Starting on Sunday, the French stage race Critérium du Dauphiné is programmed for Team Giant-Alpecin. Covering eight stages including a 24.5km team time trial, the race traditionally counts for a lot of climbing kilometers. 

The team can look back at some strong results in recent editions of the Dauphiné, having won the mountain jersey in 2013 and stage 3 last year with Nikias Arndt (GER).

This year Team Giant-Alpecin heads to France with its sprinter Luka Mezgec (SLO), who took six top-10s in the Giro d'Italia. Alongside Mezgec, Lawson Craddock (USA) will be exploring his opportunities for a good GC classification or stage success in one of the mountain stages. Tobias Ludvigsson (SWE), Chad Haga (USA) and Simon Geschke (GER) will be the engines of the team during the team time trial, following good results in the Giro's long time trial. Caleb Fairly (USA), Thierry Hupond (FRA) and Albert Timmer (NED) complete the roster.

“The Dauphiné is a difficult race with many climbing kilometers as we will aim for stage result there. We are heading to France with five guys who have completed the Giro d'Italia so we have to see how their form will be. Often we see that riders who complete a Grand Tour really have a peak in their form in the week after, however sometimes the fatigue takes over so we have to see how they handle that. For some it will be a new experience, which is beneficial for their development. 

"Craddock will have a protected status as we will try to have a good GC result with him. With Mezgec we have a strong sprinter for stages 1, 2 and 4, and with Geschke we will look for attacks to bring in stage success,” said coach Christian Guiberteau (FRA).