BRITISH RIDER BRADLEY WIGGINS won his second successive Criterium du Dauphine title in France on Sunday and in doing so became just the third cyclist to win both the Duphine and Paris-Nice races in the same season.
Wiggins, of Team Sky, won the event with 1 minute 17 seconds to spare, with team-mate Michael Rogers of Australia second in the general classification.
Rogers’ compatriot, Cadel Evans (BMC Racing), finished third, 86 seconds behind the winner, while Brit Christopher Froome (also Team Sky) was 105 seconds adrift in fourth.
Spaniard Daniel Moreno (Team Katusha) won the final stage of the race, which saw riders confronted with a 124.5km leg between Morzine and Chatel.
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Despite a challenging stage that saw riders take on five significant climbs, Wiggins was always likely to come away with the yellow jersey.
While several different groups made early breakaways, they soon formed a group of eight, led by the likes of Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Jerome Coppel (Saur-Sojasun) and Sylvain Chavanel (Omega).
That group was reduced as the race continued and eventually it was just Rolland and Coppel at the front.
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) made unsuccessful moves to catch up with the leaders, but with just six kilometres remaining, Alexandre Geniez (Argos-Shimano) joined Rolland and Coppel after surging forward.
Team Katusha timed their run well though and in the latter stages, Rolland and Coppel knew they would be overran, with just under two-and-a-half kilometres remaining when they were caught.
The Katusha team continued to lead although Evans was well placed and made a late move.
He was followed by Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), who surged to the front but he had Moreno for company and the latter slipped past him in an exciting finish.
Sanchez finished second in the stage while Evans was third.
For Wiggins, the victory is a huge step in the right direction to his maiden Tour de France victory as only two other riders have achieved the same feat - Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx – and both went on to win the Tour in the same year.
Wiggins broke his collarbone in stage seven of the 2011 Tour de France after making an impressive start to the event.
Bradley Wiggins keeps Criterium crown
BRITISH RIDER BRADLEY WIGGINS won his second successive Criterium du Dauphine title in France on Sunday and in doing so became just the third cyclist to win both the Duphine and Paris-Nice races in the same season.
Wiggins, of Team Sky, won the event with 1 minute 17 seconds to spare, with team-mate Michael Rogers of Australia second in the general classification.
Rogers’ compatriot, Cadel Evans (BMC Racing), finished third, 86 seconds behind the winner, while Brit Christopher Froome (also Team Sky) was 105 seconds adrift in fourth.
Spaniard Daniel Moreno (Team Katusha) won the final stage of the race, which saw riders confronted with a 124.5km leg between Morzine and Chatel.
Despite a challenging stage that saw riders take on five significant climbs, Wiggins was always likely to come away with the yellow jersey.
While several different groups made early breakaways, they soon formed a group of eight, led by the likes of Pierre Rolland (Europcar), Jerome Coppel (Saur-Sojasun) and Sylvain Chavanel (Omega).
That group was reduced as the race continued and eventually it was just Rolland and Coppel at the front.
Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Lieuwe Westra (Vacansoleil-DCM) made unsuccessful moves to catch up with the leaders, but with just six kilometres remaining, Alexandre Geniez (Argos-Shimano) joined Rolland and Coppel after surging forward.
Team Katusha timed their run well though and in the latter stages, Rolland and Coppel knew they would be overran, with just under two-and-a-half kilometres remaining when they were caught.
The Katusha team continued to lead although Evans was well placed and made a late move.
He was followed by Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank), who surged to the front but he had Moreno for company and the latter slipped past him in an exciting finish.
Sanchez finished second in the stage while Evans was third.
For Wiggins, the victory is a huge step in the right direction to his maiden Tour de France victory as only two other riders have achieved the same feat - Jacques Anquetil and Eddy Merckx – and both went on to win the Tour in the same year.
Wiggins broke his collarbone in stage seven of the 2011 Tour de France after making an impressive start to the event.
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Bradley Wiggins Cycling Positive sign Team Sky Tour de France