2017 Critérium du DauphinéJun 7, 2017 by Travis Miller
Americans Earn Big Results In Critérium Du Dauphiné Time Trial
Americans Earn Big Results In Critérium Du Dauphiné Time Trial
Riche Porte (BMC) upset world time trial champion Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) to post the fastest time on Stage 4 of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Wednesday.
After a relatively calm opening three days of the 2017 Critérium du Dauphiné, the general classification contenders received their first real test in Wednesday's time trial from La Tour-du-Pin to Bourgoin-Jallieu. Riche Porte (BMC) upset world time trial champion Tony Martin (Katusha-Alpecin) to post the fastest time over the 23.5km course in 28:07. A strong contingent of riders represented the U.S. well with top 20 finishes.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ChadHaga/status/872503327833108481" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
For the Americans entered in the race, Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac) had the most at stake in terms of overall GC hopes. He put in a solid effort to gain time on some of the other GC favorites to finish 16th on the stage, but he lost one minute to Porte. Porte's BMC teammate Brent Bookwalter is known for his time trialing ability. Bookwalter crossed the finish in 28:52 to finish 45 seconds behind the leader and 10th overall. Adding to the Americans' strong showing in Wednesday's time trial, Chad Haga (Team Sunweb) became the third U.S. rider to finish in the top 20.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BMCProTeam/status/872469789871972353" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Looking ahead to the final mountain stages at the end of this race, both Bookwalter (seventh, +1:12) and Talansky (12th, +1:27) are in solid positions in the general classification. Talansky may have been looked at as having the biggest potential for the American riders at the Dauphiné, but it should be noted that Bookwalter is no slouch in the mountains either. He finished just eight seconds behind Talansky on Mount Baldy this year at the Amgen Tour of California. However, Bookwalter may mainly be used by BMC in support for Porte, which would burn his chances of a high finish in the GC at the end of the race.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/ChadHaga/status/872503327833108481" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
For the Americans entered in the race, Andrew Talansky (Cannondale-Drapac) had the most at stake in terms of overall GC hopes. He put in a solid effort to gain time on some of the other GC favorites to finish 16th on the stage, but he lost one minute to Porte. Porte's BMC teammate Brent Bookwalter is known for his time trialing ability. Bookwalter crossed the finish in 28:52 to finish 45 seconds behind the leader and 10th overall. Adding to the Americans' strong showing in Wednesday's time trial, Chad Haga (Team Sunweb) became the third U.S. rider to finish in the top 20.
[tweet url="https://twitter.com/BMCProTeam/status/872469789871972353" hide_media="0" hide_thread="1"]
Looking ahead to the final mountain stages at the end of this race, both Bookwalter (seventh, +1:12) and Talansky (12th, +1:27) are in solid positions in the general classification. Talansky may have been looked at as having the biggest potential for the American riders at the Dauphiné, but it should be noted that Bookwalter is no slouch in the mountains either. He finished just eight seconds behind Talansky on Mount Baldy this year at the Amgen Tour of California. However, Bookwalter may mainly be used by BMC in support for Porte, which would burn his chances of a high finish in the GC at the end of the race.