Janez Brajkovic maintains his Critérium du Dauphiné lead after keeping pace with Alberto Contador on the Alpe d'Huez.
Contador takes stage on Alpe d'Huez
Janez Brajkovic maintained his grip on the leader's jersey at the Critérium du Dauphiné after taking almost everything Alberto Contador could throw at him on the penultimate stage which ended up the Alpe d'Huez. The duo moved to the front of the field on the legendary mountain climb and Contador attacked repeatedly over the final nine kilometres as he tried to reduce a gap of one minute and 41 seconds in the overall standings. Brajkovic was able to keep pace with his rival though, and after Jurgen Van den Broeck, Jérôme Coppel and Sylwester Szmyd had briefly threatened to spoil the party, the duo were back ahead as they passed under the flamme rouge. Brajkovic led out the sprint to the finish line and although it was Contador who took a narrow stage victory, the Slovenian's performance means he now holds an almost insurmountable lead over the Astana rider with just one stage to go. The action had got under way with 20 riders breaking free early on and they held a two-minute lead as they made it onto the first hors catégorie climb of the day up the Col du Glandon. Their ranks quickly diminished on the brutal ascent which followed and only Oscar Pujol and Egoi Martínez remained as they crested the summit. That duo were hauled back on the subsequent downhill section but still clung on to a 13-man group which led by 55 seconds as they hit the Alpe d'Huez. Pujol chose that moment to attack again but everyone had been reeled back in as Contador and Brajkovic stepped on the gas in the closing stages. Brajkovic looked calm and collected as Contador repeatedly tried to forge ahead on his own, latching on to the Spaniard's wheel before moving ahead in the final kilometre. Contador's power eventually bore fruit as he took a hard-fought stage victory, but Brajkovic was also smiling as he crossed the final line, safe in the knowledge that barring a disaster on Sunday, he should hang on for the highest-profile victory of his career. Stage six result: 1 - Alberto Contador - (ESP) - Astana - (4:31:01)2 - Janez Brajkovic - (SLO) - RadioShack - (same time)
3 - Sylwester Szmyd - (POL) - Liquigas - (+17)
4 - Jérôme Coppel - (FRA) - Saur-Sojasun - (+24)
5 - Jurgen Van den Broeck - (BEL) - Omega Pharma-Lotto - (+40)
6 - Christophe Moreau - (FRA) - Caisse d'Epargne - (+1:17)
7 - Christophe Riblon - (FRA) - AG2R - (+1:18)
8 - Samuel Sánchez - (ESP) - Euskaltel - (+1:18)
9 - Nicolas Vogondy - (FRA) - Bbox-Bouygues - (+1:18)
10 - Chris Horner - (USA) - RadioShack - (+1:26)
Overall standings: 1 - Janez Brajkovic - (SLO) - RadioShack - (24:26:05)
2 - Alberto Contador - (ESP) - Astana - (+1:41)
3 - Tejay Van Garderen - (USA) - HTC-Columbia - (+2:41)
4 - Jurgen Van den Broeck - (BEL) - Omega Pharma-Lotto - (+3:46)
5 - Nicolas Vogondy - (FRA) - Bbox-Bouygues - (+4:01)
6 - Jérôme Coppel - (FRA) - Saur-Sojasun - (+4:17)
7 - Christophe Riblon - (FRA) - AG2R - (+4:23)
8 - Pierre Rolland - (FRA) - Bbox-Bouygues - (+5:54)
9 - Chris Horner - (USA) - RadioShack - (+6:10)
10 - Sylwester Szmyd - (POL) - Liquigas - (+6:33)