Froome wins third Dauphine, Cummings takes stage
Chris Froome of Team Sky in action during stage 9 of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 12, 2015. Froome held on to win the Criterium du Dauphine for the third time on Sunday. PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- The two previous times Froome won the Dauphine, he went on to claim Tour de France glory a month later.
- The 31-year-old had to survive some nervous moments in the final 15km of Sunday's 151km run.
SAINT-ETIENNE-EN-DEVOLUY
Chris Froome held on to win the Criterium du Dauphine for the third time as fellow Briton Stephen Cummings won the seventh and final stage on Sunday.
The two previous times Froome won the Dauphine, he went on to claim Tour de France glory a month later.
The 31-year-old had to survive some nervous moments in the final 15km of Sunday's 151km run from Le-Pont-de-Claix to Superdevoluy as Spaniard Alberto Contador launched several accelerations on the penultimate climb.
Frenchman Romain Bardet also tried his chances on a rapid descent between the final two climbs but Froome doggedly chased down every attack.
He finished 12 seconds clear of Bardet with Ireland's Dan Martin third at 19sec.
Australian Richie Porte was fourth at 21sec with Contador, himself a two-time Tour winner, settling for fifth at 35sec.
Cummings, 35, who won a memorable stage at last year's Tour, outwitting French pair Bardet and Thibaut Pinot in a dramatic finish, was the last of a 20-man breakaway group to wilt and finished 3min 58sec clear of the chasing pack.
Martin won the sprint for second with Bardet third, moving both up a place in the overall standings thanks to the bonus points available on the line.
Tasmanian Porte, who started the day second, was caught out in the uphill sprint finish and lost two places.
