Organizers ASO have announced some of the final details for the Criterium du Dauphiné which starts on Sunday. Among the new initiatives, several are related to the live broadcasts.

On Sunday, the battles will start in the streets of Lyon, firstly between the leading flat specialists. As for the sprinters, Thor Hushovd will be in attendance to seek a 5th stage win on the Dauphiné, which this year will witness significant technical prowess for its live broadcasts…
 
LYON: THE CITY OF SURPRISES?
The city hosting the start of the Critérium du Dauphiné 2014 has welcomed many stages or prologues in the race’s history. The last two visits have played host to revelations of riders with already promising potential. This was the case in 2011, when John Degenkolbwon the first of his two stages, by triumphing over Samuel Dumoulin on the Côte de la Croix-Rousse slope. Nine years earlier, an Australian riding for FDJ caused a stir by winning the prologue of the Dauphiné. By putting on the race’s yellow jersey, Bradley McGee achieved the first resounding success of his career, one year before repeating the feat on the one hundredth anniversary of the Tour de France. Consequently, the favourites for the time-trial on Sunday, among which feature in particular Chris Froome, Richie Porte, Jean-Christophe Péraud, Sylvain Chavanel, Tejay van Garderen or Gustav Larsson, will have to be keeping a close watch on the times of the young guns in the pack.
 
HUSHOVD READY TO POUNCE
The last version of the registration sheet for the BMC team featured the name of ThorHushovd, who will be called upon to support his team leader Tejay van Garderen. Whilst he has not found the winning formula on the event since 2006, the former world champion has an enviable history on the Alpine race, with four stage victories in total, including one in Bron, very close to Lyon. This year, the Norwegian will be expected to do battle in particular with Arnaud Démare and Giacomo Nizzolo in Teil (stage 3), but perhaps also in Gap (stage 4), where he won during the Tour de France 2011.
 
THE ROULEZ JEUNESSE FESTIVAL, ACT I
Hosting the Critérium du Dauphiné in Lyon is part of a more generalised movement of promoting cycling in the capital of the Rhône-Alpes region. Among the associations most active in this domain, this weekend Roulez Jeunesse is setting up the first edition of a festival dedicated to the various uses of bicycles. The many events planned on 6th, 7th and 8th June will take place at the Parc de la Tête d’Or velodrome, which has been hosting cycling events for 120 years!

TV: TWO WORLD FIRSTS!
The images of the 66th edition will be broadcast in 175 countries, by 22 broadcasters. There is an especially noteworthy progression in broadcasting times, since the agreements signed with beIN Sports mean that for the first time the race will be broadcast live on their Middle East and North Africa channels, covering 23 countries in total. Furthermore, the technical resources deployed will allow viewers to enjoy two world firsts in cycling. For the first stage, a specific HF capture system has been set up in the Croix-Rousse “Tube” meaning images throughout the 1.7-km length of the tunnel will be able to be broadcast. Finally, France Télévisions will be carrying out tests on several stages with a high speed DVS “Superloupe” camera, offering optimal quality slow motion replays, ranging from 300 to 500 images per second.