Critérium du Dauphiné
Stage 7: Saint-Genix-les-Villages to Les Sept Laux-Pipay
Historical Note
This stage took place on 15 June 2019 and was won by Dutch rider Wout Poels representing Team Ineos. Poels completed the 133 km stage (82.6 miles) in a time of 4 hours 1 minute and 34 seconds.
Layout: 94 cm (37 in) x 63 cm (25 in)
Topographical plan of the stage was created using the Flamme Rouge Companion App designed by Benoit Gourdin.
The Race
This was the second of the three Mountain stages making up this year’s Critérium course and was set to ask serious questions of all the riders, and especially of the Sprinteurs. The stage provided the opportunity for riders to gain, relatively speaking, a lot of Mountain points, as the stage winner would pocket 7 pts in addition to the Points Classification point available for crossing the finish line first. However, this promised to be no easy task, as the final climb to the finish was going to be a real monster. At the start, the two Blue Mountain riders maintained their overall race lead over the rest of the field and were looking forward to another good day at the office.
The peloton assembles.
Michel Blanc and Kyle Blackstone lead.
The final stretch will be brutal.
The stage was led off at a steady pace, with the Rouleurs Kyle Blackstone and Michel Blanc pulling the peloton forward at a constant speed. These two riders were in the lead going into the first climb, closely followed by Rhys Coch and Hansie Pienk. Just ahead of the climb, Michel and Kyle crossed the first intermediate sprint line and collected 2 and 1 pt, respectively. Forcing the pace as the climb continued, Rhys was able to move to the front and took the first summit ahead of the other two Rouleurs, thus taking the 3 pts. On the descent, the lead chopped and changed between these three riders and it was Michel who eventually led onto the cobbles. When Czerwiński from the Red Dragons joined this group, a breakaway formed as they exited the cobbles and headed towards the second climb.
As these four riders hit the start of climb two, Rhys and Kyle were side by side in the lead. As the summit approached Michel fell off the back of this lead group to join the chasing group which consisted of Frankie Moss, Khariyn Battoyrog and Héctor Azul. With the race now split into four groups, Rhys took the 3 Mountain points, while Kyle and Michał collected 2 and 1, respectively. As the shallow descent following this climb began, Michel managed to claw his way back to join the leaders. Meanwhile, his team-mate Federico was languishing way off the back of the field and had not even approached the start of the ascent.
The Red Dragons try to seize the initiative.
Team Camargue take the stage win.
Kyle took the riders into the final, gruelling climb and the exertion began to take its toll on Michał who fell back to the chasing group unable to keep up with the leaders. As the leaders rounded the hairpin turn and the line came into sight, Michel Blanc moved to the front and struck for home. The Team Camargue rider finished strongly well ahead of the rest of the field to claim his team’s second stage win and a massive 7 Mountain points. Behind Michel, Héctor Azul had been calmly moving up the field and finished in fifth alongside fourth-placed Rhys Coch and just behind Kyle Blackstone in second. Third place went to João Ultramar, who timed his final push to the line with perfection. The Combativity Award for the stage went to Michel Blanc.
Stage Result
- Michel Blanc (Team Camargue)
- Kyle Blackstone (Black Eagle Racing) + 1’00”
- João Ultramar (Blue Mountain) + 1’50”
- Rhys Coch (Red Dragons) + 1’50”
- Héctor Azul (Blue Mountain) + 1’50”
- Niklas Groen (Racing Green) + 3’00”
- Frankie Moss (Racing Green) + 3’00”
- Hansie Pienk (Rose Racers) + 4’00”
- Michał Czerwiński (Red Dragons) + 5’00”
- Rock Salmon (Rose Racers) + 5’00”
- Federico Bianchi (Team Camargue) + 5’00”
- Khariyn Battoyrog (Black Eagle Racing) + 7’00”
General Classification (after Stage 7/8)
- João Ultramar
- Héctor Azul + 0”
- Niklas Groen + 2’40”
- Michel Blanc + 5’00”
- Kyle Blackstone + 5’50”
- Frankie Moss + 6’20”
- Rock Salmon + 9’00”
- Rhys Coch + 9’40”
- Federico Bianchi + 11’50”
- Hansie Pienk + 15’50”
- Michał Czerwiński + 18’50”
- Khariyn Battoyrog + 24’20”
Mountains Classification
Stage 7
Michel Blanc 9 pts
Rhys Coch 7 pts
Kyle Blackstone 7 pts
João Ultramar 2 pts
Michał Czerwiński 1 pt
after Stage 7 / 8
Kyle Blackstone 12 pts
Héctor Azul 11 pts
Michel Blanc 9 pts
Rhys Coch 8 pts
João Ultramar 5 pts
Niklas Groen 3 pts
Frankie Moss 3 pts
Federico Bianchi 2 pts
Michał Czerwiński 2 pts
Khariyn Battoyrog 1 pt
Points Classification
Stage 7
Michel Blanc 3 pts
Kyle Blackstone 1 pt
after Stage 7 / 8
João Ultramar 11 pts
Federico Bianchi 8 pts
Héctor Azul 8 pts
Frankie Moss 7 pts
Niklas Groen 7 pts
Kyle Blackstone 7 pts
Michel Blanc 6 pts
Rhys Coch 3 pts
Khariyn Battoyrog 1 pt
Michał Czerwiński 1 pt