Chris Froome claimed his second Criterium du Dauphine title in the space of three years by winning the final stage into Modane Valfrejus.

In a carbon copy of Saturday’s stage, Froome sat in the wheels as his team-mates thinned out the peloton in the final hour of action and then fired off the front with a devastating display of climbing.

Froome made his move with 2.6km to go, and although Tejay van Garderen battled valiantly in defence of the yellow and blue jersey, he couldn’t match the Team Sky man as he romped to his second success in 24 hours.

Froome pointed to his jersey as he crossed the line, and his 18-second winning margin meant he topped the general classification with a 10-second cushion.

After the stage, Froome dedicated the victory to his team-mates and admitted everything was going to plan heading into the Tour de France.

He said: “I can’t believe it. I couldn’t have expected it to go any better today. My legs were really tired after yesterday and the whole team was suffering. I don’t know how they did it but everyone lifted themselves with the yellow and blue jersey in sight. They gave everything – Ian Stannard rode alone for almost 100km to control the breakaway and the rest of the team were fantastic up to that moment where I could attack and put pressure on Tejay.

"Every second counted at the end. I was excited all the way to the finish. That's what bike racing is about. We were off the back a little bit after the team time trial and we had to regain time. It's amazing to finish off a way like this. That's gonna be a day I'll remember for the rest of my life.

"The Dauphiné is a special race for me. I'm pretty happy with how I go at the moment. This race helps building the team.

“The Dauphine was a big focus for me, but the Tour de France is the main objective. The team is ready, and I’m almost ready. We’re less than three weeks away now and I’m really looking forward to it.”

As Froome said, Ian Stannard and Ian Boswell were forced to do a lot of to do a lot of work to keep a 13-man breakaway in check after they’d moved clear early in the stage.

Peter Kennaugh and Philip Deignan then stepped up once Tony Martin (ETixx – Quick-Step) had distanced the escapees on the descent of the Côte de Saint-Georges-d'Hurtières, and it was that duo who led the peloton all the way to the penultimate climb.

Martin was hauled back on the Côte de Saint-Andrè, but no sooner had he been caught when Steve Cummings (MTN-Qhubeka) launched his own solo bid for victory. That was when Wout Poels and Nicolas Roche worked their way to the fore, and by the time Cummings was caught, only a handful of riders remained in contention.

Poels continued to charge up the final category-one climb, and when he peeled off Froome let rip and left everyone else trailing in his wake. It was Simon Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) who finished second on Sunday, with Rui Costa (Lampre-Merida) narrowly pipping van Garderen (BMC Raing) to third.