TARARE, France: Norway’s Edvald Boasson Hagen yesterday saluted his team-mates for helping him secure victory in the Tour de France warm-up the Criterium du Dauphine in a sprint finish.
“The team worked well for me in the final straight, the last climb and descent,” the 26-year-old told reporters in Tarare, near Lyon.
“Geraint (Thomas) worked hard to catch those in front and they carried me along well.”
Boasson Hagen -- a previous stage winner of the Dauphine in 2010 and winner of this year’s Tour of Norway -- beat Australia’s Michael Matthews and Belgium’s Gianni Meersman to the line at the end of the 167km ride from Amberieu-en-Bugey.
Canadian David Veilleux of Europcar, the first-stage winner, kept the overall leader’s jersey going into today’s fourth stage, a 32.5km time-trial around the Parc des Oiseaux, near the town of Villars-les-Dombes.
Team Sky rider Boasson Hagen said the Tour de France this year would be different for him. AFP
