Poels win ‘a gift’ for injured Froome

Wout Poels gave Team Ineos something to celebrate by winning stage seven of the Criterium du Dauphine while Britain’s Adam Yates lost his grip on the overall lead.

The Dutchman let out a huge roar as he won on the Montee de Pipay just days after team leader Chris Froome suffered a serious crash while he was on a practice ride of the time trial course.

Froome, from his hospital bed in St Etienne, said he felt lucky to be alive in a statement which was released less than an hour before Poels made his winning move.

Poels bridged across to leading duo Jakob Fuglsang and Emanuel Buchmann in the last kilometre before he beat the pair to the finish line.

But Astana rider Fuglsang did enough to claim the yellow jersey from Yates, who will start Sunday’s final stage with an eight-second disadvantage.

Poels’ first stage victory of the year moved him up to fifth, 28 seconds behind Fuglsang.

After his win, he told the race’s website: “It’s really nice for the team and it’s a gift for Chris also. I felt pretty strong all day. The team did an amazing job.”

The riders had to deal with persistent rain on the 133-kilometre ride from Saint-Genix-les-Villages to Les Sept Laux-Pipay, but they avoided the hailstones which had been falling at the finish line.

The general classification contenders arrived together to the final climb, a punishing 19km ascent.

Movistar’s Nairo Quintana made the first of a flurry of attacks as the group swallowed up the remnants of the day’s breakaway.

Fuglsang and Bora-Hansgrohe’s Buchmann surged clear but Poels was not to be denied.

Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) finished nine seconds behind in a group with Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Irishman Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates).