Daryl Impey storms to Criterium du Dauphine stage one victory

Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) punched the air in victory after dominating a reduced bunch sprint on Monday’s stage of the Criterium du Dauphine.

Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) retains the yellow overall leader’s jersey after his victory in the prologue.

Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) tried to drop the peloton 4.5km from the Loire finish line at Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert when he accelerated up the final climb, which may have cost him dearly in the eventual bunch sprint.

Just a kilometre from home, Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) also made a break for the line only to suffer the same fate as Alaphilippe when he too was reeled in by Sky’s efforts to keep Kwiatkowski, who finished fifth, in yellow.

“I didn’t think I had the legs today,” Impey said. “But when the sprint started I was in a great position, really, I wasn’t expecting it.”

Tuesday’s 181km rolling run from Montbrisson to Belleville includes four category 3 climbs and one category 4.

The race culminates with four consecutive summit finishes as the peloton slogs over some of the most challenging Alpine climbs in cycling.

Criterium du Dauphine 2018 – stage 1 results (Valence – Saint-Just-Saint-Rambert):

General classification after stage 1: