Other races may be better-known, more prestigious or more popular, but when it comes to rune-reading, the Critérium du Dauphiné is in a class of its own every year. Being considered a key warm-up race for the Tour de France tends to have that effect.
The eight-day French event, which starts this Sunday, is both blessed and cursed by its status regarding the Tour. On the one hand, it’s a prestigious event in its own right, being considered one of France’s top three stage races and with a star-studded palmares. With major mountains, summit finishes, and a mid-week time trial, the performance of every major contender and the implication for the Tour de France is heavily scrutinized.
Over the years, the Criterium du Dauphiné has proven to be accurate at showing the direction of travel of most of the stars. Teams use the Dauphiné to shrink their Tour long-lists. The Tour de Suisse and nationals championships help provide the final cuts, but the Dauphiné always gives the most indications of who is likely to make the Tour teams – as former Tour winners Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas both found out when they were dropped from the Ineos’ long list for July after the 2020 edition.
This year’s line-up has more than enough top names lining up to justify another round of predictions. Jonas Vingegaard is the standout favourite, but a host of other contenders who are aiming to cross swords with the Dane in July are also present. Tadej Pogačar is a notable absence – but that only raises even more questions. Cyclingnews has selected five questions for the Critérium du Dauphiné.
1. Is Jonas Vingegaard on track for the Tour?
Few riders will be watched as closely as Jonas Vingegaard in this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné and not just because the Dane is defending champion of the Tour de France.
Rather, interest in Vingegaard’s performance will likely be even higher than usual in the Dauphiné because this spring it’s been so rare to be able to get to see him racing.
Since January, Vingegaard has taken part in just three events, all stage races: O Gran Camiño, Paris-Nice and Itzulia-Basque Country. Assuming nothing changes in his program, he’ll total 18 race days before the Tour. Arch-rival Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has only done 21 race days but one crucial difference is that they were over nine different events.
In marked contrast to…
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