Colombian rider Daniel Martinez won the Criterium du Dauphine on the final day after overnight leader Primoz Roglic pulled out.
Roglic withdrew before the final stage in France because of injuries sustained in a crash on Saturday which left the Jumbo-Visma rider “in a lot of pain”.
EF Pro Cycling’s Martinez started the day 12 seconds behind Thibaut Pinot of Groupama-FDJ, who inherited the lead.
The stage was won by Roglic’s Jumbo-Visma team-mate Sepp Kuss.
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The 153.5km stage saw Pinot lose his lead and a further 29secs to Martinez, 24, on the climbs from and back to Megeve, as several lead riders expected to perform at the Tour struggled.
2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal pulled out of the race on Saturday to “rest a bad back,” according to fellow Team Ineos rider Geraint Thomas.
The younger riders have impressed during this race, no more so than Kuss, 25, who helped lead Roglic into the yellow jersey with some strong performances on the climbs before winning himself on Sunday.
Kuss, from the United States, is yet another talented prospect from Jumbo-Visma, who also celebrated Milan-San Remo winner Wout van Aert’s claiming of the green jersey in this race, not to mention taking the first stage.
The most impressive individual performance should perhaps to go UAE-Team Emirates’ Davide Formolo, for his huge breakaway ride over the hors category Col de la Madeleine to victory on Friday’s third stage.
The Dauphine is the final warm-up race for many riders before the Tour de France, which begins on 29 August.
Elsewhere, Lotto-Soudal’s Caleb Ewan won the bunch sprint at the end of the first stage of the Tour de Wallonie in Belgium, beating Mark Cavendish of Bahrain-McLaren who was blocked by Sam Bennett of Deceuninck-Quick Step.
What of Ineos and Bernal v Froome?
The race has been frustrating for Team Ineos as they prepare to try to defend their title at the Tour de France.
They have won the Tour each year since 2014 and have taken seven of the past eight Tours, in their Sky and Ineos incarnations.
In this delayed season, the team have had the dilemma of deciding who has the best form of their three Tour-winning riders out of Bernal, four-time winner Chris Froome and 2018 victor Geraint Thomas.
The Dauphine was the third of three important warm-up races which helped to compare the three riders – unlikely as it seems for the team to take three lead riders to the Tour.
And while Bernal showed the most strength, his back strain casts some uncertainty over who the team will choose. Whilst it’s true both Froome and Thomas have worked for Bernal, they know the times they set themselves are an important reflection of their own form.
The rider in the most perilous position appeared to be Froome, as he lost the most time during the three races – rebuilding as he is following the terrible injuries sustained during a crash this time last year.
However, Froome may yet be happy not to lead the team and play ‘super domestique’ at the Tour rather than miss out altogether.
Thanks to the less-than-certain prospects of all three riders, Froome may yet find himself in contention.
Fifth stage result:
1. Sepp Kuss (USA/Jumbo-Visma) 3hrs 58mins 39secs
2. Daniel Martinez (Col/EF Pro Cycling) +27secs
3. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Emirates) +30secs
4. Pavel Sivakov (Rus/Team Ineos) +45secs
5. Tom Dumoulin (Ned/Jumbo-Visma) +51secs
Selected others:
11. Adam Yates (GB/Michelton-Scott) +1mins 52secs
92. Chris Froome (GB/Team Ineos) +33mins 38secs
105. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Ineos) +33mins 48secs
General classification:
1. Daniel Martinez (Col/EF Pro Cycling) 21hrs 44mins 58secs
2. Thibaut Pinot (Fra/Groupama-FDJ) +29secs
3. Guillaume Martin (Fra/Cofidis) +41secs
4. Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE-Emirates) +56secs
5. Miguel Angel Lopez (Col/Astana) +1min 38secs
Selected others:
17. Adam Yates (GB/Michelton-Scott) +17mins 19secs
37. Geraint Thomas (GB/Team Ineos) +53mins 38secs
71. Chris Froome (GB/Team Ineos) +1hr 26mins 14secs
source: Matt Warwick
BBC Sport
