Bardet crash takes Martin out of shot at Dauphiné stage win

Dan Martin looked well-poised to take a stab at stage glory only to get caught behind a crash in the final kilometres as the pace was winding up.

By Brian Canty

Dan Martin remains fourth overall at the Criterium du Dauphiné after surviving a punishing stage 2 this afternoon.

Movistar rider Jesus Herrada got the verdict after springing clear of a select group in the final metres to catch and pass the breakaway.

He had two seconds on Tony Gallopin (Lotto Soudal) with Serge Pauwels (Dimension Data) in third.

But Martin was in that front group alongside all the big general classification contenders, meaning he still trails leader Albert Contador (Tinkofff) by 21 seconds.

Richie Porte BMC Racing team) is next at six seconds and Chris Froome (Team Sky) is seven seconds further back in third.

Jesus Herrada (Movistar) takes victory after pouncing late to catch the breakaway well inside the last kilometre and power past them for a really strong win.

Martin looked ready to pounce for the stage on the uphill finish until Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale) crashed right in front of him, forcing him to brake suddenly and work extremely hard to get back to the group.

That effort effectively took him out of contention but he will have more chances as the week progresses and he still managed 11^th on the stage.

Martin's Etixx-QuickStep team did a superb job patrolling affairs in the final 30 kilometres of the race today; drilling a searing tempo in an effort to tee up Martin for possible victory.

They also had another card to play in Julian Alaphilippe who started the day fifth overall.

He was in that front group but never threatened for the stage win as he too was behind the crash, though he remains three seconds behind his Irish companion going into day four.

Alberto Contador remains in the yellow jersey after what proved to be a testing stage with a fantastic finish.

Tomorrow sees the riders travel 187 kilometres from Boen-sur-Lignon to Tournon-sur-Rhone.

And though it is another hilly affair with two category four climbs before a sharper category two ramp with 10 kilometres to go, it is expected to end in a sprint.

Sam Bennett will like the look of it and is once again likely to get full backing from his Bora-Argon 18 team.

The Carrick man took things a little easier today and rolled home in a group almost 20 minutes down on hilly terrain after his 3^rd place of yesterday.

Also in that group were a few others who’ll likely challenge for the stage tomorrow, including yesterday’s winner Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis).