A first direct fight between the GC contenders took place towards Salins-les-Bains this Thursday on the Critérium du Dauphiné. The tough Côte de Thésy created some damage fifteen kilometres from the finish on stage 5, and Lenny Martinez managed to follow the main group of leaders, behind the solo winner Jonas Vingegaard. The young French climber then secured ninth place on the day, 31 seconds behind the Dane, while David Gaudu reached the line about a minute after the winner.
Before returning to the Ain department and then heading towards the Alps, the Critérium du Dauphiné headed north on Thursday, for a slight detour through the Jura region. The tough part of the day actually began only once entering this area, as the first 90 kilometres of stage 5 were quite flat. Six men took advantage of this ‘easy’ start to break away early: Nils Politt (Bora-hansgrohe), Edvald Boasson-Hagen (TotalEnergies), Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X), Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Dstny) and Leon Heinschke (DSM). The peloton gave them a four-minute advantage at first, but quickly made their intentions clear as several teams started a proper chase. In the second part of the race, the fight proved quite intense between the front group and the pack. The latter first managed to take back time second by second, but on the first climb of the final, the gap then really dropped. The leading men only had a one-minute lead at the top, and just twenty seconds or so when approaching the Côte de Thésy. Short (3 kilometres) and located fourteen kilometres from the finish, this final climb however featured a very demanding 9% slope. Also, the race opened up right away with the attack of Richard Carapaz, then that of Jonas Vingegaard.
David Gaudu, step by step
The breakaway was caught immediately and the ‘’main’’ peloton was reduced to around twenty riders after only one kilometre of climbing. Lenny Martinez, 19 years old, was still up there. “It went very fast from the bottom, and I also had to brake because the yellow jersey crashed”, said the young man. “I saw that the first part of the bunch was right in front, and I managed my effort so as not to explode. I came back progressively, I repositioned myself in case it attacked again, but just by following the wheels”. The French climber passed the summit inside the GC group, about forty seconds behind Vingegaard, on his way to a solo victory. “I just made sure to follow until the finish”, explained Lenny, who still got involved in the sprint to take a nice 9th place. “It’s impressive to be with the guys who are going on the Tour, and I’m happy to be up there”. While Lenny Martinez finished thirty-one seconds behind the new yellow jersey, David Gaudu fought to limit his losses to just a minute this Thursday. “Of course, that’s not the day David was hoping for,” confided Philippe Mauduit. “But again, we are far from the Tour. The situation is not nice for him because he is always ambitious, but there is no panic. The Dauphiné continues, and there is still work to be done. We remain calm and confident”.
Before another hilly stage into Crest-Voland on Friday then two big mountain stages, David Gaudu sits 25th overall, 3’22 behind Vingegaard. Lenny Martinez climbed to 30th, at 3’55.
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