Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Sunday, June 2, 2024
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2023 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
There is nothing more deceptive than an obvious fact. - Arthur Conan Doyle
Bill & Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2020: The Tour During Covid-19, Better Late Than Never is available in both Kindle eBook and Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- June 2: Brussels Cycling Classic
- June 2 - 9: Critérium du Dauphiné
Upcoming racing:
- June 5 - 9: ZLM Tour
- June 7: GP Canton Aargau
- June 9 - 16: Tour de Suisse
- June 12 - 16: Baloise Belgium Tour
- June 15 - 18: La Route d'Occitanie Cancelled because security forces busy with Olympics
- June 21 - 26: Many National Championships
- July 1 - 23: Tour de France
- July 27 - August 11: Olympic cycling
Latest completed racing:
- May 29: Circuit Franco-Belge
- May 4 - 26: Giro d'Italia
- May 23 - 26: Tour of Norway
- May 26: Rund um Köln
- May 14 - 19: 4 Days of Dunkirk
- May 18: Veenendaal - Veenendaal Classic
- May 11: Tour du Finistère
- May 5: Tro-Bro Léon
- May 4: GP du Morbihan
- May 1: Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn-Frankfurt
Here’s the team’s update:
It is a milestone on the road to the Tour de France.
It is the last big race, a final test before the season's highlight.
It is the beginning of June, four weeks before the Grand Depart.
Let's go for the Critérium du Dauphiné.
After several weeks of high-altitude training in the Sierra Nevada, Primož Roglič and his teammates are about to start the eight-day stage race to gain crucial race kilometers. A final test of form before the Tour de France! With Aleks Vlasov and Jai Hindley, the team has some high-profile support. While Aleks is making his Dauphiné debut, Jai finished 4th overall in 2023 and underlined his Tour de France ambitions last year. A stage win and the yellow jersey followed soon after, showing that the Dauphiné is a reliable indicator of the year's most important race.
Primoz Roglic won the 2022 Critérium du Dauphiné. Sirotti photo
It will be a dress rehearsal worthy of the name, demanding everything from the team and testing them in every area. Nico Denz, Marco Haller, Bob Jungels and Matteo Sobrero complete the line-up. One of the toughest editions of the Dauphiné awaits the riders, covering almost 1200 kilometres through the south of France: 22,000 metres of climbing spread over a flat stage, an individual time trial, three hilly days and three consecutive mountaintop finishes. Each terrain requires a well-rehearsed team. Well-rehearsed to shine at the season's highlight, which follows the dress rehearsal in a few weeks' time.
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Here's the team's post:
Julien Jurdie, team manager:
"The Critérium du Dauphiné has a strong resonance for the team, whose race department is based in Savoie, so there's a very strong regional identity. We also have many fans in the region, so it's always a great pleasure to be present on the roads of this race, one of the major events of the season before the Tour de France. The aim is to build up automatisms for the Grande Boucle, both for the sprint against Sam (Bennett) and for our climbers. We'll be aiming for a stage win.
Sam Bennett wins stage five of this year's 4 Days of Dunkirk.
Oliver Naesen:
"After my success at the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque, I can't wait to do sprints with Sam again. The Critérium du Dauphiné is a race I like, even if I don't have the profile of a climber. I like to feel that I'm making progress day by day, and I appreciate the magnificent and demanding courses. It's a race that works well for the team, and that's motivating. I'll have a dual role this year: Sam's final pilot fish and road captain to guide the others riders. I particularly like this role when I'm a team member.
The news: an experienced team
The Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale team has an experienced line-up for the Critérium du Dauphiné, including Edvald Boasson Hagen, whose thirteenth appearance, and Oliver Naesen, whose eighth. Two riders have already won stages in this race: Edvald Boasson Hagen five times and Sam Bennett once.
The number: 2
Like the number of riders who will be taking part in the Critérium du Dauphiné for the first time: Clément Berthet and Nicolas Prodhomme.
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Here’s the team’s update:
With its climbers and sprinters, the Arkea-B&B Hotels team will be in ‘stage-hunting mode’, as sports director Sébastien Hinault has announced.
Cristián Rodríguez:
‘I’m looking ahead to the Critérium du Dauphiné with the aim of doing well with the Team Arkea-B&B Hotels team. The course is really tough. It’s the legs that will do the talking.’
Clément Venturini:
‘The Critérium du Dauphiné is the biggest race in my region, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. It’s a final rehearsal before the Tour de France for some, and there’s always a lot of interest. I’m hoping to have a great week with the Team Arkea-B&B Hotels team. With Cristián Rodríguez and Clément Champoussin, we have some good cards to play in the mountains. For my part, along with Florian Sénéchal, I’ll have the chance to express myself in the two sprinter stages on Sunday and Thursday. The latter will be special for me as it finishes in Saint-Priest, not far from home’.
Sébastien Hinault, sports director:
‘This 2024 edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné is very difficult, with several summit finishes and two very steep final stages. We’ll be counting on our two climbers, Cristián Rodríguez and Clément Champoussin, to chase down the stages, and why not achieve a good overall classification. As for the sprinters, we’ll be able to count on Clément Venturini, at home, and Florian Sénéchal to be there. I’m counting on the whole team to be opportunistic every day. Mathis Le Berre and Laurens Huys will be supporting the leaders, as will Thibault Guernalec, who will have a chance to test himself in the time trial before the French championships.”
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Evenepoel’s Team Soudal Quick-Step posted this:
The Belgian Champion talked about his expectations as he returns to competition after two months.
“It will be my first time doing the Critérium du Dauphiné, but I honestly don’t have any targets for the upcoming week. It’s almost two months since my last race, so the most important thing will be to get back into the race rhythm again and see where my shape is at the moment. The plan is to just take it day by day and finish the race in a better form than the one I had at the start.
Remco Evenepoel winning Paris-Nice stage eight earlier this year. Sirotti photo
"On the other hand, we have two guys on the team who are in good shape, and I’m talking here about Ilan and Mikel, so if it is possible, I will try to support them. The course is very hard, there are a lot of uphill finishes and tough climbs, everything culminating with that demanding weekend, but we have a strong Soudal Quick-Step squad and are confident in our chances of getting a good result.
"Before coming here, I was in Sierra Nevada together with some of the guys for an altitude training camp, which helped me get back to a good shape, although I won’t lie, the injuries are still a bit uncomfortable, especially on the TT bike. For that reason, the stage four individual time trial will be a good test to see how the shoulder reacts after the Itzulia injury.
"That stage, and the whole Dauphiné for that matter, will be an important step as I gear up for the Tour de France. It’s important for me to have a race in my legs before July, even though I’m not going for a good personal result. It will be a different story than the one at Paris-Nice, where I wanted a stage victory and a good general classification. The main goal here is to keep progressing and find my best shape ahead of my Tour de France debut.”
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