing short of breathtaking, with a star-studded list of entries comprising nearly every Tour de France contender. While the Tour de L’Ain was very much the Ineos versus Jumbo-Visma show, the Dauphiné has far greater depth, with the very rarely talked about Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) all set to start.

Daniel Martínez (EF Pro Cycling) claimed the biggest win of his budding career when he finished second to Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) on the final stage 5 of the Critérium du Dauphiné at Megève Altiport. The 24-year-old Colombian finished 29 seconds clear on GC of Frenchman Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), who had started the day as race leader following the abandon of Jumbo’s Primož Roglič, with Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) 41 seconds back in third.

The topsy-turvy stage enhanced the Dauphiné’s reputation for producing thrilling action over its final weekend. After a deliberately slow start by the riders to protest their displeasure with the poor condition of yesterday’s descent from the Col de Plan Bois, four hours of relentless attacks and counters began with an offensive by an 11-man group containing Pinot and several other GC contenders on the Côte de Domancy, the first of eight climbs.

When the race returned to the slopes of that famous hill that was the main difficulty on the circuit where Bernard Hinault won the world title in 1980, Pinot lost ground on his rivals, and Martínez became the leader on the road. Although the Colombian’s advantage fluctuated and he came under pressure from compatriot Miguel Angel López (Astana) and, late on, from a resurgent Pinot, he controlled the situation perfectly, judging his effort particularly well on the final climb.

“When they told me this morning that Roglič wasn’t starting, I knew that the race would be frantic from the start. When Pinot and Landa went clear, the team worked for me and I kept myself as fresh as possible in the hope that I could win the race,” said the Colombian.

“My DS was giving me the time gaps on Pinot on the final climb. I was right at my limit but completely determined right to the end. This is one of the most important races in the world, some famous Colombians have won it and to join them makes me very happy. The Tour is also one of my objectives but I’m staying calm and keeping my feet on the ground.”

Freed of the responsibility of protecting Jumbo leader Roglič, Kuss seized the chance to confirm the impression that he has been one of the strongest climbers at the Dauphiné. The 25-year-old American reached the climb up to the Altiport as part of a five-man group of precocious talents that also included Colombian duo Martínez and López, plus Pavel Sivakov (Team Ineos) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Emirates).

As soon as the quintet reached the steepest ramps, López slipped back while Kuss accelerated off the front, his stage win never looking in doubt over the 8km climb up to the line.

“After yesterday it was strange waking up in the morning, we were all a bit shocked,” said Kuss. “It was weird day with all of the crashes. But it gave us the opportunity to race aggressively. It was one of the hardest days I’ve ever had on the bike. It was full on from the start, everyone was really tired and I thought I could take advantage of that and also take advantage of being lower down on GC.

“I love being a helper but I also want to win races. This is a nice confirmation after my Vuelta win. It’s nice winning from a break like I did at the Vuelta, but on a stage like today I had to go head to head with the best riders,” said Kuss. “It’s a morale boost going into the Tour, it gives you a sense of calm too.”

How it unfolded

Roglič’s pre-stage abandon left everyone wondering who would control the stage with Jumbo, the race’s dominant team, no longer having a rider in contention for the title. The answer was quickly revealed: nobody would. A stage of frantic attacking began with that first ascent of the Domancy, Pinot among the escapees, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Sivakov and Pogacar also prominent.

On the first-catgory ascent of the Col de la Colombière, the stage’s third climb, Sivakov went clear and was joined by Alaphilippe, the pair gaining a lead of close to two minutes. Behind, the sorting of the GC contenders was already well under way. Nairo Quintana (Arkea-Samsic), Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain McLaren) slipped out of the picture.

Descending from the stage’s fifth climb, the fourth-cat Côte de la Frassette, Sivakov lost control of his bike and slid to the ground. Despite significant grazing down his left side, the Russian was quickly back in the saddle and managed to regain contact with Alaphilippe going onto the Domancy for the second time.

The GC favourites were now within a minute of the pair, though, and closed in further when Pogacar attacked at the foot of the Domancy. López joined him immediately. Kuss and Martínez then bridged across to them, with Pinot unable to respond. These four then swept across to Sivakov and Alaphilippe ahead of the penultimate climb of the Côte de Cordon, where their advantage of Pinot’s group reached 1-20.

Alaphilippe couldn’t stay with the pace here and fell back to the Pinot group, where he pulled hard on the front for his compatriot before dropping away for good, leaving his compatriot in a pursuit match with Martínez and López over the final dozen kilometres. As the five leaders played cat and mouse, Pinot’s group closed to within 30 seconds.

Heading towards the final climb, López, just six seconds behind Martínez on GC, took a flyer, but was quickly reeled in and then dropped as the ascent began. Freed of his closest rival, Martínz’s task was now tactically simple: ride as hard as he could and maintain his advantage on Pinot. He didn’t try to chase Kuss when the American attacked, but kept working with Sivakov and Pogacar, until the final kilometre where he first dropped the Russia and then outsprinted the Slovene. The title was his.

Results :
1 Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma 3:58:39
2 Daniel Martinez (Col) EF Pro Cycling 0:00:27
3 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:30
4 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos 0:00:45
5 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:00:51
6 Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:02
8 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 0:01:04
9 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:01:06
10 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
11 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:52
12 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:01:53
13 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:56
14 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb 0:04:19
15 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:21
16 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:07:42
17 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:10:20
18 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Ineos
19 Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:10:41
20 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:12:11
21 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Pro Cycling 0:12:15
22 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:12:16
23 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team Sunweb
24 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis
25 William Barta (USA) CCC Team
26 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
27 Victor de la Parte (Spa) CCC Team
28 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
29 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
30 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo
31 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team
32 Romain Sicard (Fra) Total Direct Energie
33 Carlos Verona (Spa) Movistar Team
34 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:13:49
35 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
36 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:14:28
37 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:15:17
38 Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma
39 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos 0:16:12
40 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep
41 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb 0:16:16
42 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:16:48
43 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-Quickstep
44 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
45 David De la Cruz (Spa) UAE Team Emirates
46 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:18:30
47 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:19:19
48 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
49 Fausto Masnada (Ita) CCC Team
50 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain McLaren
51 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Pro Cycling
52 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team
53 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:20:17
54 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis
55 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:24:32
56 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren
57 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) CCC Team 0:25:41
58 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:26:10
59 Victor Lafay (Fra) Cofidis
60 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:30:57
61 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Lotto Soudal
62 Tanel Kangert (Est) EF Pro Cycling
63 Thomas Degand (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
64 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:31:00
65 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) EF Pro Cycling 0:31:07
66 Fabien Doubey (Fra) Circus-Wanty Gobert 0:33:38
67 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb
68 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-Up Nation
69 Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis
70 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma
71 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Team Sunweb
72 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
73 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
74 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott
75 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
76 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team
77 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Mitchelton-Scott
78 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling
79 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep
80 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team
81 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb
82 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) EF Pro Cycling
83 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott
84 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain McLaren
85 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
86 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
87 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
88 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
89 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
90 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis
91 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
92 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos
93 Louis Meintjes (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling
94 Ben O’Connor (Aus) NTT Pro Cycling
95 Cyril Gautier (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
96 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
97 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation
98 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep
99 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-Quickstep
100 Pieter Weening (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
101 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
102 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
103 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
104 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
105 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos 0:33:48
106 Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Pro Cycling
DNS Omar Fraile Matarranz (Spa) Astana Pro Team
DNF Daniel Oss (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Ineos
DNS Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma
HD Tony Martin (Ger) Team Jumbo-Visma
DNS Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
HD Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Damien Howson (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Winner Anacona (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Maxime Bouet (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Dayer Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Arkea-Samsic
HD Clément Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Roman Kreuziger (Cze) NTT Pro Cycling
DNF Michael Gogl (Aut) NTT Pro Cycling
DNF Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) NTT Pro Cycling
DNF Michael Valgren (Den) NTT Pro Cycling
DNF Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Sander Armee (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Remy Mertz (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Rein Taaramäe (Est) Total Direct Energie
DNF Jerome Cousin (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Fabien Grellier (Fra) Total Direct Energie
HD Geoffrey Soupe (Fra) Total Direct Energie
DNF Lukasz Wisniowski (Pol) CCC Team
HD Alexander Evans (Aus) Circus-Wanty Gobert
DNF Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
HD Maxime Chevalier (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept
HD Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept

Final General Classification :
1 Daniel Martinez (Col) EF Pro Cycling 21:44:58
2 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:29
3 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 0:00:41
4 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:56
5 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:01:38
6 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:01:43
7 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:07
8 Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:02:14
9 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:49
10 Sepp Kuss (USA) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:02:55
11 Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Team Ineos 0:03:10
12 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:07:59
13 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:09:04
14 Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 0:12:03
15 Richie Porte (Aus) Trek-Segafredo 0:12:04
16 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:16:52
17 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:17:19
18 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:18:58
19 Victor de la Parte (Spa) CCC Team 0:20:56
20 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team 0:22:33
21 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:26:51
22 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Pro Cycling 0:28:17
23 Marc Hirschi (Swi) Team Sunweb 0:31:15
24 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:31:39
25 David De la Cruz (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 0:32:36
26 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:33:47
27 Jack Haig (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott 0:38:24
28 Fausto Masnada (Ita) CCC Team 0:39:10
29 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 0:43:46
30 Carl Fredrik Hagen (Nor) Lotto Soudal 0:45:38
31 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana Pro Team 0:45:43
32 Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma 0:47:08
33 Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 0:48:28
34 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis 0:49:53
35 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:50:11
36 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 0:52:05
37 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Ineos 0:53:38
38 Romain Sicard (Fra) Total Direct Energie 0:54:38
39 Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sunweb 0:55:48
40 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling 0:56:01
41 Stefan Küng (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:58:08
42 Bob Jungels (Lux) Deceuninck-Quickstep 0:58:36
43 Jonathan Castroviejo (Spa) Team Ineos 0:58:40
44 Stéphane Rossetto (Fra) Cofidis 0:58:59
45 Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Team Ineos 0:59:55
46 Tanel Kangert (Est) EF Pro Cycling 1:01:19
47 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 1:01:50
48 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 1:02:12
49 Louis Meintjes (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling 1:02:33
50 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal 1:04:54
51 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo 1:05:18
52 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Bahrain McLaren 1:06:20
53 William Barta (USA) CCC Team 1:06:36
54 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert 1:07:47
55 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain McLaren 1:09:36
56 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team Jumbo-Visma 1:09:49
57 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team 1:12:07
58 Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal 1:13:07
59 Mark Donovan (GBr) Team Sunweb 1:13:41
60 Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Start-Up Nation 1:14:53
61 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 1:15:09
62 Carlos Verona (Spa) Movistar Team 1:18:13
63 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo 1:18:48
64 Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Pro Cycling 1:20:28
65 Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 1:21:28
66 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Pro Cycling 1:22:14
67 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 1:22:44
68 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 1:25:05
69 Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 1:25:19
70 Pierre Latour (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale 1:26:10
71 Chris Froome (GBr) Team Ineos 1:26:14
72 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 1:27:42
73 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis 1:28:28
74 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-Up Nation 1:28:37
75 Victor Lafay (Fra) Cofidis 1:31:25
76 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-Quickstep 1:38:06
77 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Mitchelton-Scott 1:38:18
78 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) CCC Team 1:39:50
79 Thomas Degand (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert 1:40:13
80 Søren Kragh Andersen (Den) Team Sunweb 1:41:31
81 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana Pro Team 1:41:51
82 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) EF Pro Cycling 1:41:53
83 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team 1:42:52
84 Fabien Doubey (Fra) Circus-Wanty Gobert 1:42:54
85 Tony Gallopin (Fra) AG2R la Mondiale
86 Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis 1:43:13
87 Cyril Gautier (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 1:44:17
88 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) EF Pro Cycling 1:45:31
89 Daryl Impey (RSA) Mitchelton-Scott 1:47:22
90 Michael Schär (Swi) CCC Team 1:47:31
91 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain McLaren
92 Ben O’Connor (Aus) NTT Pro Cycling 1:48:03
93 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation 1:48:40
94 Pieter Weening (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 1:50:01
95 Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Mitchelton-Scott 1:50:49
96 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team Sunweb 1:54:03
97 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation 1:54:29
98 Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Team Sunweb 1:54:40
99 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-Quickstep 1:56:35
100 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Deceuninck-Quickstep 1:59:19
101 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain McLaren 2:00:05
102 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 2:03:05
103 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:07:48
104 Tim Declercq (Bel) Deceuninck-Quickstep 2:08:15
105 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 2:13:49
106 Tom-Jelte Slagter (Ned) B&B Hotels-Vital Concept 2:14:28