The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Froome eats into Contador’s lead
Alberto Contador saw his lead trimmed as Edvald Boasson Hagen won stage four of the Criterium du Dauphine.
Spain’s Contador (Tinkoff) was caught the wrong side of a split in the peloton caused by a late crash.
Defending champion Chris Froome (Team Sky) was the main beneficiary.
Briton Froome moved four seconds behind Contador, leapfrogging Richie Porte, who was also caught out and remains six seconds adrift.
Contador was disgruntled over the lack of application of the 3km rule, where the race is neutralised for riders who are caught in crashes in the latter stages.
Norway’s Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data) outsprinted Frenchmen Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx-QuickStep) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) to win the 176km stage from Tain-l’Hermitage to Belley.
The race now heads for the mountains, with three challenging stages before Sunday’s conclusion.