John Degenkolb won today's stage between La Motte-Servolex and Mâcon, the last chance for the sprinters in this Critérium du Dauphiné. I think I called Degenkolb Peter yesterday, but in fact, his name is John. Do make a note of it, I know I will. Also, that's three straight stage victories for HTC-Highroad. Edvald Boasson Hagen finished second, JJ Haedo took third. The general classification remains unchanged after today's sprinty adventure. Bradley Wiggins leads Cadel Evans by 1:11 and Janez Brajkovic by 1:21. Check the complete general classification, if you like.
It's all uphill from here with three mountain stages to go. Watch for falling rock. The race organizers call Friday's stage a middle mountain stage, and I'm not one to argue. Running from Parc des Oiseaux to Les Gets, the stage ends with a climb, but the gradients are steady at around 5%. It's a good day for an escape to head out early in search of mountains points, but the final climb may not do much to separate the favorites. It's never easy to attack on a steady gradient like on the final climb to Les Gets. Get your stage profile and climby info.
This weekend's stages to Le Collet d'Allevard on Saturday and La Toussuire on Sunday should prove more decisive. Want to look at ahead? Have a look-see at Will's mountains preview.