Discreet ending to Dauphiné

The Dauphiné finally came to a close today with an anonymous performance from Euskaltel on the stage to Châtel.

The demanding concluding stage, that took in five categorized climbs, was another orange no-show as Egoi Martínez again was the team's top man in 23rd, 23 seconds off Dani Moreno's winning time. Martínez has by far been the team's stand-out performer in the dress rehearsal for the Tour, and looks on course for another aggressive month on the roads of France in three weeks' time.

Samuel Sánchez got through another day, coming in some six minutes down in the company of loyal servant Jorge Azanza, and was pleased to have finished the whole race after coming a cropper on day one.

"I'm pleased to have completed the Dauphiné, above all because of the hit I took on the first stage, but I haven't been able to fulfill the work I set out to do at the desired level - the crash complicated it all", he told the team's website upon crossing the line. "Tomorrow I'll undergo a more extensive medical check-up to determine the exact state of my injuries. Now I'll continue to train to reach the Tour in optimal shape".

On GC, Martínez was the team's top finisher in 45th, while the team ended up 17th out of the 22 teams taking part.

Stage seven results:

• (1, Daniel Moreno (Katusha), 2:59:37)
• 23, Egoi Martínez, 0:23
• 53, Jorge Azanza, 6:11
• 90, Samuel Sánchez, s.t.
• 101, Gorka Verdugo, 9:03
• 140, Peio Bilbao, 13:45
• 141, Mikel Landa, s.t.
• 149, Alan Pérez, 18:36

Final general classification:

• (1, Bradley Wiggins (Sky), 26:40:46)
• 45, Egoi Martínez, 19:43
• 67, Jorge Azanza, 31:05
• 83, Mikel Landa, 36:46
• 95, Gorka Verdugo, 44:13
• 126, Samuel Sánchez, 56:56
• 143, Peio Bilbao, 1:20:13
• 151, Alan Pérez, 1:31:10

Photo: www.cyclingnews.com