To conclude the Critérium du Dauphiné, a 138 kilometer stage brought the riders to a mountain top finish on Plateau du Solaison, preceded by four other climbs in the heart of the Alps.
On the first of these, the Col de Plainpalais, the Czech rider Jan Hirt escaped from the peloton with fourteen other riders and gained an advantage of two minutes after the downhill. This gap didn’t increase before the foot of the Col de la Colombière after 88 kilometer.
It was on this penultimate climb that the escapees accelerated, hoping to battle for the win. Jan Hirt reached the top with four other riders, racing towards the foot of the Plateau de Solaison with a 1 minute gap on the peloton with the yellow jersey including Louis Meintjes and Kobe Goossens.
From the first ramps of the final climb, Hirt distanced his breakaway companions to lead the race for some time. But in the end the group of favorites caught all attackers and the Czech rider then focused on helping Louis Meintjes, who finished in seventh place.
Thanks to his performance, the South-African rider concluded the Critérium du Dauphiné in sixth position, the best result of his career in this race. Jan Hirt crossed the line in eighteenth position and also concluded with this result in the classification, two weeks after his incredible Giro.