Cycling is a sport that consolidates blood, sweat and tears. And things were not any different at the Tour de France warm-up race (the Criterium du Dauphine). Though blood was not evident, a sweat-drenched Andrew Talansky proved his mettle and won the Tour de France warm-up race ahead of Alberto Contador.
It was tears before bedtime for Contador, who had snatched the race lead from Chris Froome on the penultimate stage but was unable to catch up with Talansky in the home stretch, and he finished 39 seconds behind Talansky.
It was a sad day for the reigning Tour de France champion Chris Froome, who seemed to be on the ropes as he finished 12th despite the fact that he had dominated the race in its early stages. Giving a rationale behind his poor performance, Foome said,” I’ve felt completely blocked up through my front of quads since the crash, and I’ve not been able to engage the same types of muscles that I used in the earlier stages.” Froome had previously crashed on the six stage an incident the polar opposite of the opening time trial, which he won.
Despite Chris Froome’s dismal performance, Team Sky received some consolation from Mikel Nieve, who won the stage with Adams Yates in third.
Talansky, 25 year old, was in tears and elated with his winning, as it was his grandest race win in his career, and he cemented his win by saying, “You put your whole life into something and it can be very hard at times. So moments like this make it all worthwhile.”
Cycling enthusiast will now be waiting with baited breath for the 101st Tour de France, which starts on 5 July.
Last Updated on April 29, 2023
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