For more than three weeks, the headlines have been dominated by the likes of Nairo Quintana, Rigoberto Uran and Fabio Aru but it is time to forget all about the key protagonists of the Italian grand tour. The Tour de France looms on the horizon and with Sunday's start of the Criterium du Dauphiné, the preparation for the world's biggest race kicks off in earnest. The Grand Depart will take place in Leeds in less than one month, and it is time to find out who's hot and who's not for the French grand tour when the two biggest Tour favourites, Chris Froome and Alberto Contador, go head to head in a highly anticipated battle in the Alps during the coming week.

 

While many of the world's best stage race riders have been involved in a hard fight for the maglia rosa on the Italian roads, most of the remaining part of that exclusive category of riders have meticulously prepares for their assault at the world's biggest race, the Tour de France which starts in less than a month from now. Some have already kicked back into action at races like Tour of California, Tour of Norway,Tour of Belgium, Bayern Rundfahrt and Tour de Luxembourg but the start of the Criterium du Dauphiné on Sunday marks the beginning of the string of crucial stage races that are usually used as the key warm-up for the world's biggest race.

 

The Criterium du Dauphiné plays a very unique role among that group of preparation races. Held in the French Alps, it is one of only two races - the smaller Route du Sud held in the Pyrenees being the other - to offer the riders the chance to test out the terrain that they will encounter during the month of July. In that sense, the race is the French analogue to the Italian Giro del Trentino and the Spanish Vuelta a Burgos as all three races are formidable tune-up events for the grand tours of their home country. All are held a few weeks prior to the start of the three-week races and all take place in mountainous parts of the countries that host the three grand tours.

 

While the riders are involved in heavy battles on the roads, race organizers take part in a completely different fight. For years, the Criterium du Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse have both claimed to offer the best preparation for the Tour, and while it is mostly a question of individual preference to find out which one comes out on top, it has been the source for plenty of discussion. The Swiss race is one day longer than its French counterpart and takes place one week closer to the start of the Tour, and riders all have different ideas as to which race forms the part of an ideal build-up. In that sense, the fight is comparable to the one between Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico which both claim to be the perfect preparation for the Milan-Sanremo.

 

In recent years, the French race has, however, appeared to come out triumphant in the duel. The Dauphiné was first organized in 1947 when the eponymous local newspaper Dauphiné Libéré decided to put on a race in the Dauphiné region under the name of Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré. Taking place in the Alps just weeks before the Tour, it quickly grew to fame as an important preparation race and its links to the Grande Boucle were intimate right from the beginning. It is no surprise to see that all five-time winners of the Tour have all won the Dauphiné before going on to win the big one later in the summer.

 

For many years, it was the final big French race to be held outside the aegis of Tour de France organizer ASO. However, financial difficulties forced the paper to hand over the complete responsibility to the French giant in 2010 and the change saw the race name being abbreviated.

 

Unsurprisingly, ASO has since tried to achieve some synergy between the Dauphiné and the Tour in a quest to attract more Tour contenders and that project has been a successful one. While the race has always tried to include key sections from the Tour route to give the riders the opportunity to tackle the course at race pace, ASO has taken that idea a step further. In 2011, they included the exact same time trial in Grenoble that would be contested one month later in the Tour, and in 2012 the riders climbed the Grand Colombier climb which was set to make its Tour debut later that season. Last  year the main attraction was  the possibility to climb the Alpe d'Huez and the subsequent Col de Sarenne which was a part of the crucial 18th stage of the Tour. This year, however, ASO have created little synergy between the two races and one should not choose the Swiss race to get an intimate knowledge of the course for the Tour de France.

 

The changes have seen more and more riders include the Criterium du Dauphiné in recent years while at the same time the Tour de Suisse has lost some of its status. The French race can even boast about the fact that since 2009 the Tour winner has finished on their podium one month prior to being celebrated in Paris (2009: Alberto Contador finished 3rd, 2010: Alberto Contador finished 2nd (and was later disqualified from his Tour win), 2011: Cadel Evans finished 2nd, 2012: Bradley Wiggins won, 2013: Chris Froome won). Actually, the last Tour winner not to race the Dauphiné was Lance Armstrong who deviated from his usual schedule featuring the Dauphiné by riding (and winning) the Tour de Suisse in 2001 before going on to beat Jan Ullrich in France a month later. This year the trend seems to continue as the race is set to feature the three riders, Chris Froome, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, that are mostly tipped to battle it out for the overall win in July. Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Pierre Rolland,  Jean-Christophe Peraud, Romain Bardet, Tejay van Garderen, Andrew Talansky, Simon Spilak, Michal Kwiatkowski, Daniel Navarro, Rein Taaramae and Leopold König will add further strength to the line-up while the Tour de Suisse organizers have to be content with a start list that is headlined by contenders just below the

 

While the Criterium du Dauphiné is certainly good preparation which gives a lot of information on the form of some of the most important contenders, it is also important not to be too good too soon. The early calendar date means that the winner of the Dauphiné rarely goes on to win the Tour de France, and besides Wiggins and Froome who bucked the trend in 2012 and 2013 respectively, the only riders to make the double are Louison Bobet (1955), Jacques Anquetil (1963), Eddy Merckx (1971), Luis Ocana (1973), Bernard Thevenet (1975), Bernard Hinault (1979, 1981), Miguel Indurain (1995) and Lance Armstrong (2002 and 2003), the names on that list clearly indicating that it requires something special to make the rare feat.

 

However, the Dauphiné is more than just Tour preparation and as a WorldTour event with important points at stake, it has probably even got more important in recent years. The last few seasons have seen some of the best climbers from the Giro travel directly to France to benefit maximally form their good post-Grand Tour condition. In 2011, Joaquin Rodriguez went on from finishing 4th in the Giro to capture two stage wins and an overall 5th place in the Dauphiné while in 2012 his teammate Daniel Moreno came from a 20th place finish in the Giro to win two stages and finish 13th overall in France. Last year it was Elia Viviani and Samuel Sanchez who made use of their Giro condition to win a stage and this year, Wilco Kelderman and Giacomo Nizzolo headline a list of Giro riders going for glory in France.

 

Last year Chirs Froome continued Sky's dominance of the event and his own incredible run of success in the WorldTour stage races when he and Richie Porte made it a 1-2 for the British team just 12 months after Bradley Wiggins and Michael Rogers had achieved a similar result. Froome laid the foundations for his win on the stage four time trial when he finished third behind Tony Martin and Rohan Dennis before going on to crush the opposition - including Alberto Contador - in the next day's summit finish in Valmorel. After controlling the situation in the mountain stage on the penultimate stage, he showed his superiority on the final day when he tried to give Porte the stage win but had to slow down to wait for his teammate and so failed to reel in lone leader Alessandro De Marchi. Danile Moreno completed the podium. This year Froome and Porte will be back as they headline a formidable Sky roster while Moreno will take a well-deserved break after the Giro and so will leave the Katusha captaincy duties to Simon Spilak.

 

The course

When the race was still organized by the newspaper Dauphiné Libéré, the build-up of the course followed a fixed format. A short prologue kicked off the event and was followed by two easier stages of which one suited the sprinters while the other took in some more hilly terrain. Wednesday was the day of a long time trial of more than 40km while the race was rounded off by four consecutive stages in the mountains. Often the Thursday and Saturday stages included a mountaintop finish while the Friday and Sunday stages were more suited to breakaways.

 

When ASO took over the event, they started to deviate from that format and even though they have mostly followed the tradition of having both a prologue and a long time trial, they have made the road stages a lot more varied. Over the last few years, however, they have also started to shake up the time trials. Last year the race didn't start with its usual prologue and this year it breaks with the tradition of having a long time trial. This year the Tour de France will only feature one time trial and this year the main synergy between the two races is their emphasis on the mountains. In addition to the absence of a time trial, the fact that there will be no less than three big summit finishes further suggests that the race will be won by the strongest climbers. The remaining stages are all rolling and as always, the pure sprinters have no reason to travel to the Alps for the Dauphiné. The hilly terrain suits the attackers and the sprinters that also excel in the classics.

 

Stage 1:

After the 2013 race started with a road stage, the 2014 Criterium du Dauphiné is back to tradition as it kicks off with a short time trial but this year the 10.4km in Lyon will be the only time trialing of the entire race. The distance is slightly too long for the stage to be a prologue but it is way too short to open up major time gaps and probably won't play too much of a role in the final outcome of the race.

 

The entire stage takes place in the city of Lyon and it is a pretty mixed affair. A left-hand turn just after the start will lead the riders onto a long, almost completely flat road that suit the specialists. After a little more than 3km, the nature of the stage changes as the riders reach a technical section that leads them to the bottom of the day's only challenge, the category 4 Montée de l'Observance (0.8km, 5.5%), whose top comes at the 4.6km mark where the time check will be taken.

 

The descent back down to the Saone river is extremely technical and features several hairpin bends but by the time the riders make the right-hadn turn onto the road along the river at the 5.6km mark, the nature again changes. From there it is a long, flat road all the way to the finish and only four sharp turns along the way will break the monotony in a section that clearly favours the specialists.

 

Due to its diversity, the stage suits several different riders. However, the climb is not very difficult and the descent pretty short, meaning that the differences will mainly be made on the long power sections. This indicates that the TT specialists should come to the fore while the climbers will try to limit their damage. Despite his TT skills, Froome has never shined in prologues but this slightly longer distance should suit him better. The defending champion will look to put time into his key rivals already from the gun and possibly take the stage win while Alberto Contador will hope to get confirmation that his time trialing is back on track after a few years dominated by below-par performances. With Tony Martin opting for the Tour de Suisse this time around, the stage win is up for grabs and it could be a day for Martin's teammate Michal Kwiatkowski to take another WorldTour win after his victory in the Tour de Romandie prologue earlier this year.

 

Lyon last hosted a stage in 2011 when John Degenkolb won an uphill sprint while Bradley McGee won the opening prologue in 2002. Two years earlier Frederic Guesdon narrowly held off the peloton to take a big win in the first stage of the race.

 

 

 

Stage 2:

The days when the Dauphiné peloton get a few days to get back into competition mode before the real climbing begins, are definitely over. This year the first major summit finish of the race comes already on the second day and Monday, June 9 will be an important date in the cycling calendar as it will offer us the first glimpse into the balance of power between Froome, Contador and Nibali. With no really big or very steep mountains, stage 2 certainly isn't the toughest but it's a short, sharp affair that is up and down all day, making it a hard day in the saddle.

 

The stage bringes the riders over 156km from  Tarare to the top of the Col du Beal and takes place on the outskirts of the Alps, making the terrain very challenging. Right from the start, the riders get an idea of what's in store when they go up the category 2 Cote de Saint-Marcel-l'Eclaire (5km, 6.1%) and after a descent it's straight onto the categroy 4 Cote d'Albigny (2.3km, 5.5%).

 

After the top, the riders reach the easiest section of the course with several kilometres of rolling and even flat terrain offering some respite ahead of the exciting finale. It kicks off in the city of Montbrison when the riders take on the category 2 Cote de Bard (6.3km, 5.3%) which leads directly onto the lower slopes of the category 2 Col de la Croix de l'Homme Mort (5.6km, 5.6%). With no descent in between those two climbs, it's almost 18km of climbing before a very short downhill section leads to the category 3 Col des Pradeaux (7.3km, 3.6%).

 

After the KOM sprint, it's a long descent back down to the valley where the only intermediate sprint is located. 15km of flat roads lead to the bottom of the final challenge, the HC category Col du Beal (13.6km, 6.6%) which leads to the finish. The climb is a long one but not very difficult though. After three easy kilometres, the gradient stays around 6-7% for most of the way until it gets slightly steeper in the finale. The 13th kilometre has an average gradient of 7% while the final 600m have a 8.4% gradient.

 

Chris Froome and Alberto Contador will both be eager to test themselves on the first big climb of the race and we would be pretty surprised not to see Sky start their Tour preparation by controlling the stage in a quest to set their captain up for a stage win. However, the final climb is not difficult enough to produce a big time difference and the main contenders will probably have to save their shot for the final steeper part. The stage will certainly give an idea of who's going to win the Dauphiné and we should see the first time gaps open up but the main battles will have to wait for the harder weekend stages.

 

 

 

Stage 3:

After two stages that have opened up the first time gaps in the overall standings, the GC riders will get the chance to take a short breather in what should be one of the easiest stages of the race. The third stage bringes the riders over 194km from Ambert to Le Teil and like the previous day it takes place on the hilly western outskirts of the Alps. Unlike stage 2, however, the third leg doesn't feature any major climbs and has a flat finish, meaning that it could be one of the biggest opportunities for the few sprinters in the race.

 

It will be dangerous to underestimate the terrain though. After a flat start, the riders go up the category 2 Cote de Lavet (8.7km, 4.4%), and from there it is undulating from most of the day. The route is always up and down and clearly favours attackers over a chasing peloton. The difficult part ends with the category 2 Cote de la Mure (3.8km, 6.3%) whose top comes with 46km to go.

 

From there, it is a steep, not too technical descent down to the intermediate sprint in the valley and then it is a long, straight, flat road along the Rhone river all the way to the finish in Le Teil. Things only get a bit more complicated in the finale when a left-hand turn and a roundabout lead to the final right-hand turn that leads onto the flat finishing straight.

 

While the first half clearly favours attackers, the final section is perfectly suited to a hard chase from the peloton. The sprint teams will have marked this stage out and if they can control the opening attacks and avoid a strong breakaway, there is a big chance that the stage will end in a bunch sprint. However, the fast finishers still have to survive the Cote de la Mure to get a chance to show their fast legs. At the same time, it will require a big effort from their teams to chase in this hard terrain and there is a chance that a strong escape can deny the sprinters.

 

 

 

Stage 4:

After yesterday's stage that had a difficult start and an easy end, things are turned around for the fourth stage that is a real classic. The 167.5km stage from Montelimar to Gap has the traditional finish with the Col de Manse and it's difficult descent that has been used a few times in the Tour de France over the last few years and always offers very exciting racing.

 

The first part of the stage has a few small climbs but generally consists of a long, uphill drag from the start at 134m of altitude to Gap 839m above sea level. The only categorized climb is the category 4 Cote de Rosans (1.5km, 3.6%) at the 80.5km mark and the riders will contest the intermediate sprint shortly before reaching Gap for the first time.

 

In Gap, the riders won't cross the finish line but instead take on the famous 25.5km circuit featuring the Col de Manse on the northern outskirts of the city. It's a difficult affair as it starts off directly with the 9.6km category 2 climb whose average gradient is 5.2%. At the top 12.5km remain and they are all downhill. The first part is very technical but the final 3.5km are on a long, straight, slightly descending road that leads directly to the finish.

 

The finish with the Col de Manse is a famous one. In the 2003 Tour de France, Joseba Beloki spectacularly crashed out of the race on the descent, with Lance Armstrong showing his off-road skills to avoid being brought down by his Spanish rival. In the 2011 edition of the race, Alberto Contador who had lost  time in the Pyreness, attacked on the Col de Manse, dropped the Schleck brothers and increased his gap on the wet descent, prompting the Luxembourgish stars to complain about the layout of the course. Last year the finale was back on the course and this time Rui Costa took the first of his two stage wins by emerging as the strongest from a breakaway. Behind, Contador attacked Chris Froome repeatedly but failed to shake off the race leader. Instead, he tried to accelerate on the technical descent but risked too much and hit the deck, holding up Froome in the process. The pair managed to rejoin their rivals but the incident was the topic of a lot of discussion later on.

 

With the final climb likely to be too hard for the sprinters, this stage is almost guaranteed to be won by an early breakaway from which the strongest climbers will emerge on the Col de Manse. The GC riders may try to attack each other but history proves that the climb is unlikely to produce any kind of difference. The riders probably won't take too big risks on the descent and we can't expect to see another big downhill battle between Contador and Froome this close to the Tour de France.

 

 

 

Stage 5:

The riders are now very close to the Alps but before heading into the high mountains, they will take on another very tough affair whose many climbs means that it is up or down almost all day. Like the previous day's stage, the fifth leg and its 189.5km from Sisteron to La Mure has a pretty easy start as the first third of the race is almost completely flat. Passing close to Gap, the riders will again go up the catgory 2 Col de Manse (6.6km, 6.2%), albeit from another and harder side that they did one day earlier. That ascent and the subsequent category 3 Cote du Motty (2.3km, 8.1%) will serve as a warm-up for the difficult finale.

 

It starts after 122.5km of racing when the riders reach the bottom of the category 3 Cote du Pont-Haut (2.7km, 7.4%) and from there, there will be little room for recovery. 1.5km from the top, the riders reach the finishing circuit and 1km further up the road, they cross the finish line for the first time, contesting the intermediate sprint in the process.

 

The riders now take on the 61.5km finishing circuit that has a tough start as they start off by going up the category 3 Col de Malissol (2km, 8.8%) whose short descent and a gradual ascending road leads to the category 2 Col de la Morte (3.1km, 8.4%) whose top comes 50km from the finish. A long, very technical descent leads to the category 2 Cote de Laffrey (6.3km, 6.2%) and from there 20.5km remain. The roads continues to rise for a few kilometres and then it's rolling terrain back to the finish in La Mure, with the final kilometres being predominantly flat. The finale is not too technical, with a sharp turn and a roundabout being the only challenges before the riders do the final right-hand turn that leads onto the finsihing straight.

 

Compared to the last few days, the climbs are a lot steeper and this stage should be way too tough for the sprinters. As the climbs are located too far from the finish for the GC riders to make a difference, it seems to be another one for a breakaway and it could take a long time before the break finally takes off. This could make it a pretty hard stage that will contribute to the accumulation of fatigue ahead of the decisive weekend.

 

 

 

Stage 6:

The weekend is extremely tough but before the riders get to the decisive stages of the race, they will get a short chance to recover in what should be the easiest stage of the race. The sixth stage brings them over 178.5km from Grenoble to Poisy and takes place on the western outskirts of the Alps. This time, however, the route avoid the major difficulties and the stage is predominantly flat.

 

No Dauphiné stage is completely flat though and the final part is very tricky. The first is slightly rolling, with the Category 4 Cote de la Betaz (1.5km, 4.4%) at the midpoint being the biggest challenge. A long flat section leads to the intermediate sprint which comes just 26km from the line and then the tricky finale starts

 

First the riders go up the category 4 Cote de Marcellaz-Albanais  (4.6km, 4.1%) and from there it is up or down all the way to the finish 19.5km later. The category 4 Cote de Ronzy (1.7km, 6.3%) is the biggest challenge and comes just 7.5km from the finish but the riders that survive that climb need to overcome another nasty climb to get the chance to win the stage. Instead of going straight to the finish, the riders do a tricky little circuit. With 2.5km to go, the riders go up the small uncategorized Cote de la Route des Vignes which has a very steep  15% section and whose top comes just 1.1km from the line. From there the road finally flattens and it is mostly straight. However, there  are three roundabout to negotiate with the final one coming just a few hundred metres from the line.

 

The first part of the stage is pretty easy to control and the most likely is that the sprint teams will try to bring it back together before they head into the finale. Here they can expect a flurry of attacks though and while trying to chase the escapees down, they also have to make sure that their sprinters survive the many climbs. It will be especially hard to recover from the final  steep section. There is a solid chance that a late escape will make it and if it ends in a sprint, it certainly won't be a pure sprinter that prevails in Poisy.

 

 

 

Stage 7:

The GC riders have had four days that were all about survival and avoiding any time loss but now it is time to kick back into action and find out who's going to win the 2014 Criterium du Dauphiné. After several days of circling around on the outskirts, the riders finally head into the Alpine heartland for the first of two big summit finishes in the weekend and unlike the first test in stage 2, the final climb in the penultimate stage has the potential to do some real damage.

 

The short 160km stage from Ville-la-Grand to Finhaut-Emosson offers the riders a pretty easy start as the first 22km are completely flat. The long category 2 Cote des Gets (10.3km, 4.9%) offers the first taste of what is in store and leads to a long, gradual descent and the first category 1 climb of the race, Col du Corbier (7.5km, 7.5%). Another easy section precedes the category 2 Pas de Morgins (6km, 5.7%) whose top marks the border to Switzerland and the final part of the stage will take part entirely on Swiss soil.

 

The climb is followed by the first real descent of the day and the final bit of flat roads as the riders roll along the Rhone river to Martigny where the intermediate sprint is located. Here the real hostilities start as the final part of the stage contains of two HC climbs with no flat roads in between.

 

First up is the Col de la Forclaz (12.6km, 8.2%) which is a typical, very regular Alpine climb. The top comes 18km from the finish and the first 7.8km of those are all down a non-technical descent. Then it's time for the brand-new climb to the finish in Finhaut-Emosson and this 10.2km ascent with an average gradient of 8% is a tricky one. The first part is pretty easy as only the second kilometre offers serious gradients but from kilometre 4 to kilometre 9, the gradient stays between 8% and 10%. The 10th kilometre is a bit easier at 6.2% but it will only allow the riders to recover slightly for the final 200m which are really brutal. A wall with a gradient of 28.3% awaits the riders and Thomas Voeckler who has done a recon of the climb issued a warning in a recent interview, claiming that "riders who forget to mount a 27 will be in a world of pain."

 

If the first mountain stage failed to offer serious time gaps, this stage certainly will. The final two climbs are both very hard and the Forclaz can do a lot of damage already before the riders get to the bottom of the final ascent. Expect to see Tinkoff-Saxo or Sky try to make the race hard already at this point. The riders will of course be a bit wary of the final wall that can create some pretty huge differences but expect Contador and Froome to open their battle from further out. This stage will determine the climbing hierarchy in the 2014 Criterium du Dauphiné and is by far the hardest of the race.

 

 

 

 

Stage 8:

Nothing will be decided until the final day of the race as the last stage offers another big summit finish in another short stage that offers lots of climbing. The riders are back on French soil as they head over just 130.5km from the start in Megeve to a finish in the ski resort of Courchevel and this stage will determine a worthy winning of the race while also offering a perfect final test for the Tour contenders.

 

The stage can be divided into three parts: a hard beginning, a flat middle section and a tough end. After a short descent, the riders go up the category 2 Cote de Domancy (2.5km, 9.6%) as they do a small circuit before getting back past the start area. There will be no descent before the riders reach the top of the category 1 Col des Saisies (13.4km, 5.2%) at the 47km mark. This part offer very little room for recovery and will be the perfect scene for strong climbers that have lost a bit of time, to go on the attack.

 

A difficult, technical descent leads down to the valley where the riders will get a small respite as they roll along flat roads on the shores of the Arly, Doron and Isere rivers. This part offers the day's intermediate sprint and will be the warm-up for the final 24km.

 

They consist of two category 1 climbs that are separated by a straight road that is only slightly descending. First up is the Cote de Montagny (8km 6.5%) which has steep fourth kilometre but is otherwise a pretty regular affair. After the descending middle section, the riders hit the bottom of the final climb to Courchevel (5.9km, 6.2%). It is a pretty regular affair, with the gradient staying between 6% and 8% and is not too difficult.

 

Due to the relatively flat section between the final two climbs, the GC riders will have to postpone their battle until the final climb which is so short that massive time differences won't be created. On the other hand, it is certainly hard enough to change a few things at the very end of the stage, especially as it comes at the end of 8 hard days of racing. Depending on the outcome of the previous stages, it could be a day for a breakaway as short stages with a hard stage can be pretty hard to control. In any case, the GC riders will battle it out for the final victory on the slopes to Courchevel that will play a big role in determining which riders can head into the Tour with a boosted confidence.

 

Courchevel last hosted the finish of a major bike race in the 2005 Tour de France when a young Alejandro Valverde famously beat Lance Armstrong in a four-rider sprint at the top. Back then, however, the riders started their climb much further down and went all the way up to 2000m of altitude, making it a much harder finish. That was also the case in 2000 when Marco Pantani took a stage win on a day when Armstrong put a lot of time into Jan Ullrich.

 

 

 

 

The favourites

The Criterium du Dauphiné is always highly anticipated as it usually offers the first chance to gauge the form of the Tour contenders. This year, however, the excitement may be bigger than it has been for a while as the race offers what could be the first really big match between the two riders that most expect to battle it out for Tour glory: Chris Froome and Alberto Contador.

 

Last year the race was also the scene of a highly anticipated battle between those two Tour favourites but after Froome's dominance of the spring season and Contador's string of below-par showings, it was hardly a surprise that Froome proved to be in a class of his own also in the French Alps. This year one can expect a much closer battle between the pair as Contador seems to be back to his best while Froome has been slowed down by several health issues.

 

It is no new situation that the biggest favourites for the Tour will clash in the Dauphiné but the importance of the result has changed over the last few years. In the past they tended to use the race as mere preparation and were often far off the pace but recently the race itself has become a lot more important. Even though both Froome and Contador will underline that they are mainly here to prepare for later, there is no doubt that they will be gunning for victory. Especially the mental aspect can't be overestimated and both riders will head into the race in search of an important boost of confidence.

 

It is no secret that Froome always goes for victory and last year he only did one race - the USA Pro Challenge - without targeting results. Contador usually has the same mentality but for the Spaniard, the Dauphiné has always been a bit special. Coming very close to the Tour de France, the French race has often been the only one where he hasn't been going for victory and even in his heydays, he failed to win a single edition - despite scoring several places of honour. This year, however, one can expect him to head into the race with a slightly different mentality as he is no longer in pole position. Instead, he has the role of main challenger and after last year's failure, he will be in search of a confidence boost. Of course neither Contador nor Froome will be at 100% of their capacities but they should not be too far off the mark.

 

This year Contador may have a better chance to beat Froome than he had 12 months ago. With no long time trial and three summit finishes, it will ultimately be the climbing skills that decide the overall winner of the race. The opening time trial will open small differences but no one will be able to base a victory mainly on time gained in the race against the clock. The time differences in stages 2 and 8 won't be overly big but the new climb used for the finish of stage 8 has the potential to do some real damage. This will be the stage that probably decides the winner while the two remaining summit finishes will be important if the battle turns out to be a close one.

 

Based on the history, their previous performances in 2014 and their desire to win, it is hard to look beyond Froome and Contador as the two major favourites and the battle should be a lot closer than it was in 2013. Despite a route that suits Contador a lot better than last year's and Contador's improved form, we expect Froome to come out on top.

 

Back in February, Froome proved that he hasn't lost just a tiny bit of his class when he crushed the opposition in the Tour of Oman, opening up massive time gaps on the relatively short Green Mountain. A back injury set him back and he clearly wasn't firing on all cylinders in the Volta a Catalunya. He missed Liege-Bastogne-Liege due to a chest infection but despite the lingering effects of that illness, he went on to win the Tour de Romandie one year later. In that race, he may not have been his usual dominant self but he still made a strong impression in the queen stage where only Simon Spilak could keep up with him on a rather easy climb, and he beat Tony Martin in the time trial on the final day.

 

Since then he has had an apparently perfect preparation in Tenerife. When he returned from that block of altitude training in 2014, he was in a class of his own in the Dauphiné and based on recent history, it is hard not to regard the Brit as the best climber in the world. With the likes fo Richie Porte, Mikel Nieve, David Lopez, Geraint Thomas and Vasil Kiryienka at his side, he has a formidable team to tap out the hard tempo that he needs before launching his feared attacks. Earlier this year he won races without being at 100% percent of his capacities, proving his superiority. As he is likely to gain time on Contador in the time trial - he could even win that stage - Contador needs to drop Froome in the mountains to win the race and we honestly don't think that he can. Instead, it could very well be the other way around and we expect Froome to make it four in a row for Sky in the prestigious French race.

 

The only other rider that can realistically hope to beat Contador is of course Contador. His performances in Tirreno-Adriatico and Vuelta al Pais Vasco proved that he is getting closer to his best level and his excellent showing in the Italian was really impressive. Despite winning in the Basque Country, however, he was not his usual dominant self and there is no doubt that he would have won the Arrate stage in solo fashion if he had been at his 2009 level. There is still some way to go before he is again the Contador that dominated racing a few years ago but he is definitely getting closer.

 

While his climbing has clearly improved, his time trialing has sent mixed signals. After returning from suspension, he performed rather poorly in the individual discipline but early this year he indicated that he was getting back to his former level when he finished 4th in the Volta ao Algarve time trial on a very fast course that didn't suit him. In Tirreno-Adriatco, however, he did a very poor TT on a similar course but in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco he again delivered a strong showing, finishing second behind Tony Martin. That stage was held on a very hilly course and Contador has always been quite strong in that kind of TTs - even during his woes in 2013.

 

In the past Contador has won relatively flat prologues while Froome has never really excelled in short time trials. In the 10km opener, however, Froome can still be expected to be the strongest and this means that Contador needs to gain time in the mountains. It will be very hard for him to drop Froome as nothing suggests that the Brit is not firing on all cylinders. If one adds the fact that Contador is usually farther from his best than Froome in this particular race, Contador again has to settle for a role as the challenger and not the favourite.

 

It will be very interesting to see how Vincenzo Nibali fares in the French race. The Italian had a very disappoiting spring season and openly admitted that the results were not as expected. He hasn't raced since Romandie and like Froome he has been preparing his Tour de France campaign in Tenerife. Last year he prepared his Giro campaign at altiude and when he returned to racing in the Giro del Trentino, he took a dominant victory.

 

Nibali has always been a bit difficult to interpret in his preparation races. Last year he was in a storming condition in Trentino but as he also had his eyes on Liege, his  form level was probably a bit more advanced than it would usually be at that point. When he last prepared the Tour, he performed pretty poorly in the Dauphiné but by the time the Tour came around he was firing on all cylinders.

 

Hence, we won't be too surprised - and shouldn't be too worried - if he is not yet able to follow the best. On the other hand, his bad spring season may prompt to seach results a bit more actively in the Dauphiné. Both scenarios - an excellent and a poor Nibali - are certainly possible. Despite his improved time trialing skills, he will lose time to Froome on the opening day and he needs to take it back in the mountains. That will be a tough ask. On the other hand, Nibali is the only riders in addition to Contador that has the class to potentially distance Froome and this put him into a high position on our list of favourites despite the uncertainty regarding his condition.

 

Like last year Richie Porte is in the race to play a supporting role but in 2013 that didn't stop him from finishing second. Without a long time trial, it will pretty hard for him to repeat that feat as  he will be the final rider to set up Froome for his fierce attacks in the mountains. He usually holds on to make a respectable finish but the effort will probably make it impossible for him to keep up with Contador.

 

That means that Porte is unlikely to win the race. On the other hand, it is very hard to imagine anyone beat both Froome and Contador and only very few riders have the capacity to do so. Porte is one of those select few and as this analysis is all about potential winners, he needs to feature pretty high on our list.

 

Of course he will only get his own chance if bad luck takes Froome out of contention but if that happens, he will be ready to strike. After an illness-plagued spring season that saw him miss the Giro, he has now refocused on the Tour de France where he both hopes to be a formidable lieutenant for Froome and finish high in the overall standings himself.

 

Like Froome, he has been training in Tenerife and when he returned from the island 12 months ago, he was clearly the second-best climber in the Dauphiné. In last year's Tour de France stage to Ax-3-Domaines, he proved that he is one of the very best climbers when he is at 100% of his capacitites and this means that he is one of the select few that can realistically hope to challenge Contador. He hopes that he won't get the chance to do so as it will require Froome to fall out of contention, but if that happens, Sky still have an obvious winner candidate.

 

Last year Simon Spilak was impressively strong in the spring season, finishing second in the Tour de Romandie, winning the Rund um den Finanzplatz and performing excellently in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco. He failed to reach that similar level later in the year but in the spring he was again firing on all cylinders.

 

He may have had a slightly slower start than he had in 2013 but by the time he found his best legs in the Tour de Romandie he made an impressive performance. Only very few riders have been able to reel Froome in when the Brit has launched his decisive attacks but that's what the Slovenian did in the race's queen stage. For the second year in a row, he finished second, underlining that he has a huge potential as a stage race.

 

The Slovenian has never been riding for GC in a grand tour and in fact he has a limited experience in three-week races, having only started three in his already pretty long career. He hasn't done a single grand tour since he finished 116th in the 2011 Giro d'Italia but this year he will give it another shot as he prepares himself to lead Katusha in the Tour alongside Yury Trofimov.

 

The main reason for his absence over the last few years is the fact that he has difficulty handling warm weather. As opposed to this, he excels in the cold and rain and so it is no wonder that he has taken his best results in the Tour de Romandie and Vuelta al Pais Vasco which are famously known for their rain. With Joauim Rodriguez originally intending to do the Giro-Vuelta double, his team has persuaded to give it a shot in the Tour and it will be interesting to see how he handles the challenge. We will get the first indication in the Dauphiné and if he has the same kind of legs, he had in Romandie, he will be a real danger. He should perform solidly in the opening time trial and the regular, Alpine climbs should suit him well.

 

With an excellent performance in Paris-Nice, Andrew Talansky headed into last year's Dauphiné with big expectations but illness ruled him out of the overall battle in the opening stages. He still managed to recover though and endd the race on a high on the final day. Froome had slowed down in an attempt to give Porte a stage victory but suddenly Talansky came flying, passing Porte and forcing Froome to forget about his plans and make another acceleration. He went on to finish 10th in the Tour and has shown that when at 100% of his capacities, he is a great climber.

 

Of course he would have preferred the inclusion of a long time trial but as he has improved his climbing skills, he seems to have lost a bit of TT prowess. Hence, the design of the course should not be too much of a disadvantage. Like last year he is gearing up for the Tour de France and if he has the same legs, he had at the end of last year's race, he will be a real threat this week as well.

 

Over the last few years, Tejay van Garderen's climbing skills have always seemed not to be sufficient to battle for the wins in the WorldTour stage races and apart from a 5th place in a TT heavy edition of the Tour, he has had very few notable result in the races at the highest level. In 2014, however, he seems to have stepped up his level dramatically. In the Tour of Oman he finished 2nd behind Froome on the Green Mountain and he won the queen stage of the Volta a Catalunya - albeit after benefiting from a tactical battle between the race favourites.

 

Unfortunately, he was not able to back up those performances in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and he crashed out of the Tour de Romandie early on. Now is the time for him to prove that his climbing has really improved so much that he can realistically dream about a top 5 at the Tour de France. With no long time trial, the Dauphiné offers a real test of his climbing and will give him the chance to gauge himself against his key Tour rivals. His best climbing results have all come at times when the best riders were not in peak condition and we honestly don't think that he is strong enough to mix it up with the best. If he can confirm his earlier peformances, however, he could create a surprise.

 

Jean-Christophe Peraud may be 37 years of age but nothing suggests that the Frenchman is slowing down. In 2014 he has actually been better than ever before - probably because he is still somewhat of a newcomer to road cycling. In the past few years he has been a perennial top 10 finisher in the WorldTour races but partly in 2013 and especially in 2014 he has stepped up the level to become a real podium contender.

 

This year he finished fourth in Tirreno, 3rd in Vuelta al Pais Vasco and won the Criterium International to confirm that he is now a serious threat in any weeklong stage race. He has stepped up his climbing massively but usually needs a long time trial to really excel. Based on the courses, it might have beena  good idea for him to do the Tour de Suisse as he did 12 months ago but as the Dauphiné is very important for Ag2r, he will be at the start in his home country. It will be hard for him to win but if he can continue his excellent climbing, he should finish high up the rankings.

 

One of the really interesting riders in this year's race is Jurgen Van Den Broeck. The Belgian crashed out of last year's Tour de France and a knee injury caused him to miss the second half of the season. This year he has had more bad luck, crashing out of Tirreno-Adriatico, and his spring season was one to forget.

 

Since then he has been preparing specifically for the Tour de France and his manager Marc Sergeant claims that they have again seen the old Van Den Broeck in training. On the other hand, sports director Herman Frison has said that he needs to show in the Dauphiné that he is ready for the Tour as the team will otherwise be built around Greipel.

 

This makes Van Den Broeck a big question mark but in the past he has proved that he is a really great climber. You don't finish in the top 5 of the Tour twice by coincidence and if he is indeed the old Van Den Broeck, he should do well in the Dauphiné. In the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 he finished in the top 5 and this year's course should suit him a lot better.

 

Romain Bardet has clearly benefited massively from the fact that he has finished his first grand tour and in 2014 he has been better than ever before. He has both excelled in hilly one-day races, winning the Drome Classic, and proved his skills in real climbing. He did well on the Green Mountain in the Tour of Oman but his real standout performance came in the Volta a Catalunya when he finished 2nd.

 

Unlike most contenders, he already has a stage race in his legs and he showed some solid condition in the Bayern Rundfahrt, finishing 4th in the queen stage. Since then, his condition has improved and he should excel on this kind of course. If Bardet can back up his great performances from the spring season, this race could be the one where he gets his final big breakthrough.

 

Finally, we will mention another dark horse. In his first year as a professional, Rein Taaramae showed that he has the potential to become a real grand tour contender and was a perennial top 10 finisher in the WorldTour stage races. Since a great ride in the first stages of the 2012 Tour de France, however, he has been slowed down by allergy-like symptoms. In March, he was finally diagnosed and underwent an operation. Despite limited preparation, he went on to perform excellently in the Tour of Turkey and this suggests that he is now back at full strength.

 

Since the Turkish race, he has been riding solidly, albeit unspectacularly, in some French races but it has all been part of his preparations for the Tour de France. The Dauphiné will be his first big test at the highest level and of course there is a big risk that he is not yet capable at matching the best. On the other hand, he has the skills to do really well in this race and if he is indeed back at his former level, he will be a danger man.

 

***** Chris Froome

**** Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali

*** Richie Porte, Simon Spilak, Andrew Talansky

** Tejay van Garderen, Jean-Christope Peraud, Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Romain Bardet, Rein Taaramae

* Jakob Fuglsang, Leopold König, Daniel Navarro, Michal Kwiatkowski, Ryder Hesjedal, Wilco Kelderman, Benat Intxausti, Adam Yates, Bart De Clercq, Igor Anton, John Gadret, Tanel Kangert, Daniel Moreno, Yury Trofimov, Kenny Elissonde, Haimar Zubeldia, Damiano Caruso