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RACE REPORTS: CRITÉRIUM DU DAUPHINÉ STAGE 7: BRAJKOVIC VICTORIOUS
Road Bike Action & AFP
June 13, 2010
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(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Slovenia's Janez Brajkovic secured the biggest stage race win of his career Sunday when he beat Spain's Alberto Contador into second place at the Dauphine Criterium. Brajkovic, who races for Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team, finished the week-long race with a lead of 1:41 on two-time Tour de France champion Contador.
Astana rider Contador won the opening prologue last Sunday and held the race lead until stage three on Wednesday when Brajkovic triumphed in a 49km time trial to take the race lead and leave the Spaniard 1:45 in his wake. Brajkovic went on to defend his lead over four days in the mountains, notably resisting a series of attacks by Contador on Saturday's sixth stage which took in the Col du Glandon and finished on the summit of Alpe d'Huez.
The 26-year-old's first major stage race victory comes hot on the heels of an impressive season in which he has claimed several top ten finishes. A former world time trial winner at Under-23 level who raced with Contador at Astana last year, Brajkovic is hoping his recent achievement will help him secure a place on RadioShack's Tour de France team for the July 3-25 race.
Shortly after the start of Sunday's final stage, it became clear that there would be no challenge from Contador to threaten the 26-year-old Slovenian. An eight man breakaway formed as soon as Frenchman Samuel Dumoulin attacked at the one kilometre mark and they went on to build a lead of three and a half minutes inside the first 20 km. But with several teams not represented at the front, Boasson Hagen's Sky team drove the chasing peloton hard and as the leaders reached the 50km mark to begin the 11.2km climb over the category two Cote des Rafforts their lead had evaporated to just 40-seconds.
The climb took its toll, with five riders, including Dumoulin, dropping off the front just as a counter-attack from the peloton was launched. It left 13 in front, including Boasson Hagen, and just after they crested the summit with a 35sec lead on the peloton they were joined by a further four riders, including Garmin's David Millar. A tiring Dumoulin soon quit the race as the 17-man lead group went on to build a two-minute lead on the peloton. They came into Sallanches with a lead of just over 1:30 but with the steep 2.4km Domancy climb to negotiate five times on a wet and slippery circuit they were far from safety.
An acceleration by Millar with 39 km remaining only served to prompt Boasson Hagen to counter, and when the Norwegian flew past it was game over for the big Scot. Despite being joined by four other riders from his escape group further on the Norwegian sensation, who claimed 13 professional victories as a 21-year-old last season, was not to be denied. Boasson Hagen simply upped the pace at the foot of the Domancy, kept a fast cadence despite the climb's 9.2 percent average gradient and left everyone in his wake. Spaniard Arkaitz Duran Aroca tried in vain to follow, but the Footon-Servetto rider had to settle for second over 20-seconds behind Boasson Hagen as he came over the line in triumph.
Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 7: Allevard-les-Bains - Sallanches 148km
1. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor/Sky) 3:39:43
2. Arkaitz Duran Daroca (Spa/Footon-Servetto) @ .27
3. Egor Silin (Rus/Katusha) @ .32
4. Christophe Le Mevel (Fra/Française Des Jeux) @ .34
5. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/HTC-Columbia) @ .40
6. Alberto Contador (Spa/Astana) @ s.t.
7. Christophe Riblon (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale)
8. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto)
9. Jérôme Coppel (Fra/Saur-Sojasun)
10. Janez Brajkovic (Slo/Radioshack)
Final Overall Classification
1. Janez Brajkovic (Slo/Radioshack) 28:06:28
2. Alberto Contador (Spa/Astana) @ 1:41
3. Tejay Van Garderen (USA/HTC-Columbia) @ 2:41
4. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel/Omega Pharma-Lotto) @ 3:46
5. Nicolas Vogondy (Fra/Bbox Bouygues Telecom) @ 4:01
6. Jérôme Coppel (Fra/Saur-Sojasun) @ 4:17
7. Christophe Riblon (Fra/AG2R La Mondiale) @ 4:23
8. Pierre Rolland (Fra/Bbox Bouygues Telecom) @ 5:54
9. Christopher Horner (USA/Radioshack) @ 6:10
10. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol/Liquigas-Doimo) @ 6:33
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