Richie Porte happy to come away with Dauphiné lead after 'crazy descent'
Porte managed to hold an advantage over rival Chris Froome after stage six of the Critérium du Dauphiné to take the overall lead


The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to The Pick. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Australian Richie Porte (BMC Racing) happily took the Critérium du Dauphiné yellow jersey lead on Friday after a "crazy descent" off the Mont du Chat in France.
Porte chased down an attack by Chris Froome (Sky) on the descent, which will be used in the upcoming Tour de France. The two raced into La Motte-Servolex with Astana's Fabio Aru and Jakob Fuglsang, who won the sprint.
"There were a lot of attacks [on the climb], but our team stayed calm," Porte explained. "I was happy to come over the top with just Froome and I, and Aru in front with Jakob.
“It was a good stage, a crazy descent, but I'm in a good place."
Porte leads the overall by 39 seconds on Froome. Fuglsang is at 1-15 and other favourites like Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r) lost time.
The 8.7km climb in southeast France averages 10.3 per cent. Porte had Nicolas Roche and others working to keep him in front when previous leader Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) faded. With Froome, they kept Aru at a manageable 12-second gap over the top with 15.5 kilometres to race.
Froome led out, Porte accelerated on the right by the barriers, but Fuglsang succeeded to the left.
"It's nice to have the jersey, but I know the next two days are going to be super hard," Porte said. "I feel up for it. I think we have the team here to try to finish it off on Sunday."
Fuglsang notched his first victory since 2012 and Astana's second of the 2017 season, following Michele Scarponi's win in the Tour of the Alps in April.
The Italian died after the race when training at home. He had been due to lead the Giro d'Italia team for Fabio Aru, who hurt his knee in a crash and cancelled his plans to race.
"It's been a bit of bad luck for our team," Fuglsang said. "Luckily we are competitive now before the Tour.
"To go in the Dauphiné like this, and on the first hard stage. To be there in front with two of the other favourites for the Tour.
"Also, for the Dauphiné it's really nice. For me personally to win for the first time for Astana... It's a huge relief, a huge relief."
The weight fell on Astana's shoulders with two men in the four-man front group. Aru played his card on the ascent, Fuglsang chased Froome on the descent. In the sprint, Aru gave the faster Fuglsang a lead-out.
"It's a success of the team, not only Fabio and me, but the guys who worked before the climb and kept us in position to make it as easy as possible. Also, they were there and protecting and helping. It's a victory for the whole team, for sure."
Thank you for reading 20 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
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
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.
-
-
Cycling keeps you fit but are you doing enough to stay healthy?
It’s possible to be very fit in one specific way, for example being fast on a bike, while being unhealthy in other ways
By Joe Laverick Published
-
Dr Hutch: Motor-doping isn't rife, there's no way cyclists would use it discreetly enough
Some fans think that motor-doping is rife, but Cycling Weekly's columnist Dr Hutch is having none of it
By Michael Hutchinson Published
-
Chris Froome 'absolutely not' worth multi-million euro salary says his team boss
The four-time Tour de France winner was not selected for this year's Tour de France for performance reasons, Israel-Premier Tech boss Sylvan Adams says
By Chris Marshall-Bell Published
-
Chords to cols: How Jonas Vingegaard went from guitars to Grand Tours
If he'd followed a music teacher's advice the 2022 Tour de France winner might have ended up starring on a different type of stage
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
Chris Froome not selected for Tour de France 2023
38-year-old misses out on 'ultimate goal' as Israel-Premier Tech confirm eight-man squad
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Roll on the Tour de France: Jonas Vingegaard ready after dominant Critérium du Dauphiné win
Tadej Pogačar is seemingly the only man in the world in between the Dane and a second Tour title
By Adam Becket Published
-
From doubts to a first pro win: Mikkel Bjerg takes stage four and yellow jersey at Critérium du Dauphiné
Jonas Vingegaard most impressive of general classification contenders on hot day in the Loire
By Adam Becket Published
-
Christophe Laporte doubles up at Critérium du Dauphiné with 'unexpected' stage three win
Frenchman proves his form and outfoxes Sam Bennett and Dylan Groenewegen to take second stage victory in three days
By Tom Thewlis Published
-
‘I surprised myself’ - Julian Alaphilippe back to winning ways on stage two of Critérium du Dauphiné
Former world champion rediscovers form ahead of the Tour de France
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Jonas Vingegaard to David Gaudu: Eight riders to watch at the Critérium du Dauphiné 2023
Stacked GC field also includes Adam Yates, Richard Carapaz, Mikel Landa and Jai Hindley
By Tom Thewlis Published