Roglič drops Evenepoel as Rafferty, Bennett dig in on Dauphiné | Video

Remco Evenepoel had a dodgy day on the climbs, as he tends to on major stage races, as Primož Roglič put him to the sword (Photo: Billy Ceusters ASO)

Primož Roglič (Bora-hansgrohe) faced some questions when Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) beat him so comprehensively on the stage 4 TT at Critérium du Dauphiné (2.UWT) just 48 hours ago. But today the Slovenian demonstrated why he is one of the very best stage race riders of his generation.

He claimed victory on the summit finish of Le Collet d'Allevard, after 174km of stage 6; blowing away the last of those who could stay with him on the upper slopes of the climb and also taking the race lead in the process.

The man wearing yellow today, Evenepoel, was left behind in the second section of the select group when it split after Laurens De Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) first lit it up on the final climb and was joined by Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-hansgrohe).

As the leading duo ploughed along up front, the select group behind them split, with Roglič in the front section followed by the next group, about 20 seconds down for most of the climb, with Evenepoel among them.

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Primož Roglič looked close to his best today as he dropped everyone to win the stage and take the yellow jersey (Photo: Billy Ceusters ASO)

As the climb progressed, Roglič and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) managed to get to the front with Vlasov, who then rode as hard as he could until into the final 500m so his team leader could gain time on the other general classification men.

Roglič then hit the afterburners as the finish approached, with Ciccone immediately dropped and consigned to racing for 2nd place, some three seconds down on Roglič. Vlasov was 3rd at 11 seconds and though Evenepoel was paced for a long time by team mate Mikel Landa, he dropped the group he was in close to the finish.

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But that move by Evenepoel wasn't enough to save yellow, as he finished in 8th, some 42 seconds down on Roglič, who also took the 10-second stage win bonus. And those time gains meant Roglič is now in yellow by 17 seconds from Evenepoel with two much harder stages to come.

For the Irish in the race, today's hilly stage proved to be a tricky one, not helped for Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost) by his crash of yesterday. However, Rafferty and compatriot Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) dug in deep on a day when the field blew to pieces.

Rafferty finished in 43rd at 7:33, alongside team mate and US national champion Sean Quinn; this dropping from 22nd overall this morning to 35th at 9:59. Bennett, who will just use the coming weekend of racing to get condition for the Tour de France, was 112th today at 22:43.

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