Chris Froome (Sky) won the final stage of Criterium International on Sunday in Corsica to take the overall win. Overnight leader and Sky team-mate Richie Porte placed second overall.
Froome took a solo win atop Col de l'Ospedale after a mountainous final day's racing. Porte finished the stage at 30 seconds after attacking the remainder of the lead group, with Bauke Mollema (Blanco) in third at 45 seconds.
Sky collectively led the pace to catch an early break, and then continued up the final climb to nullify any attacks by other teams, eventually launching Froome for the win within the final six kilometres.
Froome finished atop the overall classification 32 seconds ahead of Porte, and 54 seconds ahead of third-placed Tejay Van Garderen (BMC Racing). Last year's winner Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) was dropped from the lead group on the final ascent.
It's Froome second stage race win of the season having won the Tour of Oman, he also won a stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on the way to finishing second overall behind Vincenzo Nibali (Astana). Both Froome and Porte will ride in the Tour de France and used Criterium International as preparation for July.
Along with his win in Paris-Nice, Porte's strong performance in this weekend's race has shown that he is a strong option for Sky as a Grand Tour contender alongside Froome and Bradley Wiggins.
Results
Criterium International 2013, stage three: Porto Vecchio to Col de l'Ospedale
1. Chris Froome (GBr) Sky in 4-43-38
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2. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky at 30 secs
3. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco at 45 secs
4. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2r
5. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at same time
6. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp at 53 secs
7. Johan Tschopp (Swi) IAM Cycling at 57 secs
8. John Gadret (Fra) Ag2r at 1-07
9. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ at 1-08
10. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2r at 1-08
Final overall classification
1. Chris Froome (GBr) Sky
2. Richie Porte (Aus) Sky at 32 secs
3. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 54 secs
4. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco at 1-00
5. Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Ag2r at 1-00
6. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp at 1-08
7. Maxime Bouet (Fra) Ag2r at 1-33
8. Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ at 1-37
9. Johan Tschopp (Swi) IAM Cycling at 1-43
10. John Gadret (Fra) Ag2r at 2-05
Chris Froome wins the final stage
Chris Froome (middle) and Richie Porte (left) on the podium
Related links
Porte takes lead in Criterium International after stage two TT
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Nigel Wynn worked as associate editor on CyclingWeekly.com, he worked almost single-handedly on the Cycling Weekly website in its early days. His passion for cycling, his writing and his creativity, as well as his hard work and dedication, were the original driving force behind the website’s success. Without him, CyclingWeekly.com would certainly not exist on the size and scale that it enjoys today. Nigel sadly passed away, following a brave battle with a cancer-related illness, in 2018. He was a highly valued colleague, and more importantly, an exceptional person to work with - his presence is sorely missed.
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