Six Americans are in the field for the Criterium du Dauphine as it gets underway in France on Sunday. The race will begin with a 2.4 mile prologue on Sunday before seven more stages over the next week. The last three stages will all involve mountains so there could be a lot of excitement in the final stages of the race. The Americans in the field are headlined by Alex Howes who was 21st in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege race and Brent Bookwalter who was 35th in the Tour de Romandie.

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All of the riders in the final stage of the Giro d’Italia finished together in the peloton so now ground was gained or lost. Joey Rosskopf was the only American who finished in the top 100, 41st overall.

The important standings on Sunday were the overall standings and that’s where Joe Dombrowski found himself 34th, 1:32:56 back. That finish was the best of the year for the 25-year-old, surpassing a 37th finish in the Volta a Cataluyna. 24-year-old Nathan Brown also finished in the top 100 in 48th. Ian Boswell finished 71st, Chad Haga was 78th and Rosskopf ended up 85th.

There will be a little break before the next UCI World Tour event, the eight-stage Criterium du Dauphine, which runs June 5th-12th in France.

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Joe Dombrowski hadn’t finished better than 58th and had finished outside the top 140 twice in the three stages since his run of four straight top 40 finishes. He rebounded in a big way on Saturday finishing the final mountain stage in 3rd place, the best finish by any American on the World Tour this year. Nathan Brown had finished fourth in the 10th stage of this race and Tejay Van Garderen had done the same in the Volta a Catalyuna, but no one had cracked the top three. Dombrowski was 1:17 back of winner Rein Taaramae of Estonia.

Dombrowski wasn’t the only American to find success as Joey Rosskopf, coming off his first sub-90 finish in six stages, finished a season best 33rd, 17:19 back, and Brown made it three in the top 50 for the first time in the event as he finished 41st, 20:17 back. Ian Boswell was 66th and Chad Haga 73rd as the US had all five of their riders in the top 75 for the first time in the Giro d’Italia as well.

Overall Dombrowski moved up a big to 34th overall (1:32:56 back) while Brown stayed in 48th (2:15:18 back). Boswell (71st) and Haga (78th) rose slightly while Rosskopf had the big jump rising 21 spots to 85th.

Things close out on Sunday with a 101 mile flat stage. Don’t expect the standings to change much.

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Ian Boswell had made a push up the standings at the Giro d’Italia lately; finishing in the top 100 in three out of four stages at one point recently and moving into the top 100 overall. Friday he finished as the top American and in 27th overall on a 101 mile mountain stage. Boswell was just 8:27 behind the winner and was joined by Nathan Brown in the top 50 as Brown finished 13:36 back in 33rd. Joe Dombrowski (58th) and Chad Haga (71st) made it four in the top 100.

Dombrowski stayed in 39th overall (1:39:12 back) with Brown moving up to 48th (2:02:29 back). Boswell made a huge jump from 100th to 75th while Haga is 81st.

The final mountain stage will be Saturday, 83 miles starting in France, with a 101 mile flat stage on Sunday to close the competition out.

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Yesterday Nathan Brown moved into the top 50 overall for the Giro d’Italia and today he was the top American, 68th overall, to make it six straight stages where he has finished in the top 100. The surge over the final half of the race has made him the only American to finish in the top 100 in six straight stages so far. Joey Rosskopf finished 87th and has been in the top 100 for five straight stages now. Brown finished 21:37 back in this medium-mountain stage while Rosskopf was around a couple minutes behind him.

Overall Joe Dombrowski continues to be the top American though he fell four spots to 39th and is 1:21:52 back. Brown slipped to 52nd overall, Chad Haga fell to 89th and Ian Boswell is now 100th.

The final weekend begins Friday with the first of two mountain stages, a 101 mile stage that will lead the rider into France.

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With the second-to-last flat stage of the Giro d’Italia happening on Wednesday it was no surprise that a large peloton finished the race together. Two Americans, Joey Rosskopf in 69th and Nathan Brown in 76th, finished among the group. Ian Boswell was slightly behind and finished 86th, 35 seconds back.

Joe Dombrowski maintained his 35th overall position despite finishing outside of the top 150, He is now 1:11:54. Brown moved up to 50th overall, Chad Haga in 85th and Boswell in 97th make it four Americans in the top 100.

Thursday is a 152-mile medium-mountain stage, the longest stage of the event.

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Joe Dombrowski was in the top 40 for the fourth straight stage at the Giro d’Italia as he finished 39th on Tuesday, 14:18 back. Nathan Brown finished in the same time but was actually the top American in 37th place. Dombrowski fell one spot to 35th but is now 1:09:09 back while Brown is up to 51st. Joey Rosskopf was the third American in the top 100 finishing in 71st. Overall Chad Haga remained 83rd and Ian Boswell moved up a spot to 99th.

Wednesday will be a 122 mile flat stage as the field gears up for the final three mountain stages.

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Joe Dombrowski continues to push up the standings of the Giro d’Italia after finishing eighth in the mountain time trial 15th stage. Dombrowski was 52 seconds back of the winner and 33 seconds ahead of fellow American Ian Boswell who finished 15th. Nathan Brown made it three Americans in the top 60 with a 59th place finish and Joey Rosskopf in 68th gave the US four finishers in the top 70 for the first time in the competition.

Dombrowski moved up one spot overall to 34th, now 54:45 back. Brown moved up a spot as well to 53rd and Chad Haga remained 83rd. Boswell moved into the top 100 at 100th.

After Monday’s rest day the competition resumes with a 82 mile medium-mountain stage on Tuesday.

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Joe Dombrowski’s good week continued with a 25th place finish at the Giro d’Italia making up some major time on competitors after finishing within 9:44 of the winner. The US had all four of their other competitors finish in the top 100 after they all passed as part of a group 31:20 back. Chad Haga was the highest American in that group in 74th with Joey Rosskopf right behind him in 75th. Nathan Brown was 90th with Ian Boswell 93rd near the back of that group. Dombrowski’s good finish pushed him into the top 40, now 53:53 back in 35th. Brown in 54th and Haga in 83rd continue to hang in the top 100.

Sunday will be an interesting seven mile mountain time trial before the final rest day on Monday.

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Joe Dombrowski has had a good week at the Giro d’Italia. After a 40th place finish in the first stage of the week on Tuesday and finishing in the peloton on Thursday Dombrowski had his best day of the competition when he finished 16th on Friday in stage 13. Dombrowski was the last of 14 riders to finish 1:17 behind the winner and has now moved up to be the top American overall in 41st place, 44:46 back. Nathan Brown was 55th and Chad Haga was 60th to give the US three in the top 60 for first time since stage four. Brown stayed in 50th overall despite being passed by Dombrowski and is now 55:51 back. Haga moved up to 87th.

Saturday will be the first mountain stage, 130 miles in length.

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