67th Criterium du Dauphiné News

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67th Criterium du Dauphiné will start with a circuit race around Albertville, the hosting city of the 1992 winter Olympic Games

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67th Criterium du Dauphiné News

The 67th Criterium du Dauphiné will start with a circuit race around Albertville, the hosting city of the 1992 winter Olympic Games. Stage 1 is open to sprinters and attackers. It suits the new French sensation Julian Alaphilippe while the first crucial stage for shaping the overall classification will be an unprecedented team time trial that appeals to world champions BMC captained by Tejay van Garderen.

A sprinter in yellow at Albertville?
In the recent history of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the first yellow-blue jersey has never been awarded to a sprinter. The last beneficiary up to date was actually Wilfried Nelissen in Vaulx-en-Velin in 1992.

In 2013, the inaugural stage was not a time trial for once, but Canada’s David Veilleux won solo for Europcar in Champéry, Switzerland. Different scenarios can be foreseen this year, as technical director Gilles Maignan has chosen the course of stage 1 around Albertville to give a chance to several types of riders. “It’s purposely a relatively short stage (131.5km) and it’s a circuit race because this kind of courses can generate a lot of dynamics”, he explained. “In the last five laps, there’s the côte du Villard. It’s not a very long hill but a pretty steep one.

The climb is not on the course for eliminating sprinters like Nacer Bouhanni, Sacha Modolo and Tyler Farrar but it’ll not be easy for them to overcome the difficulty. It’s also not sure that sprinters’ teams will be able to get organized in the last twelve kilometers before the finish. Therefore, a small group can make it. The race also suits Julian Alaphilippe who climbs very well and can also sprint.”

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Julian Alaphilippe: “I want to test myself”

Julian Alaphilippe hasn’t raced on French soil since he made a name for himself after he came second to Alejandro Valverde at Flèche wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and second again to Peter Sagan at the Tour of California where he won the queen stage up to Mount Baldy.

That gives him a different status at the start of the Dauphiné although he keeps his usual humble attitude. “It’s been super to win in California and as a team as well with Mark Cavendish’s sprint victories”, the Frenchman told letour.fr on the eve of stage 1. “I took part in the Dauphiné last year and it was difficult for me. I should be in a better shape this time.”

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“I hope I have recovered well from the trip to California. Mount Baldy is an 8 km long climb, it can’t be compared to the climbs here but actually, I don’t have much experience in the Alps and the level at the Dauphiné is very high. It’s going to be a test. I don’t know what to expect but I want to test myself and to ride better than last year. I’m very happy to be here anyway. On paper, stage 1 suits me well.”

“I hope to make the front group and race for the win. But I’m yet to check out my real state of form and figure out my role in the team. David De La Cruz who comes out of the Giro has expressed ambitions for GC. Maxime Bouet and Tony Martin can do something as well. I don’t want to have any regret at the end of the week but I also don’t want to let myself carried away.”

Alaphilippe will turn 23 during the Dauphiné, the day of stage 5 from Digne-les-Bains to Pra Loup, which is the first big test in the mountains.

Tejay van Garderen: “I feel really good”

A regular underdog at the Tour de France, Tejay van Garderen could be a favorite at the Dauphiné to succeed his compatriot Andrew Talansky. The inception of a team time trial puts more chances on his side since he’s part of BMC – the current world champion of that specialty. “I have found memories of the Dauphiné”, the American recalled in an interview with letour.fr.

“In 2010 (3rd overall), it’s the race that put me on stage with the bigger names. Like last year, it’s my first race back since Liège-Bastogne-Liège. We decided that May would be my building month for the Tour de France. I feel good. My form is right on track. My altitude training at home in Aspen has been really good. The Dauphiné comes at the right time for me to find the rhythm that I need. I’ve already recognized the stage to Pra Loup, I like it very much”.

“If I see the opportunity to attack and win the Dauphiné, I’ll go for it but it’s also a race to test the rivals before the Tour, to see where they are, to study them. On the other hand, if [Chris] Froome or [Vincenzo] Nibali attack, I’ll be able to see where I need to work. So in any case, the Dauphiné is a win-win situation. It’s always a learning experience. In the end, the result is secondary to building the form towards July. It’s a mental game as well.”

“Before the two Tour de France I’ve finished in fifth place, I’ve come only thirteenth at the Dauphiné… Being the world champions, the team time trial is a stage we’ll take seriously and we definitely want to win. Whether our performance on that day can impact our tactic in the mountains later or not, we haven’t gone that far in our plans yet.”

TEAM CANNONDALE-GARMIN / USA
1 TALANSKY Andrew
2 BAUER Jack
3 HAAS Nathan
4 KOREN Kristijan
5 LANGEVELD Sebastian
6 MARTIN Daniel
7 NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
8 VAN BAARLE Dylan

TEAM SKY / GBR
11 FROOME Christopher
12 BOSWELL Ian
13 DEIGNAN Philip
14 KENNAUGH Peter
15 POELS Wouter
16 ROCHE Nicolas
17 ROWE Luke
18 STANNARD Ian

ASTANA PRO TEAM / KAZ
21 NIBALI Vincenzo
22 BOOM Lars
23 GRIVKO Andriy
24 GRUZDEV Dmitriy
25 SCARPONI Michele
26 TAARAMÄE Rein
27 VANOTTI Alessandro
28 WESTRA Lieuwe

TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO / NED
31 KELDERMAN Wilco
32 BENNETT George
33 BULGAC Brian
34 KEIZER Martijn
35 TANKINK Bram
36 VAN EMDEN Jos
37 NEYLAN Rachel
38 WYNANTS Maarten

AG2R LA MONDIALE / FRA
41 BARDET Romain
42 CHEREL Mikael
43 DUMOULIN Samuel
44 GASTAUER Ben
45 PÉRAUD Jean-Christophe
46 RIBLON Christophe
47 VAN SUMMEREN Johan
48 VUILLERMOZ Alexis

ORICA GREENEDGE / AUS
51 GERRANS Simon
52 HOWSON Damien
53 KEUKELEIRE Jens
54 MEIER Christian
55 NIELSEN Magnus Cort
56 SANTAROMITA Ivan
57 YATES Adam
58 YATES Simon

LOTTO-SOUDAL / BEL
61 GALLOPIN Tony
62 BENOOT Tiesj
63 BOECKMANS Kris
64 DE CLERCQ Bart
65 DOCKX Gert
66 LIGTHART Pim
67 VAN DER SANDE Tosh
68 WELLENS Tim

MOVISTAR TEAM / ESP
71 VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro
72 CASTROVIEJO NICOLAS Jonathan
73 DOWSETT Alex
74 GADRET John
75 HERRADA LOPEZ José
76 INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA Benat
77 IZAGIRRE INSAUSTI Gorka
78 SUTHERLAND Rory

TEAM KATUSHA / RUS
81 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER Joaquin
82 CARUSO Gianpaolo
83 ISAICHEV Vladimir
84 LOSADA ALGUACIL Alberto
85 MACHADO Tiago
86 SMUKULIS Gatis
87 TSATEVICH Alexei
88 VICIOSO ARCOS Angel

BMC RACING TEAM / USA
91 VAN GARDEREN Tejay
92 DENNIS Rohan
93 OSS Daniel
94 QUINZIATO Manuel
95 ROSSKOPF Joey
96 SANCHEZ Samuel
97 SCHÄR Michael
98 TEUNS Dylan

ETIXX-QUICK STEP / BEL
101 ALAPHILIPPE Julian
102 BOUET Maxime
103 DE LA CRUZ MELGAREJO David
104 MARTIN Tony
105 SERRY Pieter
106 TERPSTRA Niki
107 VANDENBERGH Stijn
108 VELITS Martin

TREK FACTORY RACING / USA
111 MOLLEMA Bauke
112 BEPPU Fumiyuki
113 BUSCHE Matthew
114 IRIZAR ARRANBURU Markel
115 POPOVYCH Yaroslav
116 WATSON Calvin
117 ZOIDL Ricardo
118 ZUBELDIA AGIRRE Haimar

TINKOFF-SAXO / RUS
121 BELTRAN SUAREZ Eduard Alexander
122 HANSEN Jesper
123 KISERLOVSKI Robert
124 MC CARTHY Jay
125 PETROV Evgeni
126 PIRES Bruno
127 POLJANSKI Pawel
128 SORENSEN Chris Anker

IAM CYCLING / SUI
131 FRANK Mathias
132 CLEMENT Stef
133 HOLLENSTEIN Reto
134 PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson
135 REYNES MIMO Vicente
136 TANNER David
137 VAN GENECHTEN Jonas
138 WYSS Marcel

LAMPRE – MERIDA / ITA
141 COSTA Rui Alberto
142 BONO Matteo
143 MODOLO Sacha
144 OLIVEIRA Nelson
145 PLAZA MOLINA Ruben
146 POZZATO Filippo
147 SERPA SANTANDER José
148 VALLS FERRI Rafael

TEAM EUROPCAR / FRA
151 ROLLAND Pierre
152 GAUTIER Cyril
153 GUILLEMOIS ROMAIN
154 MARTINEZ Yannick
155 NAULLEAU BRYAN
156 QUEMENEUR Perrig
157 SICARD Romain
158 VOECKLER Thomas

COFIDIS, SOLUTIONS CREDITS / FRA
161 NAVARRO GARCIA Daniel
162 BOUHANNI Nacer
163 EDET Nicolas
164 LAPORTE Christophe
165 MATE MARDONES Luis Angel
166 SENECHAL Florian
167 SIMON Julien
168 SOUPE GEOFFREY

FDJ / FRA
171 JEANNESSON Arnold
172 COURTEILLE ARNAUD
173 DELAGE Mickaël
174 ELISSONDE KENNY
175 FISCHER Murilo Antonio
176 PICHON Laurent
177 REZA Kévin
178 VAUGRENARD Benoît

TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN / GER
181 CRADDOCK Lawson
182 FAIRLY Caleb
183 GESCHKE Simon
184 HAGA Chad
185 LUDVIGSSON Tobias
186 MEZGEC Luka
187 TIMMER Albert

MTN-QHUBEKA / RSA
191 BOASSON HAGEN Edvald
192 CUMMINGS Stephen
193 FARRAR Tyler
194 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Jacques
195 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt
196 MEINTJES Louis
197 PAUWELS Serge
198 TEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel

BORA-ARGON 18 / GER
201 BARTA Jan
202 BUCHMANN Emanuel
203 HUZARSKI Bartosz
204 PIMANTA COSTA MENDES José Joao
205 NERZ Dominik
206 SALERNO Christiano
207 THURAU Bjorn
208 VOSS Paul

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