Alejandro Valverde (41) demolishes rivals to win at Dauphiné | Video | Sticky Bottle

*Alejandro Valverde (41) made last year's Giro d'Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart - and everyone else in the select group - look very ordinary in the final sprint to the line on the uphill finish today*

Spanish veteran Alejandro Valverde has taken victory on today's stage 6 at Critérium du Dauphiné, proving head and shoulders above his rivals in the final sprint to the line.

The 41-year-old Movistar rider kept his powder dry on the final short climb up to the finish line and allowed Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) pounce from the select group to gain a gap.

Valverde picked his moment as the line neared and moved after Geoghegan Hart, gaining ground on him immediately. He then looked over his shoulder to see if anyone had been able to stay with him, which they had not.

🏁 Un sprint entre leaders pour la victoire de 🇪🇸@alejanvalverde. 💪
⏪ Revivez le dernier kilomètre de la 6ème étape du #Dauphiné.

🏁 Sprint between the favourites and victory for 🇪🇸@alejanvalverde. 💪
⏪ Relive the last kilometre of stage 6. pic.twitter.com/G2FLygftjk

— Tour Auvergne Rhône-Alpes (@tourauverhalpes) June 4, 2021

And once Valverde had confirmed none of the others had been strong enough to hold his wheel, he sprinted up to Geoghegan Hart and passed him with ease to take what was a comfortable win in the end.

The last of the men from the stage-long breakaway were only caught inside the final 5km of the 167.2km stage from Loriol-sur-Drome to Le Sappey-en-Chartreuse.

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And when Lawson Craddock (EF Education Nippo) was caught, after he survived longest from the breakaway, stage honours came down to a battle between the 20-rider select group containing all of the big names.

Valverde timed his effort to perfection and demonstrated significant strength in overhauling Geoghegan Hart in the final sprint, beating the British rider by several lengths.

*Lutsenko has moved into the race lead after he finished in the select group today that was competing for stage victory*

The Bora-hansgrohe duo of Patrick Konrad and Wilco Kelderman were 3rd and 4th, with the top 20 riders all on the same time. They were all comprehensively beaten by Valverde, who is somehow still capable of beating some of the very best riders in the world.

Yellow jersey Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-hansgrohe) lost time today on the hilly course and his four-stage tenure in the leader's jersey came to an end as he was 60th, just over eight minutes back.

His time loss resulted in TT stage winner Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech) moving up from 2nd overall into yellow. Lutsenko finished in the lead group today and had started the stage just one second down on Pöstlberger.

Ryan Mullen (Trek Segafredo) is in the only Irish rider in the race and the former multiple national road race and TT champion was 123rd today at 15:24 on hilly terrain that did not suit him.

More to follow.