Velominati Super Prestige: Critérium du Dauphiné

I'll have mine medium rare with extra clenbuterol, please. Photo via Cycling Weekly

The Tour de France looms on the horizon, and those riders planning to race are putting the final touches on their form – or going into last-minute panic mode, final exam cram-style. The Critérium Dauphiné has long been a favorite preparation race serving both purposes rather well.

It’s a favorite of the Tour’s GC contenders as it usually features stages that, if not identical to key stages from the Tour, will at least feature many of the same climbs; habitual Tour winners like Indurain, Armstrong, and Clentador have traditionally used this race as their preferred method of final preparation; riders seeking additional form will take the beating taken from a week of suffering and have just enough time to recover prior to the Tour. And, of course, riders who have aspirations in July may also find they are a few kilos heavy yet and may indulge in some ultra-lean Spanish beef in order to get to fighting weight.

It’s also a dangerous gamble: ride too hard at the Critérium and you could fire off the Guns of Navarone and enter the Tour in a state of fatigue, as Pharmy did in 2003. A delicate balance, this.

The challenge in predicting the results of a preparation race such as this is that the favorites for the Tour are (hopefully) peaking in one month, not during this event. But they’ll be good – maybe good enough to win. But probably not. Combine that with that the notion that a rider with little hope in July may be looking for glory and will be in peak form, leading to an unexpected result – a review of last year’s race with Jani Brajkovic is a great example of this case.

With that we kick off into the first minor-stage VSP for the Critérium Dauphiné. Being a week-long stage race, the points on offer are 7 for first, 5 for second, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, 2 for fifth, with the usual allotment of bonus points for getting the rider right but the place wrong. Also, there are no rest days, so no rest day swaps, but we will have our usual approach for riders who drop out. Piti Principle applies as always. Also review the guide, being careful to note that the rules have changes a bit this year, and we may not have completely updated the guide yet, so if there’s a question, ask.

Best of luck to all.

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Steampunk says:

Jun 11 2011 at 9:19 am

Great riding from Sky. EBH looked like a monster at the bottom of the climb and Wiggo didn't looked taxed on the way up. Smart riding"”keep an eye on the contenders and save a bit of gas for tomorrow. Nice bit of poise.

Cuddles: still no help? At the bottom of the climb, did anyone else catch the stream of BMC riders falling off the back immediately? If he had any help whatsoever, I would be mightily tempted to slot him ahead of Grimpyounger next month.
Steampunk says:

Jun 11 2011 at 9:35 am

frank:
I'm going to start calling Wiggo "The Barnacle". That was some class grina there, holding on like that. Barnacle Brad.

Love it!
heath says:

Jun 11 2011 at 7:54 pm

"they were pregnant heifers, incidentally."
Harminator says:

Jun 11 2011 at 9:36 pm

@Steampunk
Let's quit the excuses, though it pains me to say, Cuddles has to do his work without help. Vino had no help. Wiggo had no help. J Rod had no help....

Cuddles getting dropped on the crucial climbs is getting way familiar. He's first out of the saddle and cracking when it would be a good time to attack.

Wiggo looked good (including the hair) but Kern looks great in those yellow princesses.
Buck Rogers says:

Jun 11 2011 at 9:46 pm

@heath
Glad he clarified that point. WTF???
Dr C says:

Jun 12 2011 at 2:39 am

frank :
@Buck RogersI'm going to start calling Wiggo "The Barnacle". That was some class grina there, holding on like that. Barnacle Brad.

Wiggo the barnacle.....NWJose
Look at how often he switched wheel with Vino up that second last km, no barnacle there - and for 50% of the time he was riding 5 lengths back, my legs were screaming at me watching him - he's the man - I may have no idea how the VSP works yet, but I'm sticking him at no 1 for the TdF - seriously smart riding up a bastard of a climb, for a trackboytimetrialler (and I'm a Star Scleck fan at heart, but Wiggos clearly got the cahunas for the job)
Steampunk says:

Jun 12 2011 at 7:18 am

Wow! Tommy Voeckler is a pretty good bike rider. Just sayin'...

Classy touch: Basso complimented EBH on his riding yesterday early in today's stage. I would imagine it's nice to get those kinds of props.

@Harminator
Well, yes and no. Wiggo had lots of help. Sky controlled the peloton right up to the final climb and EBH then did the lion's share of the work during the first half of that final climb. All I'm saying is that Cuddles would be going better if he had help.
Buck Rogers says:

Jun 12 2011 at 7:50 am

@Steampunk
Tommy V or JVDB for the win today? Wiggo holding strong. Less than 1 K to go!!!
Netraam says:

Jun 12 2011 at 7:52 am

Gesink third in the uphill sprint. Looks promising for the Tour!
Buck Rogers says:

Jun 12 2011 at 7:53 am

Well DAMN! J-Rod is flying in the mountains. Maybe a spooty jumper for him in the Tdf?