Hayter second in Dauphine sprint opener

05 Jun 2022

Hayter second in Dauphine sprint opener

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Criterium du Dauphine - Stage 1 » La Voulte-sur-Rhône › Beauchastel, 191.8km Brussels Cycling Classic, 203.9km

Ethan Hayter was narrowly edged into second place as the INEOS Grenadiers kicked off the 2022 Criterium du Dauphine.

The opening day ended in a select sprint, with the team pushing hard late on to ensure a number of key fast men were distanced in the final, driving the pace off the final climb of the day.

After Filippo Ganna accelerated into the final kilometre and Michal Kwiatkowski completed the lead-out, Hayter launched his sprint but was just unable to hold off Wout Van Aert at the line. The Belgian (Jumbo-Visma) had placed himself perfectly on Hayter's wheel in the final metres, taking the stage and the early lead.

Second place saw Hayter pick up six bonus seconds, but also saw the Brit pull on the white young rider's jersey. The rest of his teammates, including GC men Tao Geoghegan Hart and Eddie Dunbar, were able to finish safely in the bunch.
Sunday also saw the Brussels Cycling Classic in Belgium. The team reverted back to their impressive Spring form on the cobbles, with Magnus Sheffield ripping it up  and leading the front group over the Muur on both passes.

Despite the American looking to push on, and an elite group forming which also contained Ben Turner, eventually the race eventually came back together. A sprint looked on the cards, but the day's breakaway had other plans - with Taco van der Hoorne (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) winning the sprint from the escapees.

Jhonatan Narvaez had pushed hard late on in a bid to bring the move back, with Turner the team's top finisher as the peloton battled it out for the lower placings. Sadly Elia Viviani was unable to contest the sprint after a crash took him out of contention early on.