Colombian Martinez wins Criterium du Dauphine

The stage itself was won by American Jumbo-Visma rider Sepp Kuss, a 25-year-old from Colorado who crossed the finish line 27 seconds ahead of the chasing pack.

Several favourites including Ineos’ Egan Bernal and his key rival Primoz Roglic pulled out injured during the race seen as a dress rehearsal for the Tour de France, and marred by a mass fall Saturday.

France’s emotional climber Thibaut Pinot started Sunday’s fifth and final stage in the lead but was seen smashing a water bidon into the ground when he realised he could not follow a final attack.

No Frenchman has won the Dauphine since Christophe Moreau in 2007.

Colombian national time-trial champion Martinez of the American Education First team said he had gone up the final climb unsure of where Pinot was.

“We are in the mountains and the earphone doesn’t always work,” he said at the finish line.

The 24-year-old Martinez from Bogota, who was second on this season’s Tour of Colombia, was also second on the day here ahead of Slovenian UAE rider Tadej Pogacar, 21, who claimed three stages on the 2019 Vuelta a Espana.

With a staggering view on Mont Blanc on the final ascent there were plenty of cow bells but few face masks on the verdant slopes as Kuss attacked for a popular stage win.

Kuss had worked relentlessly for the Jumbo team, leading their uphill train courageously all week, but with two of his three team leaders gone the Dutch outfit let him off the leash for the team’s 13th stage win of the season.

Remaining Ineos hope Pavel Sivakov leapt from the tarmac back onto his bike after a nasty fall to finish fourth on the day but outside the top 10 in the overall.

Stage results

1. Sepp Kuss (USA/JUM), 3hr 58min 39sec, 2. Daniel Martinez (COL/EF1) at 27sec, 3. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE) 30, 4. Pavel Sivakov (RUS/INE) 45, 5. Tom Dumoulin (NED/JUM) 51, 6. Lennard Kamna (GER/BOR) 51, 7. Thibaut Pinot (FRA/FDJ) 1min 02sec, 8. Guillaume Martin (FRA/COF) 1:04, 9. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 1:06, 10. Warren Barguil (FRA/ARK) 1:06, 11. Adam Yates (GBR/MIT) 1:52, 12. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL/AST) 1:53, 13. Alejandro Valverde (ESP/MOV) 1:56, 14. Marc Hirschi (SUI/SUN) 4:19, 15. Enric Mas (ESP/MOV) 4:21

Final overall standings

1. Daniel Martinez (COL/EF1) 21hr 44min 58sec, 2. Thibaut Pinot (FRA/FDJ) at 29sec, 3. Guillaume Martin (FRA/COF) 41, 4. Tadej Pogacar (SLO/UAE) 56, 5. Miguel Angel Lopez (COL/AST) 1min 38sec, 6. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) 1:43, 7. Tom Dumoulin (NED/JUM) 2:07, 8. Lennard Kamna (GER/BOR) 2:14, 9. Warren Barguil (FRA/ARK) 2:49, 10. Sepp Kuss (USA/JUM) 2:55