Wiggins Wins Criterium du Dauphine

Team Sky rider Bradley Wiggins secured his second straight overall victory at the Criterium du Dauphine after coming home safely on the final stage.

Wiggins took no chances on the last stage from Morzine to Chatel, sitting tight on the final drag up to the line as Daniel Moreno (Katusha) took the stage win.

The Brit held on to the yellow jersey which he took on only the second day of racing to secure his third stage race victory of the season by an impressive margin of one minute and 17 seconds.

Following Wiggins home was team-mate Michael Rogers to complete a famous 1-2 at one of the toughest races on the cycling calendar.

The pair were both present on the steep ramp up to Chatel, along with fellow Team Sky rider Chris Froome, who backed up an already amazing result with fourth overall.

Fourth was also where the team finished on the stage, with Edvald Boasson Hagen making it up the day's tough climbs to demonstrate his current form.

Richie Porte had arrived on the front in the closing stages to keep the pace high and he became the fourth Team Sky man in the top 10 in ninth. That show of strength ensured a commanding victory in the team classification by 13:34.

After the race Wiggins reflected on his and the team's achievement. "I think it's always harder to do it a second time," he admitted.

"Last year I didn't come into the race as the favourite so to do that this year and know from day one, from being second in the prologue, that I was one of the favourites, it's a better and harder way to win.

"Obviously we've had a few goes at it now so I think we're getting better at it if anything. It's probably gone better than the other races have gone this season, it's been a lot smoother."

Wiggins also paid tribute to the support of his team, adding: "Obviously everyone is getting ready for the Tour now. We had our strong guys here and Eddy (Boasson Hagen) is back in this group and he's made a huge difference this week.

"It's certainly getting easier each time, not in terms of the effort but in terms of staying cool at the right moments and knowing what to do and when to do it."

Moreno win

In Chatel it was Moreno who edged out Luis Leon Sanchez (Rabobank) on the line to take his second stage victory of the prestigious race.

Cadel Evans (BMC Racing), lying third overnight, had looked threatening in the closing stages but was unable to take enough time to dislodge Australian compatriot Rogers from second spot.

Katusha and BMC Racing pushed hard in the closing stages to shut down the remains of the day's break, Jerome Coppel (Saur-Sojasun) and Pierre Rolland (Europcar) having proved strongest on the stage's major test, the Col du Corbier.

Earlier a number of groups attacked off the front following a fast descent out of Morzine, nine riders eventually combining out on the road ahead of five categorised climbs.

With such a short stage it was no surprise to see the move quickly pegged at a maximum advantage of 2:35 and the gap shut further on the run to the first category Corbier.

Wiggins was once again surrounded by team-mates on the climb before confidently moving up to shut down a move which had pushed clear.

Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) was one of those who tried to go clear late on, using his descending skills to pull out a gap off the Corbier but was eventually overhauled along with the remnants of the break.