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Forty-one-year-old Alejandro Valverde wins Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 6

Astana-Premier Tech's Lutsenko assumes race lead with two stages remaining

June 4, 2021
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He won the Critérium du Dauphiné two years in a row over a decade ago, and on Friday, forty-one-year-old Alejandro Valverde claimed the victory on Stage 6’s uphill finish. It was the venerable Spaniard’s 129th career triumph. Astana-Premier Tech’s Alexetyu Lutsenko, winner of Wednesday’s time trial, assumed the race lead with two stages remaining. Lukas Pöstlberger (Austria/Bora-Hansgrohe) lost the yellow and blue leader’s jersey after wearing it for four days.

The Course

It was a route of two halves: a flat first 100 km and then four climbs shoehorned into the final 67 km. The final ascent was two-headed, a 3.7 km Cat. 3 as the first step and then a 3 km Cat. 3.

There was too much action in the first 60 km for any breakaway to form, but eventually an 14-rider fugitive group containing the KOM leader Matthew Holmes (Great Britain/Lotto-Soudal) and Lawson Craddock (USA/EF Education-Nippo) broke free.

It took the second climb, the Cat. 2 Col de Porte, for the breakaway to fragment. Behind, pressure from Astana-Premier Tech and Movistar at the front of the peloton dropped race leader Pöstlberger. Craddock lipped over the crest first, drawing him a little closer to Holmes in the mountains classification.

By the foot of the two-headed Cat. 3, Craddock was only slightly ahead of the peloton, with two chasers in between.

First came the Côte de la Frette (3.7 km of 5.2 percent). Astana-Premier Tech continued to pull, and there was the sadly regular sight of Chris Froome dropping off the back. Craddock yanked himself 2 points closer to Holmes at the top.

Could Craddock survive to the top of Montée Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse (3 km of 6.1 percent)? Louis Meintjes, the South African who was once a Grand Tour top-10 regular, attacked and overtook Craddock.

David Gaudu made a dig with 2.5 km to go and Meintjes went back to the peloton. Last season’s Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart found Gaudu’s wheel. Sepp Kuss came over and then went clear. The greatly streamlined peloton reformed with 1.5 km remaining.

Angel “Superman” Lopez, now with Movistar, led the 18-strong group under the red kite. Tao Geoghegan Hart launched with 400 metres to go but after a long chase, Valverde caught and dispatched him. It was Valverde’s second win of the season.

The weekend is when the high mountains come. Forty-two seconds separate first from 10th on GC.

2021 Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 6
1) Alejandro Valverde (Spain/Movistar) 3:52:53
2) Tao Geoghegan Hart (Great Britain/Ineos Grenadiers) s.t.
3) Patrick Konrad (Austria/Bora-Hansgrohe) s.t.

2021 Critérium du Dauphiné GC
1) Andrey Lutsenko (Kazakhstan/Astana-Premier Tech) 20:52:16
2) Jon Izagirre (Spain/Astana-Premier Tech) +0:08
3) Wilco Kelderman (The Netherlands/Bora-Hansgrohe) +0:12