Chris Froome (Team Sky) jumped from 36th to 13th in the individual UCI WorldTour ranking after snatching overall victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné in the final kilometres of the final stage with a last-gasp, aggressive attack. 

The 2013 Tour de France winner managed to distance Tejay van Garderen (BMC) in the final two kilometres of the mountain stage to Modane Valfrejus and fought all the way to the finish to take the stage victory and gain enough time to take the overall winner’s yellow jersey. Van Garderen started the final stage with an 18-second lead but finished 10 seconds behind Froome in the final overall classification, with Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) moving up to take third overall at 1:16 after another consistent ride. 

“I can't believe I won. I couldn't have expected it to go any better,” Froome said after celebrating his victory with his teammates and staff from Team Sky. “The legs were really tired and the whole team was suffering because of the work they did but the whole team just lifted themselves. We had the yellow jersey in sight so everyone was just riding and giving everything."

Thanks to overall success and his victories on stage seven and eight, Froome scored a total of 114 points and lifted his points total to 184 in the individual UCI WorldTour rankings. He also confirmed he is on track for the Tour de France, which starts in the Netherlands on July 4. Froome dominated the 2013 Tour de France but crashed out in 2014. 

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished ninth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné and so extended his lead in the individual rankings. The Spaniard now has a total of 350 points after yet another consistent and successful first part of the 2015 season. Valverde topped the 2014 UCI WorldTour ranking, helping Movistar win the team ranking. Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) did not ride the Critérium du Dauphiné after winning the recent Giro d’Italia but remains second overall in the individual ranking with 307 points. Australia’s Richie Porte (Team Sky), who also rode the Giro d’Italia, is third with 304 points. 

Thanks to Froome’s success, Team Sky moved up from third to first in the team ranking of the UCI WorldTour. The British squad now has a total of 872 points. Katusha is a close second with 866 points, with Etixx-Quick Step third with 861 points. Spain maintained its lead in the nations ranking, with a total of 1138 points.