Critérium du Dauphiné 2013: Stage 7

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January 1 - June 9, Le Pont-de-Claix, Fra, Road - WorldTour

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Live coverage of stage 7 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, 187.5km from Le Pont-de-Claix to Superdévoluy.

127km remaining from 187km

Kevin Seeldrayers (Astana) led Thomas Damuseau (Argos-Shimano) and Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) over the summit of the category 2 climb, which of course came almost immediately after the race had tackled l'Alpe d'Huez.

In something of a dry run for stage 18 of the Tour de France – when the peloton will climb l’Alpe d’Huez twice – today’s Dauphiné stage faced the climb not at the finish but in transit, after just 51km of racing. Thomas De Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM) led Damuseau and Seeldrayers at the prime for the mountains points, before the break veered right and off towards the Sarenne.

There is some solid climbing pedigree in this break, which went clear before the foot of l'Alpe d'Huez. Pierre Rolland - the last man to win on l'Alpe, at the 2011 Tour - is among them, as well as Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Sylvain Chavanel and Thomas De Gendt.

There is some solid climbing pedigree in this break, which went clear before the foot of l'Alpe d'Huez. Pierre Rolland - the last man to win on l'Alpe, at the 2011 Tour - is among them, as well as Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Sylvain Chavanel and Thomas De Gendt.

Kevin Seeldraeyers (Astana) is the best-placed of the escapees on general classification. He began the day 16th overall, 3:30 down on Chris Froome (Sky), and is currently the virtual overall leader.

This was the state of the general classification picture as hostilities resumed this morning:

Today's stage is the first installment of the weekend double-header in the mountains that will decide this year's Dauphiné, even if Froome already seems in a very commanding position. After tackling l'Alpe d'Huez and the Col de Sarenne, the category 1 Col d'Ornon (101km) is next on the agenda. A long spell in the valley follows before the road kicks up again for the category 1 Col du Noyer (176km). After a short descent, the race heads straight into the short, sharp category climb to the finish at Superdévoluy.

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Meanwhile, letour.fr reports that former Tour de France king of the mountains Anthony Charteau (Europcar) has abandoned the race. His leader Thomas Voeckler won yesterday's stage and spoke afterwards about his hopes that the team will continue in 2014. Sponsor Europcar has yet to decide if it will renew its involvement in the sport.

Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Lotto Belisol) begins pushing the pace in the break as the Col d'Ornon begins and Madrazo, Veilleux, De Gendt and Sylvain Chavanel are quickly dropped from the leading group.

Back in the main peloton, Norwegian champion Edvald Boasson Hagen is on the front and setting a brisk tempo in support of Chris Froome.

The slopes of the Ornon are continuing to take their toll on the leading group, and Nikias Arndt and Matteo Bono are the next men to be dropped. Meanwhile, François Parisien (Argos-Shimano) and Benjamin Noval (Saxo-Tinkoff) have abandoned the race.

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Sylvain Chavanel may have been dropped early on the Col d'Ornon, but he settled into a steady rhythm on the climb and has managed to catch up to the leaders again on the descent, along with David Veilleux and Nikias Arndt (Argos-Shimano). The trio's return means that the leading group is now comprised of 19 riders.

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Illness has also transformed today's stage into something of a calvaire for FDJ's young climbing talent Kenny Elissonde. The Frenchman - who never travels to a race without some Émile Zola as part of his reading material - is currently languishing in front of the broom wagon.

While Elissonde battles to stay in the race, the spate of abandons continues apace. Three more riders have climbed off - Eros Capecchi (Movistar), Thomas Rohregger (RadioShack-Leopard) and Bart De Clerq (Lotto Belisol).

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Ian Stannard, Edvald Boasson Hagen and Geraint Thomas are lined up on the front of the peloton for Team Sky and setting a steady tempo on a lengthy false flat. There are still some 25 kilometres to the foot of the Col du Noyer but there is scarcely a metre of flat in the valley that separates the bunch from the first category climb.

Chris Froome and Richie Porte both look comfortable a little further back, while Alberto Contador sits behind them, surrounded by a phalanx of his Saxo-Tinkoff teammates.

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Boasson Hagen and Stannard are the men who have been sitting on the front of the main peloton, and their efforts are dragging the nineteen-man break back. The leaders had been working well together but they have lost cohesion over the past ten kilometres or so, and it is proving very costly to their hopes of staying clear.

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Back in the main peloton, Sky have some reinforcements as Katusha hit the front in support of Dani Moreno and Joaquim Rodriguez.

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Arndt and Veilleux have been swallowed up by the main peloton, who are closing in on the remnants of the early break. Chavanel and De Marchi are three minutes up the road and approaching the lower slopes of the Col du Noyer.

That was a well-timed move from Chavanel. Sensing the lull in the break - and mindful of how he had struggled on the Ornon - the Frenchman decided to punch his way up the road, and he and De Marchi now have 50 seconds in hand on their former companions, while the bunch is three minutes down.

Bernard Thevenet is in an organisation car behind the two leaders. The double Tour de France winner suffered from a heart complaint in April and was airlifted by helicopter to Tours to undergo surgery, and it's good to see that his recovery is progressing well.

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Pierre Rolland (Europcar) would like to marshal the chase behind, but instead the unity of the group has been fragmented, and Chavanel and De Marchi are stretching out their advantage.

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Chavanel draws alongside De Marchi to set down the ground rules for their collaboration on the climb, and then drifts to the front to begin imposing the rhythm.

Sky's men in black have taken up the reins again in the main peloton, with Geraint Thomas shooting to the front and stringing things out. Almost instantly, the gap to Chavanel and De Marchi drops to 1:45.

Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) and Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) are both well-placed near the head of the bunch, at the shoulder of Chris Froome.

As Thomas cranks out the tempo, Boasson Hagen swings over, his job done for the day.

Pierre Rolland is still leading a six-man group of chasers just ahead of the main peloton, but they are surely on the cusp of being swept up.

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Business as usual, it seems. Sky's train of men in black are picking off the remnants of the break and also jettisoning riders off the back of the main peloton. Up front, Chavanel and De Marchi are tapping out their tempo, but their lead is down to 1:03.

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Rohan Dennis is still looking comfortable in this yellow jersey group, while Joaquim Rodriguez, Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde are all still in there.

Kiryienka swings over and lets Geraint Thomas take up the reins once again. As soon as he does, Alejdandro Valverde and Rodriguez attempt to slip clear, aided by Jose Herrada.

15km remaining from 187km

A tired Sylvain Chavanel is swept up by the bunch, while Jurgen Van Den Broeck has been dropped. The Lotto man doesn't seem too concerned, sticking out his tongue and smiling for the television cameras. He returns to Sierra Nevada for another of his lengthy spells at altitude between now and the Tour de France.

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All of this attacking is serving to shave more and more time off the plucky De Marchi's lead. The Italian's gap is down to 20 seconds and he is beginning to cast concerned glances over his shoulder.

The bobbing figure of Alberto Contador is at the front of the bunch but he is not forcing the issue. Instead, he is contasntly turning back to see how Chris Froome and Sky are bearing up, as well as his own teammate Michael Rogers.

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Not surprisingly, given the stint he has put in this afternoon, Thomas is the next man to crack, and Froome now has just Porte for company. The dancing figure of Contador still leads Rogers, then come Porte, Froome, Fuglsang, Moreno, Rodriguez and Valverde.

Samuel Sanchez has around ten seconds in hand on the elite front group as he approaches the summit of the climb.

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Richie Porte is piloting Froome on the descent, while Contador is looking to guide Rogers. The yellow jersey group is ten seconds down on Fuglsang and Sanchez as leaden drops of rain begin to fall.

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Rogers, Moreno and Navarro all stand to gain ground on Rohan Dennis, who was dropped almost two kilometres from the summit of the Col du Noyer.

Fuglsang and Sanchez are positively hurtling down this descent, and have stretched their lead out to 20 seconds. Valverde attempted to inject some pace into the pursuit, but he has since relented and once again it is Alberto Contador who takes up the reins.

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The bobbing Contador leads Rogers, while the yellow jersey of Froome sits comfortably in the wheels for now.

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Nobody is daring to lend Contador a hand in the leading the pursuit. The Spaniard looks over his shoulder once again and to get a better idea of how Froome is holding up. So far, the Sky rider has seemed comfortable.

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Navarro and Rodriguez are caught with 900 metres to go, and Richie Porte (Sky) has now shot out of the yellow jersey group in lone pursuit of Sanchez and Fuglsang.

But Sanchez and Fuglsang have the gap and they line up shoulder to shoulder to sprint for stage victory...

Sanchez kicks with 200 metres to go and leads in to the final bend.

Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) wins stage 7 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, beating Jacob Fuglsang (Astana) into second place.

Richie Porte (Sky) comes home in 3rd, 15 seconds down and just ahead of Dani Moreno (Katusha). The yellow jersey group finishes 16 seconds down on Sanchez, although Contador was distanced in the finishing straight. He crossed the line 10th, 23 seconds down.

Chris Froome, of course, retains the overall lead, 51 seconds ahead of Porte, while Michael Rogers moves up to third overall after Rohan Dennis lost ground. Dennis drops to 9th overall, 2:48 down.

Result:

General classification:

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