Britain’s Chris Froome. AP FILE PHOTO
SUPERDEVOLUY, France — Chris Froome warmed up for the Tour de France by winning the Criterium du Dauphine stage race for the third time on Sunday (Monday Manila time).
It may prove to be a good omen for Froome, because his other Dauphine wins were in 2013 and 2015 — the years he also won the Tour, which starts July 2.
“It’s a massive satisfaction to win the Dauphine for the third time, it’s a very important race,” the 31-year-old Froome said. “Coming into this week, I was just happy fighting for the podium. It’s a confidence booster ahead of the Tour de France, but there’s still some work to do.”
Froome finished with a winning margin of 12 seconds over Frenchman Romain Bardet, while Tour rival Alberto Contador of Spain was fifth overall.
On a good day for British riders, Stephen Cummings won the final stage thanks to a solo breakaway.
Cummings secured his first ever stage win on the Dauphine after breaking away 60 kilometers (37 miles) from the end of the mountainous 151-kilometer ( 94-mile) ride to the Alpine ski resort of Superdevoluy, beating Irishman Daniel Martin and Bardet by four minutes.
Martin finished third in the standings, while former Sky teammate and key Tour support rider Richie Porte of Australia was in fourth place overall.