Arnaud Démare (FDJ) took the second stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné today when he easily outsprinted Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) at the finish in Arlanc. Lotto-Soudal’s Thomas De Gendt retained the lead in the overall classification.
Four riders attacked on the 4.6km long climb of côte de Croix Blanche – Koen Bouwman (LottoNL-Jumbo), Mickaël Delage (FDJ), Nathan Brown (Cannondale-Drapac) and Romain Combaud (Delko Marseille Provence KTM). They gained a maximum lead of 3’50” and were later joined by Alexey Lutsenko (Astana).
Lutsenko went clear alone as the escapees passed the finishing line in Arlanc for the first time with 31.5km remaining. Bahrain-Merida and Dimension Data were amongst the teams to work at the front of the peloton and Lutsenko was reeled in with 3km to go.
Katusha-Alpecin worked well for Alexander Kristoff but Démare put in a great acceleration to leave the other sprinters trailing in his wake as the Frenchman claimed his sixth victory of the 2017 season. There was no change in the overall standings with Thomas De Gendt keeping the leader’s jersey.
