Criterium du Dauphiné 2021 – Stage 2 [LAST 10 KM]

May 31, 2021

Criterium du Dauphiné 2021 – Stage 2 – Brioude – Saugues : 172,8 km

The Tour de France is less than a month away, but before we start the big lap around l’Hexagone the riders must first tackle the smaller lap around the Rhône-Alpes at the Critérium du Dauphiné. Back in its traditional early summer slot, this year’s race will see the return of its tried and trusted eight-day format, as well as iconic climbs like the Col de la Colombière and the Col de Joux Plane. With these mythical mountain passes on the menu and riders like Geraint Thomas, Miguel Ángel López, Nairo Quintana and David Gaudu on the start list, this year’s race is shaping up to be one of the most hotly-contested of the season. Over the last 70 years, the Critérium du Dauphiné has built a reputation for itself as a ‘mini Tour de France’ and this year’s edition is no different. With eight stages in southeast France, including a lumpy individual time trial and three summit finishes in the final three days, the 2021 race offers prospective Tour favourites everything they need to hone their form ahead of the main event later this summer. Unlike last year’s race, which was shortened to just five stages due to rescheduling changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s edition of the Dauphiné will run for eight days and start in the town of Issoire before heading east, deep into the high-mountains of the Rhône-Alpes.

For the second day in the row a rider from the break came out on top on stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné with Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe) attacking from the break and holding off the peloton to take a dramatic win in Saugues.

Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) finished second for the second day in a row, while Alejandro (Valverde) completed the top three to take third after Pöstlberger held on for the win despite a frantic late chase from the peloton over the final two climbs.

The win was enough to put the former maglia rosa Pöstlberger into the overall lead after overnight leader Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal) was dropped on the penultimate climb alongside Chris Froome (Israel Start-Up Nation).

The stage came down to the wire with Pöstlberger holding a slim 22-second lead over the chasing group when he crested the top of the Côte de Masset with 4km to go. The Bora rider had been in a five-man group that formed early in the stage and one-by-one he dropped his companions before soloing clear of last man Shane Archbold (Deceuninck-QuickStep) with 17km remaining.

Pöstlberger built up a lead in excess of two minutes as he hurtled into valley and he paced himself on the penultimate climb of the Côte de la forêt de Pourcheresse as Bahrain Victorious and Ineos Grenadiers began to chase.

It looked as though the main field had the situation under control, even when Ben O’Connor put in a valiant late attack but when the Australian was caught at the top of the Côte de Masset the lone leading Pöstlberger still had a marginal lead. He tore down the final descent to take the stage win by 11 seconds. The Austrian now leads Colbrelli by 12 seconds, with Valverde a further eight seconds back.

How it unfolded

ASO provided another stage profile fit for the break and Pöstlberger, Anthony Delaplace (Arkéa-Samsic), Matt Holmes (Lotto Soudal), Shane Archbold (Deceuninck-QuickStep), and Robert Power (Qhubeka Assos) duly accepted the invitation before establishing a 46-second lead.

Lotto Soudal played it smarted by avoiding the responsibility of chasing by putting Holmes in the break and the leaders established a lead of over five minutes as they raced over the first climb of the day, the Col de Peyra Taillade.

As Holmes grabbed mountain points to secure the KOM jersey Power was surprisingly dropped with 61km to go with the Australian later abandoning the race altogether. The break hit the next climb of the Côte d’Auvers with three minutes over the peloton but when that advantage dropped to just two minutes it looked as though the peloton were about to make amends for their mistakes on stage 1.

Pöstlberger had other ideas. He pushed with Archbold holding on for dear life but even when the New Zealander was able to give a turn it was clear that the Bora rider was in a different league whenever the road pointed upwards.

The Austrian was finally alone Côte de la forêt de Pourcheresse and with 10km both the yellow jersey and Chris Froome began to struggle. Just five hundred metres later they were toast – for the day at least – but the pace at the front of the peloton began to wear on many a rider and by the summit the peloton had been reduced to less than 30 riders. There was a brief moment when Geraint Thomas responded to a move from Bahrain and Valverde but the most significant attack came from Ben O’Connor, who was only brought to heel with 4km to go.

The terrain pointed to a Pöstlberger win from that point with a fast descent towards the line but Bahrain and Movistar set up one final chase with the last of their domestiques. However, it was Pöstlberger, a rider who hadn’t taken a WorldTour win since that stunning victory on the opening stage of the 2017 Giro who held on.

Results :
1 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 4:25:20
2 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:11
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
4 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
6 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Team DSM
8 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
9 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
10 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
11 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
12 Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates
13 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
14 Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-Nippo
15 Felix Gall (Aut) Team DSM
16 Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
17 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
18 Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
19 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis
20 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
21 Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
22 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
23 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
24 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
25 Damien Howson (Aus) Team BikeExchange
26 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
27 Fabio Aru (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
28 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team
29 Sander Armée (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos
30 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
31 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
32 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
33 Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën Team
34 Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
35 Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal
36 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team
37 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
38 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team
39 Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
40 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
41 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
42 Winner Anacona (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
43 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
44 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:21
45 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:22
46 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Team DSM 0:00:31
47 Sylvain Moniquet (Bel) Lotto Soudal
48 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates
49 Joe Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:32
50 Cyril Gautier (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
51 Maxime Chevalier (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
52 Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:52
53 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:01:36
54 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:38
55 Sean Bennett (USA) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:01:44
56 Simon Geschke (Ger) Cofidis 0:01:48
57 Barnabás Peák (Hun) Team BikeExchange 0:02:49
58 Julien El Fares (Fra) EF Education-Nippo 0:03:00
59 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis
60 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-up Nation
61 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
62 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
63 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
64 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:25
65 Nils Politt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
66 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
67 Jeremy Bellicaud (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
68 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
69 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team DSM
70 Michael Gogl (Aut) Team Qhubeka Assos
71 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
72 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
73 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
74 Marco Brenner (Ger) Team DSM
75 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
76 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
77 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:05:25
78 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
79 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
80 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
81 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:06:20
82 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
83 Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious
84 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
85 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange
86 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:07:42
87 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation
88 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates
89 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Team Qhubeka Assos
90 Hideto Nakane (Jpn) EF Education-Nippo
91 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo
92 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange
93 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis 0:08:56
94 Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
95 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
96 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
97 Robert Gesink (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
98 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
99 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
100 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
101 Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto Soudal
102 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
103 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation
104 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
105 Timo Roosen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
106 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
107 Chad Haga (USA) Team DSM
108 Martin Salmon (Ger) Team DSM
109 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Team BikeExchange 0:10:02
110 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
111 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos
112 Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fra) Cofidis
113 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
114 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
115 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
116 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain Victorious
117 Jasper De Plus (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
118 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis
119 Harry Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:11:25
120 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
121 Clément Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
122 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education-Nippo
123 William Barta (USA) EF Education-Nippo
124 Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe
125 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo
126 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep
127 Josef Cerny (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
128 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
129 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
130 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers
131 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Education-Nippo
132 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers
133 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep
134 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
135 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:14:53
136 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
137 Tony Martin (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
138 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain Victorious
139 Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
140 Andres Camilo Ardila Ordoñez (Col) UAE Team Emirates
141 Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis
142 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo
143 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal 0:16:29
DNF Benjamin Perry (Can) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Rob Power (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos

General Classification after Stage 2 :
1 Lukas Pöstlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 8:38:32
2 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:12
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:20
4 Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:24
5 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
6 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
7 Michael Valgren (Den) EF Education-Nippo
8 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis
9 Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
10 Ilan Van Wilder (Bel) Team DSM
11 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
12 Quentin Pacher (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
13 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
14 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
15 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Movistar Team
16 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
17 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
18 Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
19 Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal
20 Sander Armée (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos
21 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
22 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
23 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
24 Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
25 Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroën Team
26 Damien Howson (Aus) Team BikeExchange
27 Fabio Aru (Ita) Team Qhubeka Assos
28 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
29 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
30 Ion Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
31 Felix Gall (Aut) Team DSM
32 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Movistar Team
33 Jack Haig (Aus) Bahrain Victorious
34 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
35 Winner Anacona (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
36 Bruno Armirail (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
37 Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
38 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team
39 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
40 Pierre Rolland (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
41 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) Team BikeExchange
42 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech 0:00:34
43 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:35
44 Kevin Vermaerke (USA) Team DSM 0:00:44
45 Sylvain Moniquet (Bel) Lotto Soudal
46 Maxime Chevalier (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:00:45
47 Joe Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates
48 Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Movistar Team 0:01:05
49 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:51
50 Simon Geschke (Ger) Cofidis 0:02:01
51 Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:02
52 Eliot Lietaer (Bel) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:03:13
53 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
54 Julien El Fares (Fra) EF Education-Nippo
55 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis
56 Cyril Gautier (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:03:14
57 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:03:34
58 Nils Politt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:03:38
59 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
60 Michael Gogl (Aut) Team Qhubeka Assos
61 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
62 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
63 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) B&B Hotels p/b KTM
64 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team DSM
65 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
66 Chris Froome (GBr) Israel Start-up Nation
67 Sean Bennett (USA) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:04:28
68 Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates 0:04:35
69 Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates 0:04:55
70 Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo 0:05:38
71 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
72 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) B&B Hotels p/b KTM 0:06:00
73 Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech 0:06:33
74 Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange
75 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-up Nation 0:07:24
76 Carlos Barbero (Spa) Team Qhubeka Assos 0:07:55
77 Lawson Craddock (USA) EF Education-Nippo
78 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:09:04
79 Patrick Gamper (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:09:06
80 Nathan Haas (Aus) Cofidis 0:09:09
81 Lennard Hofstede (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
82 Oliver Naesen (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team
83 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
84 Jeremy Bellicaud (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:09:41
85 Marco Brenner (Ger) Team DSM
86 Barnabás Peák (Hun) Team BikeExchange 0:09:46
87 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:09:49
88 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:10:13
89 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Team BikeExchange 0:10:15
90 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:10:26
91 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:10:57
92 Dylan van Baarle (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers 0:11:38
93 Olivier Le Gac (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:11:40
94 Julien Bernard (Fra) Trek-Segafredo 0:11:41
95 Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious 0:12:36
96 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel Start-up Nation 0:13:17
97 Sébastien Grignard (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:13:20
98 Jorge Arcas (Spa) Movistar Team
99 Timo Roosen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
100 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation 0:13:58
101 Clément Russo (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:14:09
102 Robert Gesink (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 0:14:39
103 Laurent Pichon (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
104 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange
105 Sven Erik Bystrøm (Nor) UAE Team Emirates 0:14:58
106 Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange 0:15:06
107 Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:15:12
108 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Movistar Team
109 Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
110 Chad Haga (USA) Team DSM
111 Harry Sweeny (Aus) Lotto Soudal 0:15:49
112 William Barta (USA) EF Education-Nippo
113 Shane Archbold (NZl) Deceuninck-QuickStep
114 Martin Salmon (Ger) Team DSM 0:15:53
115 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:16:18
116 Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Team Qhubeka Assos
117 Jasper De Plus (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
118 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain Victorious
119 Florian Senechal (Fra) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:16:29
120 Michael Schwarzmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
121 Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fra) Cofidis 0:16:59
122 Kenneth Vanbilsen (Bel) Cofidis
123 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
124 Andres Camilo Ardila Ordoñez (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:17:37
125 Andrey Amador (CRc) Ineos Grenadiers 0:17:41
126 Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo 0:17:47
127 Kevin Van Melsen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:18:22
128 Logan Owen (USA) EF Education-Nippo
129 William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
130 Lachlan Morton (Aus) EF Education-Nippo
131 Hideto Nakane (Jpn) EF Education-Nippo 0:19:30
132 Alexis Renard (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation 0:20:44
133 Stijn Steels (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:21:09
134 Tony Martin (Ger) Jumbo-Visma
135 Marco Haller (Aut) Bahrain Victorious 0:21:50
136 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal 0:23:26
137 Ryan Mullen (Irl) Trek-Segafredo 0:26:12
138 Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe
139 Josef Cerny (Cze) Deceuninck-QuickStep
140 Fabio Jakobsen (Ned) Deceuninck-QuickStep
141 Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:29:04
142 Emmanuel Morin (Fra) Cofidis
143 Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:29:40