The 2016 edition of the Criterium du Dauphine gets under way this Sunday. This year’s race features a stacked field of riders hoping to get a sense of where their competition is at ahead of the Tour de France. Defending Champion Chris Froome will be in attendance as well as some of the biggest names in cycling. It promises to be an exciting week of racing, and a glimpse of things to come a month from now when Le Tour starts.
Criterium du Dauphine: Riders To Watch
Chris Froome (Team Sky)
Froome will back to defend his 2015 title where he won back-to-back mountain stages to claim the title. He then went on to win the Tour de France just a few weeks later. This time around he will have a stiffer field of competition to contend with. If Froome can win this year’s edition of the Criterium du Dauphine against this strong field, he will undoubtedly be the favorite to win Le Tour again.
Coming into this race, Froome will already have one race victory under his belt—he won the Tour Down Under in January, but since then he hasn’t had the best of results. Finishing well back from where he was expected in the Volta a Catalunya was definitely a disappointment.
Regardless of his previous results this year, Froome has won this race twice in 2013 and 2015 in the past few years. On the mountain stages it’s hard not to see him winning those again this year. The uphill time trial on the opening stage may also be in his favor, with a chance for him to put some time between himself and the rest of the field early on. The team that Sky has provided for him is very powerful with Mikel Landa, Sergio Henao, and Michal Kwiatkowski in the line-up. This will play in Froome’s favor as Team Sky has hands down the best team at this year’s race.
Alberto Contador (Tinkoff)
The Spaniard will have a chance to win his first ever Criterium du Dauphine this year. He is yet another rider looking to set up himself for Le Tour with a strong performance.
He’s had a successful campaign already this year with stage races. Winning the Tour of the Basque Country and finishing on the podium in three other races. Contador should have be on fresh legs, as the last time he raced was in the beginning of April.
It will be interesting to see how Contador does against the other riders, in particular on the mountain stages. If he’s able to pull a win out of this race, whether it be a GC win or stage win, it could be a sign of things to come for him in July.
Fabio Aru (Astana)
Aru is on the road to competing in his first Tour de France. After winning the Vuelta a Espana last year, he has been chosen to be the lead GC rider for Astana at the 2016 edition of Le Tour.
So far this season Aru has’t been in the best form. Illness has kept him down for most of the spring, and it could be affecting his form coming into this race. His best performance was back in March where he finished ninth in the GC at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana. At the moment it looks like it could be a wild card type of performance from Aru. Its hard to tell what rider we will see at the Criterium du Dauphine.
If he is able to compete with the other top riders it will be a good learning experience for him. Having already won a grand tour, he knows what it takes to win, but this is unfamiliar territory for him in preparing for Le Tour. Having never raced at the Criterium du Dauphine before puts him at a disadvantage.
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale)
The French rider will be looking to build off of last year’s performance. With another Tour de France on the horizon for him, the chance to podium at this race would be a major confidence booster.
Bardet has already had a busy schedule in the spring racing season. He’s finished in the top 10 in the GC in multiple races, and has completed a number of one-day classics. His best finish was at the Tour of Oman where he finished runner-up.
After finishing sixth at this race last year. The Frenchman will be wanting to improve on that result. This may well indeed happen if he can start out with a good time trial, find good form on the climbs, and maybe even win a stage. If he does, he may find himself possibly in a podium spot. This could be the start of a great summer of racing for Bardet.
Richie Porte
The former Team Sky rider has already had an impressive record at this race, previously finishing second to then teammate Chris Froome in 2013. He’s very familiar to racing in France, and will be one of the favorites in the mountains.
Already this year he’s found success on the roads—in January he finished right behind Chris Froome in the GC at the Tour Down Under. A third place finish at Paris-Nice was also another good result for him in France. Unfortunately he was forced to abandon his last race, but appears to be ready to go for this one.
This will be a good chance for Porte to show what he’s got. He isn’t necessarily Team BMC’s main rider for Le Tour yet either. At the moment it appears that he and teammate Tejay van Garderen will see-saw GC duties in July. A good performance here could solidify that he really is the main GC contender for BMC.
Thibaut Pinot (FDJ)
Pinot is one of the best French riders in this race. His third place finish at the Tour de France in 2014 showed his potential as a future star. This could be another great year for the French rider, and this race might highlight his potential.
It’s been a solid start to year for Pinot, with his win at the Criterium International being the highlight of the year so far. He’s also managed to finish in the top 5 at every stage race he’s raced in this spring.
A podium finish is very much a possibility for Pinot at this year’s Criterium du Dauphine. The Frenchman is a fantastic in the time trials, and has the ability to stay with the top riders on the climbs.
Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo)
The Dutch rider will be eyeing a better finish at the Tour de Fracne this year after finishing seventh last year and sixth in 2013. This race will be a good chance for him to gauge where he’s at heading into next month.
There have been no podium finishes for Mollema yet this season, though it was the same case last year for him. In fact he finished in 60th place in the GC at the Criterium du Dauphine last year. He seems to find his top form at Le Tour.
Mollema should be in the top 10 in this race. He’s a great climber, and he should be in the mix on the mountain stages. With the help of new teammate Ryder Hesjidal, the pair of them could work their way into the top 10 together.
Simon Yates (Orica-Greenedge)
The British rider is returning to racing for the first time since failing a drug test. Which was due to an asthma medication used at Paris-Nice in March. The team took responsibility for the failed test.
Yates should be excited to race again, especially since he finished in the top five at last year’s race. His strong showing previously will make him a favorite to do it again this year.
After the failed test at Paris-Nice. Yates has yet to return to racing for Orica-Greenedge, and this will be his first race in almost three months.
Yates impressed many people at last year’s Criterium du Dauphine. He was right up there with the big names of cycling and earned a second place finish on stage eight last year, right behind Froome. If he comes in good form again this year, expect a same result as last. He will be accompanied by his brother, Adam Yates, again this year.
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