Following his successful title defence at the Tour of Belgium, reigning world time trial champion Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) begins his final preparations for the Tour de France as the Critérium du Dauphiné kicks off on Sunday.

Even though this year’s race is particularly difficult with four summit finishes, Martin intends to do more than just flash his time trialing abilities.

“At the Dauphiné I will primarily be working on my form in the mountains. I will try to go on the attack or to follow the attacks of some of the favourites for overall victory,” Martin stated on his website. “The general classification at the Dauphiné is of secondary importance to me. I will fovus on my preparations for the Tour de France.”

Martin has used the week since his Tour of Belgium triumph to go to Corsica to reconnoitre the scene of the opening stages of the Tour.

“It’s important to get first-hand knowledge of the opening stages. They will decide whether I might nurture any yellow jersey ambitions after the team time trial. In order to fulfil such ambitions we need to perform well at the TTT. That’s why it’s important to know the routes.”

Even though he did not actually ride the TTT parcours on his bike, Martin feels confident that he has gained thorough knowledge of the stage itinerary. “We drove through the TTT route by car just before we returned home. The roads are very broad and the stage profile is not particularly demanding. As reigning world team time trial champions we will honour our title by going on the offensive on the TTT.”