With the Tour of Luxembourg still in full flow, it’s an exciting weekend of pro-biking which also sees the start tomorrow (June 5) of the ever-exciting Critérium du Dauphiné; 8 days of action which is both something of a warm up for the Tour de France and a frequent indicator of those teams and riders likely to do well in the July Classic. The Critérium du Dauphiné – raced in the Dauphiné region of France – comprises a 5.4km Prologue ride followed by 7 days of stage racing over a total distance on 1,064km and includes an Individual Time Trial stage, which this year falls on Wednesday June 8 and takes place in Grenoble.
Cadel Evans, runner up in Dauphine between 2007 and 2009, and with an impressive 2011 season under his belt (winning both the Tirreno Adriatico and the Tour of Romandie) may well be the man to watch but, as always with the Critérium du Dauphiné, anything can happen during 8 days in the saddle…
The full stage breakdown is:
5 June: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne 5.4 km prologue
6 June: Albertville – Saint-Pierre-de-Chartreuse 144 km
7 June: Voiron – Lyon 179 km
8 June: Grenoble 42.5 km Individual Time Trial
9 June: La Motte-Servolex – Mâcon 173.5 km
10 June: Parc des Oiseaux – Villars-les-Dombes – Les Gets 210 km
11 June: Les Gets – Le Collet d’Allevard 192.5 km
12 June: Pontcharra – La Toussuire 117.5 km
