Alberto Contador puts Chris Froome under pressure in Criterium du Dauphine
Solo attack by Alberto Contador during stage five of the Dauphine causes Sky to chase hard to protect Chris Froome's lead


Alberto Contador put Chris Froome's lead to the test today in France's Critérium du Dauphiné with an unexpected attack on a descent. He said that he wanted to try to rattle Team Sky ahead of the big weekend stages to come.
"I didn't think to attack, not at all and not because I saw a weakness in team Sky," Tinkoff-Saxo's Spaniard said. "I went because it was hard day for everyone. I tried to shake things up."
The race in the country's southeast travelled through the Alps where Contador rode towards two Tour de France wins. Today, he followed his team-mate Sergio Paulinho on the descent of the Col de la Morte with more than 25 kilometres to race and worked to gain a 1-20-minute advantage on Froome, effectively taking over the lead by more than one minute.
"I knew that it'd be difficult to arrive to the finish line, but I thought that if I could get to the head of the race, to Simon Spilak, then maybe I'd have a chance," Contador said. "When I saw I couldn't do it, at that point [with 17km to race], I eased up."
Froome did not respond immediately but turned to his team-mates Richie Porte and Mikel Nieve. Porte lifted the pace on the final Côte de Laffrey climb until Contador had no choice but to surrender to Froome.
"I said to my guys that we'll take the descent at a reasonable pace, some of the tarmac is melting, he could probably pick up that we weren't going to go all out and he pushed the limits," Froome said.
"You can read his attack in two ways: he's not so confident with the weekend to come – with the queen stage on Saturday – or he's very confident. That's one thing I respect about him, he's not afraid to take the race on, not on the climbs or on the descent."
Froome leads the race with 12 seconds on Contador and third-placed Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) with three days remaining: one relatively easy stage tomorrow and two mountain-top finish stages this weekend. He made those gains in the first day's time trial in Lyon and the following day up the Col du Béal.
"The biggest days are to come, but on the two important days so far, Froome has already showed to be stronger than me," Contador added. "However, my true goal, the Tour de France, is still 22 days away."
Credit: watson
Simon Spilak makes it two out of two for Katusha at the Dauphiné
The Slovenian solos to victory in La Mure a day after Yury Trofimov won in Gap; Alberto Contador fails to
Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Gregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist, based in Florence, Italy. He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro, Tour de France, and every major race since 2006. His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX, before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.
-
-
Tour de France packs up for the long drive home
Race waves goodbye to Denmark and gets ready to move everything to Calais for race restart on Tuesday
By Simon Richardson • Published
-
Tour de France 2022 standings: who is leading the race after stage three?
Who is on the top step at the 109th edition of the race?
By Rob Spedding • Published
-
Israel-Premier Tech unveils limited edition Tour de France kit
Team launches ‘Field of dreams’ campaign to help kids in Rwanda
By Tom Thewlis • Published
-
Ineos set to launch new Kenyan cycling academy with Eliud Kipchoge - the first man to run a marathon under two hours
The multinational chemicals company will work in partnership with Ineos Grenadiers and Eliud Kipchoge
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
David Gaudu steals Critérium du Dauphiné stage three win from prematurely celebrating Wout Van Aert
The Groupama-FDJ rider's superior throw launched himself past the Belgian, who started his celebrations too early
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
After injuries that meant he had to learn to walk again, Froome says fans need to manage expectations
The Israel-Premier Tech rider is cycling pain-free for the first time since his 2019 crash at the Critérium du Dauphiné, something he says people should remember
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Alexis Vuillermoz fights back to win stage two of the Critérium du Dauphiné
The TotalEnergies rider was part of a five-rider breakaway, and sprinted past Olivier Le Gac to take the stage victory in the closing stages
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
How to watch the Critérium du Dauphiné 2022: Live stream the major French stage race
Everything you need to know about catching all of the live action of the 2022 edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné on TV
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Chris Froome eager to lose weight after 'baptism of fire' at Coppi e Bartali
The Briton admitted he was 2kg overweight after the Italian race, while confirming he will race the Tour of the Alps
By Ryan Dabbs • Published
-
Chris Froome confirmed to race Tour of the Alps
Organisers announced the Briton's involvement for just his second race of 2022
By Ryan Dabbs • Published