No fourth French victory on this Critérium du Dauphiné.
The day after the young Valentin Ferron festival and after the successes of Alexis Vuillermoz then David Gaude, the glory this time went to the Spaniard Carlos Verona.
The 29-year-old rider won the queen stage of this 74th edition, his first victory among professionals, at the end of a very lively race with, at the finish, 13 seconds ahead of his first pursuer Primoz Roglic.
David Gaudu, the first Frenchman on this stage, finished seventh at 40 seconds.
Carlos Verona had launched his attack at the start of the last climb of the day, in Vaujany, to let go of Frenchman Kenny Elissonde of the Trek-Segafredo team.
Wout van Aert exploded
It is a well-deserved success for the one who resisted the return of Primoz Roglic, launched on his heels just over a kilometer from the finish.
With his second place, the Slovenian rider from the Jumbo-Visma formation, winner of the last Paris-Nice, nevertheless obtained what he had come for: the yellow jersey.
He stole it from the big loser of the day, his teammate Wout van Aert, who had animated this week with two stage successes and two second places, did not manage to keep up with the rhythm of this mountain day which climbed the out-of-category passes of the Galibier and the Croix de Fer.
It exploded 32 kilometers from the finish with the acceleration in particular of Groupama-FDJ at the head of the peloton.
The eighth and final stage will take place this Sunday between Saint-Alban-Leysse (Savoie) and the Solaison plateau (Haute-Savoie).
In addition, the Frenchman Pierre Rolland increased his lead at the top of the mountain classification, after taking the lead at the Col du Galibier and the Col de la Croix de Fer.
