2018 Critérium du Dauphiné Race Preview
The details of this year's 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The Critérium du Dauphiné arrives once again as one of the most important dress rehearsals on the road to the Tour de France, with the Alpine roads of southeastern France set to provide a stern examination of the contenders for cycling's greatest prize. The eight-day stage race, beginning on Sunday June 3rd and concluding on Sunday June 10th, carries significant weight in the peloton's calendar, and this year's edition promises to be as competitive and tactically fascinating as ever.
Chris Froome would ordinarily be considered the automatic favourite for a race of this nature, having used the Dauphiné on multiple occasions as a springboard to Tour de France glory. However, the Briton arrives under an extraordinary cloud of uncertainty, with his adverse analytical finding for salbutamol from last year's Vuelta a España still unresolved. Team Sky have confirmed his participation but the situation hanging over him makes his presence somewhat uncomfortable and his rivals will be watching closely to see whether the four-time Tour champion shows any signs of vulnerability.
Sky nonetheless remain the strongest team in the race and will likely control large portions of the racing. Geraint Thomas, who has been in superb form throughout the spring, and Wout Poels provide additional options for the British outfit should the road demand it.
Defending champion Chris Froome aside, the most dangerous challengers are expected to come from several directions. Primož Roglič has been one of the revelations of the season, the Slovenian climbing with astonishing fluency and posting results that suggest he is maturing into a genuine grand tour threat. His Lotto NL Jumbo team will look to make the race unpredictable.
Romain Bardet carries the hopes of French cycling and will be eager to impress on home roads that suit his aggressive, attacking style. The AG2R La Mondiale leader has shown genuine class in major stage races and will relish the mountainous final days. Similarly, Mikel Landa, now riding for Movistar, is a climber of rare talent who has sometimes struggled to translate his pure ability into consistent results but remains capable of a performance that could unsettle anyone.
Jakob Fuglsang of Astana has been in fine form and deserves considerable respect, while Adam Yates, so promising for so long, will want to demonstrate that Mitchelton-Scott can challenge the very best teams in this kind of terrain.
The race route features the classic Dauphiné ingredients of punishing Alpine ascents, with the final two stages in particular likely to be decisive. The Col de la Croix de Fer and Alpe d'Huez feature in the closing weekend, virtually guaranteeing that the general classification will be settled on some of the most iconic roads in cycling. Any climber hoping to contend at the Tour de France must perform well on these slopes.
The sprinters will have their opportunities in the opening days before the race heads into the mountains, and the time trial stage will separate those with genuine all-round credentials from pure climbers. It is on the high mountain passes, though, where this race will be decided and where the pecking order ahead of July will become clearer.
Whether Froome can silence his critics and demonstrate his enduring dominance, or whether a rival seizes the moment to announce themselves as a genuine Tour de France threat, the 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné should provide absorbing and revealing racing across all eight stages.
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