After being part of a day-long break, Matthew Busche seized the moment to attack with 5km to go and attempt a solo victory at Valmorel.
Matthew Busche: “ 'Shoot! Go!' Those were the only things I was thinking when I saw Froome approaching at less than 200 meters to go. There was not much I could do. I gave all that I had and I come away with real mixed emotions.”
Busche went under the red kite still solo, but behind him Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) had initiated an attack at 1.3km to go and then Christopher Froome of Sky began to chase in earnest. Froome easily caught Contador and then rocketed past Busche to take the stagewin in what has already been a winning season for the Sky rider. Contador and Busche crossed in second and third at four-seconds back.
Busche: “Just before final climb I had bad legs but when we hit the climb they felt good and I did the climb at my own rhythm. I caught back one guy (Wellens) and was left alone in the front. Dirk did an amazing job encouraging me and giving me information. I gave everything I had so I have no regrets. In the end I got nothing but third is ok.”
Team director Alain Gallopin: “If Alberto had not attacked, Matthew would have won so it’s a pity. Our tactic was good. Busche was at 4 minutes on GC so he wasn’t dangerous. He really deserved to win,” concluded Gallopin.
Despite a valiant effort to keep yellow, young Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) lost almost a minute on the stage and slipped out of the race lead. Froome now wears yellow by 52-seconds to teammate Richie Porte and 54 to Dennis.
An early break of 12 riders soon swelled to 15 to make the road action on stage 5 with a peloton of 171 riders racing in ideal weather into the snow fields of the Valmorel ski area. Those joining Busche included Wellens (Lotto-Belisol), Bookwalter (BMC), Lindeman (Vacansoleil) and Gavazzi of Astana. The group pulled out more than five minutes as they faced the challenging course of climbs, holding the group together on the early category three and four climbs before arriving at the HC finishing climb at 12km to go. On the climb Busche was the strongest from the group, riding a steady rhythm up the hillside, only being caught in the closing meters by previous Tour de France winner Alberto Contador and this year's pre-Tour favorite Froome.
Busche: “The best chance for me to win astage is this way, to come out of a breakaway. When the team gives me the green light to try again, I’ll do it, but I will be happy to help Haimar get a nice overall result.”
Also putting up a good performance today for RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK was Ben Hermans. With 7km from the start of the climb, he was involved in a crash with Purito Rodriguez and others but managed to come back and finish with Haimar near the top 20 mark.
There are three days still to race in the 2013 Critérium du Dauphiné. Friday’s stage 6 at 143km begins in La Léchère and ends in Grenoble and is perhaps a final chance for the sprinters before the last two mountain stages bring the race to a conclusion.
