Chris Froome, Daily News Digest, Features, jolien d'hoore, News, Tom Dumoulin, wout van aert - June 13, 2019

Froome to miss Tour after crash: Daily News Digest

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Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:

Chris Froome is expected to miss the Tour de France after crashing hard during a recon of the Critérium du Dauphiné time trial, Wout van Aert tops Tejay van Garderen and Tom Dumoulin to win the Dauphiné’s fourth stage, D’Hoore takes stage 3 at the Women’s Tour. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.

Story of the Day: Chris Froome expected to miss Tour after Dauphiné recon crash

Chris Froome (Ineos) is expected to miss the upcoming Tour de France following a hard crash during a pre-race recon of stage 4 at the Critérium du Dauphiné.

According to Ineos team principal Dave Brailsford, Froome likely broke his femur in the crash.

“It’s clear he’ll take no part in the Tour,” Brailsford told French television on the scene. “He is in a very, very serious condition.”

Making his final pre-Tour tune-up, Froome looked like a strong contender for the Dauphiné overall before he set out for his recon of the stage 4 TT with his teammates. As Brailsford explained to media gathered around the Ineos bus at the Dauphiné, Froome had taken a hand off the bars to blow his nose while descending, and crashed into a wall after a gust of wind knocked him off balance. Seriously injured in the fall, he was then taken to a nearby hospital.

Ineos has said an update on his condition will be provided following further examination at the hospital.

Prior to the crash, Froome had been aiming for a fifth career Tour de France title after claiming his first yellow jersey in 2013 and then winning the Tour each year from 2015 to 2017. He won the Giro d’Italia last year and then finished third overall at the 2018 Tour, with teammate Geraint Thomas taking the victory.

This will be the first time Froome has missed the Tour since 2011.

Team INEOS can confirm that Chris Froome crashed during a recon of stage four of the Criterium du Dauphine today.

He is currently on his way to a local hospital and won’t start today’s fourth stage.

We will provide a further update in due course. pic.twitter.com/3x3h5BD5cH

— Team INEOS (@TeamINEOS) June 12, 2019

Socially Speaking

The Twitter thread of the day comes thanks to the many scathing replies to a tweet by the roads authority in Victoria. Here’s the original tweet (which comes at a time when distracted driving is a bigger problem than ever) …

Use your lights, look bright! ???? Boost your visibility this winter, use your lights and wear bright clothing while riding.
Learn more: https://t.co/7xYGQFF7tU pic.twitter.com/wN6UHSkoP8

— VicRoads (@VicRoads) June 11, 2019

… and here’s just one of the many excellent responses, courtesy of Craig Fry.

New VicRoads campaign messaging: Fixed ? pic.twitter.com/IlFOZ7aWPu

— Craig Fry (@pushbikewriter) June 12, 2019

Race Radio

Van Aert wins Dauphiné stage 4, Yates takes GC lead

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) has taken his first WorldTour victory. The 24-year-old Belgian claimed the stage 4 time trial at the Critérium du Dauphiné, finishing the 26.1-kilometer course in Roanne with a time of 33:38 to best Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) and Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb).

The day saw changes in the GC picture as well, with Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) putting in a strong ride to take over the leader’s jersey with a four-second advantage ahead of overnight leader Dylan Teuns (Bahrain-Merida). The GC battle was further transformed, of course, by Chris Froome’s pre-race crash and departure.

Van Aert’s performance was strong enough to put him into ninth overall.

“This is really a big win, isn’t it? My first win in a WorldTour race, I can’t believe it,” van Aert said. “I’m really surprised. We have worked hard on my time trial in recent weeks, but I did not know I could win at this level. I’m really happy.”

The hot seat changed hands numerous times over the course of the afternoon, with most of the best times on the stage coming from the late starters. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) was one of the few riders to spend more than a few minutes as the provisional leader, before Dumoulin topped his mark with a consistent ride that saw him go quickest to the hilltop intermediate check and hold on through the finish.

The Dutchman, no stranger to hot seats as a constant contender for time trial victories, sat atop the standings for half an hour before van Aert crushed his time. Van Aert was 18 seconds faster through the intermediate check and only grew his advantage on the road to the line, beating Dumoulin’s mark by 47 seconds.

Of those that followed, van Garderen came closest to van Aert, but was still 31 seconds slower. That was at least good enough for second place on the day ahead of Dumoulin, and a solid enough ride to propel the American into third on the overall standings.

Next up at the Critérium du Dauphine is a lumpy stage 5, 201 kilometers from Boën-sur-Lignon to Voiron.

Stage 4 results

1 VAN AERT Wout (Team Jumbo-Visma)
2 VAN GARDEREN Tejay (EF Education First)
3 DUMOULIN Tom (Team Sunweb)
4 KRUIJSWIJK Steven (Team Jumbo-Visma)
5 BUCHMANN Emanuel (BORA – hansgrohe)
6 YATES Adam (Mitchelton-Scott)
7 ALAPHILIPPE Julian (Deceuninck – Quick Step)
8 POLITT Nils (Team Katusha Alpecin)
9 FUGLSANG Jakob (Astana Pro Team)
10 CAVAGNA Rémi (Deceuninck – Quick Step)

1 YATES Adam (Mitchelton-Scott)
2 TEUNS Dylan (Bahrain Merida)
3 VAN GARDEREN Tejay (EF Education First)
4 FUGLSANG Jakob (Astana Pro Team)
5 KRUIJSWIJK Steven (Team Jumbo-Visma)
6 PINOT Thibaut (Groupama – FDJ)
7 BUCHMANN Emanuel (BORA – hansgrohe)
8 LUTSENKO Alexey (Astana Pro Team)
9 VAN AERT Wout (Team Jumbo-Visma)
10 QUINTANA Nairo (Movistar Team)

D’Hoore wins third stage of Women’s Tour, Brennauer leads after Vos crashes out

Jolien D’Hoore (Boels-Dolmans) sprinted to her second stage win in three days at the OVO Energy Women’s Tour, winning stage 3 over Lisa Brennauer (WNT-Rotor) and Demi Vollering (Parkhotel Valkenburg).

Brennauer now leads the general classification. Overnight leader Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) was one of several riders caught up a big crash just over 20 kilometers into the 145.1-kilometer stage from Henley-on-Thames to Blenheim Palace. Vos left the Women’s Tour with cuts to her face, and the race was temporarily neutralized as medics attended to riders.

CCC-Liv has announced following Vos’s hospital visit that the three-time world champ avoided any other injuries in the fall.

The stage would ultimately come down a bunch kick, with D’Hoore battling Brennauer at the front of the sprint. D’Hoore pulled clear in the closing meters to take the win over Brennauer, with Vollering narrowly pipping Roxane Fournier (Movistar) for third.

???? @JolienDhoore ???????? (@boelsdolmansct) wins stage three of the @OVOEnergy Women’s Tour at @BlenheimPalace, Oxfordshire!#OVOWT #UCIWWT pic.twitter.com/ugOO9vNXeh

— The Women's Tour (@thewomenstour) June 12, 2019

The Women’s Tour continues Thursday with a hilly fourth stage, 158.9 kilometers from Warwick to Burton Dassett.

Stage 3 results

1 D’HOORE Jolien (Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team)
2 BRENNAUER Lisa (WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling)
3 VOLLERING Demi (Parkhotel Valkenburg)
4 FOURNIER Roxane (Movistar Team)
5 ROY Sarah (Mitchelton-Scott)
6 DEIGNAN Elizabeth (Trek-Segafredo Women)
7 DUVAL Eugénie (FDJ Nouvelle Aquitaine Futuroscope)
8 CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia (Valcar Cylance Cycling)
9 NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna (Canyon SRAM Racing)
10 BERTIZZOLO Sofia (Team Virtu Cycling)

1 BRENNAUER Lisa (WNT-Rotor Pro Cycling)
2 RIVERA Coryn (Team Sunweb)
3 DEIGNAN Elizabeth (Trek-Segafredo Women)
4 PIETERS Amy (Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team)
5 ROY Sarah (Mitchelton-Scott)
6 D’HOORE Jolien (Boels – Dolmans Cycling Team)
7 FOURNIER Roxane (Movistar Team)
8 CONFALONIERI Maria Giulia (Valcar Cylance Cycling)
9 LIPPERT Liane (Team Sunweb)
10 ANDERSEN Susanne (Team Sunweb)

Dumoulin still has a small piece of metal in his knee after Giro crash

Tom Dumoulin has returned to racing in the run-up to a Tour de France campaign after a crash knocked him out of the Giro d’Italia, but Cyclingnews reports that he is still dealing with some lingering knee issues—and still has small metal splinter in his knee.

“It’s a tiny splinter, and that could be why my knee is reacting like this,” he said, according to Cyclingnews.

“We have to decide after the Dauphine if we take it out. That’s a possibility, but it depends on how it goes here.”

Happy birthday to …

Steve Bauer is 60. A trailblazer for Canadian cycling, Bauer earned a silver medal in the Olympic road race in 1984 and won a stage and finished fourth overall at the 1988 Tour de France, among many other notable results.