Cycling: Two Kiwis earn top 10s at Criterium du Dauphine

Kiwi rider Dion Smith. Photo / Getty

Two New Zealand cyclists have finished in the top 10 on stage two of the Criterium du Dauphine.

Dion Smith and Patrick Bevin have both fared well in a chaotic sprint finish, with Smith crossing the line in seventh and Bevin in eighth to create a rare result at the World Tour level for New Zealand cycling.

For Bevin, it continues a decent stretch of results after the powerful rider took fifth in the opening prologue, while Smith showed an impressive late kick to claim his fourth top 10 on the World Tour.

It was an unusual finish to the stage, with several of the sprinting favourites being dropped out of the back of peloton in the hilly conclusion, leaving few teams able to create their usual sprint trains.

As a result, it was every man for himself, and German sprinter Pascal Ackermann was the strongest left, charging past Edvald Boasson Hagen to win by a bike length, with Daryl Impey finishing in third.

Impey, who won stage one and fared strongly in the prologue, received four bonus seconds to take the race overall lead, ahead of Michal Kwiatkowski, who crashed in the final two kilometres but managed to ride home safely to record the same time as the peloton and stay in second place.

Kwiatkowski is likely to take back the overall lead in tonight's team time trial, where his Team Sky squad will be heavy favourites, though Bevin's BMC team should also be in the mix for a strong performance.