Grenadiers animate stage six of the Dauphine

Stage 6 » Hauterives › Le Collet d'Allevard, 174.1km

The INEOS Grenadiers produced a fine team performance in the finale of stage six of the Criterium du Dauphine to place sixth and seventh on the stage.

The day marked the first of a trio of tough mountain stages that bookend the week-long stage race, and the Grenadiers were the first to show their intent at the foot of the final climb. With all seven of the squad at the head of the race, Ben Turner positioned the team into the foot of the mountain, before Josh Tarling took up the pace on the lower slopes. Omar Fraile then cut the bunch down significantly, before Jonatan Castroviejo put paid to many a rival’s GC ambitions.

Michał Kwiatkowski would then do a huge turn to lop down the leaders group yet further. Then, Laurens De Plus would attack near the five kilometre to go banner, forcing the other teams to chase. ‘De Pluski’ would work hard to maintain the gap with Aleksandr Vlasov (BOH), but the pace in the group behind would see the pair caught in the run-in. 

Carlos Rodriguez was still a part of that group, and the Belgian and the Spaniard would cross the line sixth and seventh respectively.