Froome wins third Dauphine

Saint-Etienne-en-Devoluy - Chris Froome held on to win the Criterium du Dauphine for the third time as fellow Briton Stephen Cummings won the seventh and final stage on Sunday.

The two previous times Froome won the Dauphine, he went on to claim Tour de France glory a month later.

The 31-year-old had to survive some nervous moments in the final 15km of Sunday's 151km run from Le-Pont-de-Claix to Superdevoluy as Spaniard Alberto Contador launched several accelerations on the penultimate climb.

Frenchman Romain Bardet also tried his chances on a rapid descent between the final two climbs but Froome doggedly chased down every attack.

He finished 12 seconds clear of Bardet with Ireland's Dan Martin third at 19sec.

Australian Richie Porte was fourth at 21sec with Contador, himself a two-time Tour winner, settling for fifth at 35sec.

Cummings, 35, who won a memorable stage at last year's Tour, outwitting French pair Bardet and Thibaut Pinot in a dramatic finish, was the last of a 20-man breakaway group to wilt and finished 3min 58sec clear of the chasing pack.

Martin won the sprint for second with Bardet third, moving both up a place in the overall standings thanks to the bonus points available on the line.

Tasmanian Porte, who started the day second, was caught out in the uphill sprint finish and lost two places.

Results from Sunday's 151km seventh and final stage of the Criterium du Dauphine from Pont-de-Claix to Superdevoluy:

1. Stephen Cummings (GBR/DDT) 4hr 05min 06sec, 2. Dan Martin (IRL/ETI) at 3:58, 3. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) same time, 4. Wout Poels (NED/SKY) s.t., 5. Adam Yates (GBR/ORI) s.t., 6. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA/ETI) s.t., 7. Diego Rosa (ITA/AST) s.t., 8. Louis Meintjes (RSA/LAM) 4:01., 9. Richie Porte (AUS/BMC) 4:03, 10. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) s.t.

Selected others

11. Alberto Contador (ESP/TIN) s.t.

Overall standings

1. Chris Froome (GBR/SKY) 29hr 59min 31sec, 2. Romain Bardet (FRA/ALM) at 12sec, 3. Daniel Martin (IRL/ETI) 19, 4. Richie Porte (AUS/BMC) 21, 5. Alberto Contador (ESP/TIN) 35, 6. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA/ETI) 51, 7. Adam Yates (GBR/ORI) 57, 8. Diego Rosa (ITA/AST) 1:13, 9. Louis Meintjes (RSA/LAM) 1:30, 10. Pierre Rolland (FRA/CAN) 2:43