COURCHEVEL, France: American Andrew Talansky was the surprise winner of the Criterium du Dauphine after he overcame a 39-second deficit to beat pre-race favourites Alberto Contador and Chris Froome yesterday.
The final stage had been expected to be a showdown between Tour de France champions Contador and Froome, who had led the race for the first six stages before being outclassed by the Spaniard on Saturday in the overall standings by eight-seconds.
But Talansky surged past the favourites during the 131.5 km eighth stage from Megeve to Courchevel to finish on top of the overall standings by 27 seconds.
“Moments like this make the sacrifices worthwhile,” an emotional Talansky told reporters.
While Contador trailed in more than a minute behind Talansky in the final stage, Froome struggled to maintain contact and ended up finishing outside the top 10 in the general classification.
Froome’s fellow Team Sky rider Mikel Nieve won yesterday’s stage in three hours 20 minutes 29 seconds.
Talansky produced a stunning late breakaway to cross the line in fourth, nine seconds behind Nieve.REUTERS
