The mountains are here and no less than the Mont du Chat, once rated by Le Cycle magazine as “one of the hardest” climbs in France. There’s no escaping the double-digit gradients, nor the sluggish road surface and this makes a novel challenge, the kind of climb rarely seen in French stage races. It’s a selective climb followed by a perilous descent to the finish.
So far the breakaways have had fared well, can they defy the sprinters again? Surely not because this is the last chance for the sprinters before the mountains appear.
After a look at the written rules time to explore the issue of the unwritten rules, the code of the peloton. It sounds vague, mysterious even but it’s merely part the glue that holds society together, a set of etiquette and customs that help a group to function.
The crucial time trial stage to reshape the overall classification and an early test of fitness for all the Tour de France contenders.
Can you push a team mate during a road race? Take a spare wheel from another rider? Take part in a local gran fondo? Draft a rival squad during a team time trial? Readers regularly email or tweet questions about the regulations and so here’s a quick review and update the list of dos and don’ts.
Racing might be “200 idiots trying to cross a line first” in the words of Marzio Bruseghin but there are a rules behind the dash and that’s before we touch on the unwritten or societal rules of the peloton. In fact there are a lot of rules and it’s impossible to remember them all, they take enough enough space on a hard drive let alone your own memory so here is a handy, updated reference.
Another sprint stage after scenic riding, some memories from the past for Fabio Aru and all one day closer to the Alps.
A day characterised by long straight roads more than the climbs, this should be one for the sprinters.
A scenic tour out of the city of Saint Etienne with a tough finishing circuit that could allow the overall contenders to show their form already, if not then some of the more versatile sprinters on the startlist will seize their chance.
The Critérium du Dauphiné starts on Sunday 4 June and lasts for a week. A concentrated version of the Tour de France including some roads ahead of July as well as an A-list of Tour de France contenders in action. Here’s a look at the contenders for the yellow jersey.
With the first grand tour completed, a look at the team rankings and as ever a chance to look at some side stories around the teams, rider recruitment and some other stats on which teams get lucky.