After yesterday’s tough summit finish, Team dsm-firmenich PostNL was set to bounce back on today’s seventh stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. With four categorized climbs, the 155.3 kilometers between Albertville and the Samoëns 1600 were no easier than the previous stage. It was a tough battle for the breakaway, and when the first group went up the road, Warren Barguil made a strong effort to bridge across and represent the team at the front of the race. The race opened up in the final 50 kilometers when Warren attacked from the group. He was joined by Marc Soler but had to let him go shortly after. Warren then joined the chasing group and made a strong effort to catch the solo leader. They were eventually caught with five kilometers to go, and Warren rode at his own pace to the finish.
After the stage, Barguil said: “After yesterday’s stage, I already had it in my head to go all in today and the team supported me well to get into the breakaway. I needed to make a big effort to jump across on the climb, which cost me a bit of energy. I couldn’t follow when Soler went, so I rode at my own pace with some other riders from the former breakaway. We tried to reach the final climb with a good gap but unfortunately got caught with five kilometers to go. I still think it was a good try today and a nice effort to improve my level. Now the focus is on the final stage tomorrow, and if my legs recover well, I hope to be in the breakaway again.”