monitoring Desk
\nJUSSAC
\nNorway\u2019s Edvald Boasson Hagen of Dimension Data won a sprint in a reduced peloton of the chief race contenders after a short but challenging opening stage of the Criterium du Dauphine on Sunday.
\nIt was the third win of the season for the 32-year-old, who got the edge on Belgian pair Philippe Gilbert of Quick Step and Jumbo newcomer Wout Van Aert.
\nIn a race seen as form sharpening for the Tour de France Chris Froome, riding in the black and red of Ineos, finished in the reduced group of around 35 riders after the 142km run over six lush, green, hills in the stunning Cantal region.
\n\u201cI doubt I\u2019ll be keeping the yellow jersey for long,\u201d Boasson Hagen joked after the race, but his win is a good sign for his team with the Tour just three weeks away.
\n\u201cI got a bit lucky with the positioning,\u201d he said after coming round the back of Gilbert in the home straight in a trademark powerful last 150 metres. The day was marked by a long-range attack that stubbornly clung on to a slender lead until the final 600 metres.
\nAt that moment Quick Step ace Julian Alaphilippe put the hammer down with Gilbert on his wheel and a win for one of the Belgian classics specialists looked a certainty.
\n\u201cIt shows I\u2019ve got the legs,\u201d Boasson Hagen told France Television after his sprint.
\nIt is unlikely that had sprint-specialist Mark Cavendish been riding the race the Manxman would have made it over the hills with the select group, from which Boasson Hagen along with Sonny Colbrelli was a clear candidate for the win.
\nThe 24-year-old Van Aert was left hungry despite his podium finish.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll be trying my luck again but this was a great start, stage one and I have the white jersey,\u201d said former cyclo-cross champion.
\n\u201cI could have done better but it\u2019s a good result in the end and it shows I\u2019m on form,\u201d said Van Aert, one of the peloton\u2019s exciting rising stars.
\nEarlier in the race, on the final climb, Quick Step also tried to get away, but Froome, Michal Kwiatkowski and the Ineos band were onto them immediately.
\nMonday\u2019s second stage, a 180km undulating run from Mauriac in the Cantal region onto Craponne-sur-Arzon in the Haute-Loire offers the peloton eight hills to negotiate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
monitoring Desk JUSSAC Norway\u2019s Edvald Boasson Hagen of Dimension Data won a sprint in a reduced peloton of the chief race contenders after a short but challenging opening stage of the Criterium du Dauphine on Sunday. It was the third win of the season for the 32-year-old, who got the edge on Belgian pair Philippe […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-68309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n