Critérium International may only be two days and three stages long, but defending champion Cadel Evans is treating it as a dress rehearsal for the Tour de France.

The race that begins Saturday will likely be the only one Evans races with teammate Tejay van Garderen before the Tour de France. "Therefore, it's really important for both of us, as it is important to race with everyone whom you ride with at the Tour before the Tour," Evans said. "I look forward to racing with him and getting to know him a bit better in our steps toward a good performance at the Tour."

Van Garderen said the Stage 2 individual time trial – which Evans won by 0.3 seconds over Michael Rogers last year – will help him gauge his form. "It's short, so maybe it’s not perfectly suited for me," he said. "I haven't seen if it's technical or has climbing but I will get a chance to recon it a few days before we do it."

BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Yvon Ledanois said the final stage, mountain-top finish on the Col de l’Ospedale is the perfect final stage. "I think with Tejay and Cadel and a strong team around them, we have a good opportunity to get another win," he said.

 
BMC Critérium International roster (March 23-24):
Brent Bookwalter (USA), Cadel Evans (AUS), Mathias Frank (SUI), Sebastian Lander (DEN), Amaël Moinard (FRA), Dominik Nerz (GER), Tejay van Garderen (USA).