Kruijswijk reaches Alps stages Dauphiné unscathed

Kruijswijk reaches Alps stages Dauphiné unscathed

Steven Kruijswijk has come through the sixth stage of the Criterium du Dauphiné unscathed. In this hilly stage, the leader of Team Jumbo-Visma finished in the peloton- together with the other GC riders - at just over six minutes from stage winner Julian Alaphilippe. Kruijswijk gained one place overall at the expense of teammate Wout van Aert. He is now fifth at 24 seconds from Adam Yates. Van Aert retained his green points jersey, but lost his lead in the youth classification.

In the long stage from Saint-Vulbas to Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, with eight climbs along the way, relatively little happened. A trio got a maximum of fifteen minutes and sprinted for the stage win. In the group of favourites, Kruijswijk was well-positioned by his team at the ascent of the Col de Beaune. He was assisted by Sepp Kuss and Neilson Powless.

“The goal for us was to get Steven to the final climb in the best possible way”, Grischa Niermann explained. “We succeeded in that. For us, it was an ideal race situation. With confidence we look forward to the two Alp stages.”

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