After a short break, Michal Kwiatkowski is ready to resume competition when he lines up as Omega Pharma-Quick Step leader in the Criterium du Dauphiné. In addition to supporting the Pole in the battle for the overall win, the team hopes to win a stage with Gianni Meersman, Zdenek Stybar or Jan Bakelants.

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step Cycling Team has announced the selection for Critérium du Dauphiné, a 1,179.6km stage race from June 8th until June 14th. There is a Stage 1 10.4km ITT, as well as four medium mountain stages. Stage 2 will be an early opportunity for GC contenders, as it features a summit finish on HC Col du Beal.

Stage 7 will be another tough stage, with back-to-back HC ascents including a finish on Finhaut - Emosson (10.2km at 8%). The race wraps up with Stage 8, which includes three Category 1 climbs. Two of them are consecutive. Courchevel le Prez (5.9% at 6.2%) will be the final climb of the French stage race.

"This is an important race to build up our road to the Tour," Sport & Development Manager Rolf Aldag said. "For Michal Kwiatkowski, this is a good test to see where he stands. We will give him the freedom to prepare for the Tour after a great first part of the season. The Tour is his biggest goal for the summer, so we will see what he can do without any pressure for the GC at this race.

"We also looked at the parcours of the race and it fits riders like Jan Bakelants, Gianni Meersman and Zdenek Stybar. They are guys who can do well in the medium mountain stages with the possibility of sprints out of a small group. In this race we can ride offensively and be active in the race every day for results.

"We can also look to riders like Julian Alaphilippe and Carlos Verona. Alaphilippe is French, so it will be good experience for him to ride in his home country.

"We also have Kevin De Weert and Michal Golas. Golas returns to racing after the fracture of his scaphoid during Liege-Bastogne-Liege. He's recovered and ready to return to competition. We have a competitive team and are ready to go for results day-by-day."

Omega Pharma-Quick Step for the Criterium du Dauphiné:

Michal Kwiatkowski, Michal Golas, Kevin De Weert, Julian Alaphilippe, Jan Bakelants, Gianni Meersman, Carlos Verona and Zdenek Stybar