Porte takes Dauphine title as Thomas recovers from fall to finish third
Richie Porte claimed his first Criterium du Dauphine victory while Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Geraint Thomas was able to recover from a fall to claim a spot on the podium.
Two-time runner-up Porte became the first Australian to win the race in 36 years after a controlled 147-kilometre final stage through the Hautesavoie Alps to Les Getts.
Porte ended up 17 seconds ahead of Astana-premier Tech’s Alexey Lutsenko in the general classification, with Thomas a further 12 seconds adrift in third despite hitting the deck on the final descent.
The Welshman was able to recover impressively to join the rest of the yellow jersey group and offer Porte muchneeded support until the end of the race.
Bahrain Victorious’ Mark Padun claimed a second stage victory in two days to ensure he was King of the Mountains.
The Ukrainian had too much for his rivals and won by one minute and 36 seconds, which ensured he was able to celebrate for the majority of his last kilometre. But Porte, Thomas and Ineos Grenadiers were able to reflect on a successful Criterium du Dauphine as they prepare for the Tour de France which gets under way later this month.
At the Tour De Suisse, the opening time trial ended in a home 1-2. 2021 Tour de Stefan Küng (Groupama-fdj) powered to victory on the 10.9-kilometre course, beating Stefan
Bissegger (EF Education-nippo) by four seconds to take the first leader's yellow jersey.
Mattia Cattaneo (Deceuninck-quickstep) rounded out the podium in third place with a strong ride to finish 12 seconds down. His teammate Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-quickstep) had the best result of the GC contenders, finishing fourth 19 seconds back.