Moncoutie wins next-to-last stage of the Dauphine Libere; Valverde retains overall lead

Moncoutie wins next-to-last stage of the Dauphine

SAINT-FRANCOIS-LONGCHAMP, France — David Moncoutie of France won the next-to-last stage of the Dauphine Libere with a late breakaway on Saturday, and Alejandro Valverde of Spain retained the overall lead in the Tour de France warmup.

Moncoutie finished in an unofficial time of 4 hours, 44 minutes and 27 seconds to win the 97.6-mile ride from Briancon to Saint-Francois-Longchamp that included two very difficult climbs.

Moncoutie made his move on the final climb to the Saint-Francois-Longchamp ski station with about 7 miles left. Robert Gesink of the Netherlands finished second, 41 seconds behind.

Cadel Evans of Australia, runner-up in the last two Tours, attacked Valverde relentlessly in the last 6 miles, but the Spaniard answered every challenge. Evans and Valverde finished third and fourth with the same time, less than one minute after Moncoutie.

Valverde, the defending champion, leads Evans by 18 seconds in the overall standings.

Former Tour de France winner Alberto Contador was sixth after being dropped in the last 150 yards.

Valverde leads Evans by 18 seconds in the overall standings. Contador is 1:18 off the lead going into the final stage on Sunday.

Valverde was suspended for two years by the Italian Olympic Committee’s anti-doping tribunal on May 11 and is barred from competing in Italy. The committee had confronted Valverde with DNA evidence and documents that allegedly showed he was involved in blood doping.

The suspension could keep Valverde from this year’s Tour de France because part of the route goes through Italy.