Criterium du Dauphine 2021 - Mark Padun wins queen stage as Richie Porte and Ineos take control of GC

Mark Padun (Bahrain Victorious) soloed to an impressive victory on the queen stage of the Criterium du Dauphine as Richie Porte and Ineos Grenadiers took control of the general classification.

Padun and Porte were part of the same initial break before the former pulled away and eventually dropped the other riders who had gone with him.

Meanwhile, Porte picked off GC rivals such as Miguel Angel Lopez (Movistar) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana-Premier Tech) to move into the lead of the race going into the final stage on Sunday.

Porte’s team-mate Geraint Thomas, who will lead Ineos at the Tour de France, is now third in the standings and said it was a great day for the team.

"I felt good, and we were in a perfect position with Richie up the road," Thomas said after the stage.

"All I had to do was follow and force Astana to ride. It was kind of funny behind. It was a bit stop-start. It was quick but it wasn't what I expected.

"A great day, Richie in yellow. Can't complain."

As for Padun, it was the 24-year-old’s first World Tour victory and speaking afterwards he said it felt like a dream.

"It's incredible. An incredible moment for me," he said.

"It's my first World Tour victory in one of the hardest stages of the Criterium du Dauphine. Also honestly the last six stages I felt so bad it was incredible. Every day I was thinking it was maybe impossible to finish the race.

“When I crossed the finish line I had the feeling that I'd wake up in my bed, but it's not a dream and thank Jesus for this fact!"

"I never thought I would be riding in the top 10. I thought maybe I'd arrive in the first 20 guys. When Richie Porte attacked I tried to close the gap because my leader Jack Haig was in the group.

"When I saw we were four in front with a small gap, I thought 'why not do something and maybe they'd show me on TV for my mother'. And then Sepp Kuss attacked and I just decided to go. For me it was really unexpected when he dropped and then I just went full gas and hoped nobody would catch me anymore.

"After the last year I was thinking that maybe cycling is not my sport. It's incredible. I want to thank Jesus and thank my team who believed in me and who didn't tell me stop and wait for Jack. They just let me go for the victory and I'm thankful for them for this."