Young Italian comes close to his second victory of the season.
Labeled by many as the last real opportunity for the attackers before the mountainous weekend that will decide the winner of the 75th Critérium du Dauphiné, stage 6 witnessed a fierce battle for the breakaway. For more than 50 kilometers, attacks came in waves, for each small group that went up the road being a team that responded immediately and pegged it back.
It was only on the first classified ascent of this 192.6km stage that a move was established, and when it did, the Wolfpack was represented there by Andrea Bagioli, a top 10 finisher this week in Chaintré. The Italian was prominent in the group whose maximum advantage went north of four minutes with 80 kilometers to go, before the peloton began to gradually erode it under the impetus of several squads who wanted a bunch sprint in Gap.
For a moment there, inside the final ten kilometers, it looked as if they would do it, but the front group – where Andrea continued to put in some strong pulls – crested a small unranked climb with over 40 seconds in hand, at which point it became clear they would fight for glory. In the end, it wasn’t a sprint for the win, but a solo attack, and Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) took the victory. Bagioli tried to close the gap to the Frenchman with 200 meters to go, but with little help from the others he couldn’t do it and eventually finished fourth.
“The first part of the stage was crazy fast, a lot of riders wanted to be in the front and we had one attack after another. Then, once a breakaway formed, we worked well together and despite all odds, we managed to hold off the bunch. The finish was a bit strange, as it was all downhill, so when a rider attacked from behind, it was really difficult for me to shut down that move. It’s a pity I couldn’t get the victory, as I was very close today, but it is as it is. Now I look forward to recovering a bit and helping the team in the next two days”, said Andrea after the stage.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
