Preview: Critérium du Dauphiné. Eyes on the Tour de France as climbers prepare for the Alps

Perhaps the most important race leading up to the Tour de France, the Critérium du Dauphiné is one of the main World Tour stage-races and it is frequently the last building step towards the Grand Boucle. It has it's start on the 5th of June and will take the riders through eight stages in the Massif Central, the Rhône valley and the Alps.

There should be four opportunities for bunch sprints, however several of them being hilly days in which breakaways or late attacks will also have the chance to succeed. In stages one, two, five and six. Stage three will see a hilly summit finish in Sancy with 6.1Km at 5.5% and stage four sees a 32-kilometer individual time-trial which is set to create big differences in the overall classification and directly affect the final outcome.

The third stage into Sancy will be the race's first summit finish. Not a brutal day, but one where the climbers will certainly come to the front, and where some puncheurs may also stand a chance. The summit finish in the Sancy ski resort is 6.1 kilometers long at 5.5% average gradient - however it mellows in the final kilometer.

The final decision will come in the closing weekend, in which two Alpine stages will set the stage for the fireworks. Stage seven sees the peloton go over the Col du Galibier and the Col de la Croix de Fer in a short explosive stage that finishes in Vaujany. As for the final day of racing it includes a lot of climbing and wraps up the race atop the Plateau de Solaison - 11.4Km at 8.9% - which will see the final differences in the race.

The final startlist includes climbers such as: Tao Geoghegan Hart, Eddie Dunbar, Wilco Kelderman, Damiano Caruso, Jack Haig, Enric Mas, Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Ben O'Connor, David Gaudu, Michael Storer, Valentin Madouas, Chris Froome, Tobias Johannessen, Anthon Charmig, Brandon McNulty, Juan Ayuso, Mark Padun, Esteban Chaves, Jan Hirt and Louis Meintjes.

Furthermore, several stages will fall for the sprinters, in which the following should be able to fight for the wins: Ethan Hayter, Jordi Meeus, Phil Bauhaus, Wout van Aert, Cristophe Laporte, Greg van Avermaet, Clément Venturini, Dylan Groenewegen, Juan Sebastián Molano, Jasper Stuyven.

Additionally, besides some of the riders mentioned above, these will be contesting the time-trial or other stage wins: Filippo Ganna, Michal Kwiatkowski, Nils Politt, Tiesj Benoot, Andrea Bagioli, Samuele Battistella. and Warren Barguil.

**** Primoz Roglic

*** Jonas Vingegaard, Ben O'Connor

** Damiano Caruso, Brandon McNulty, Jack Haig

* Enric Mas, Juan Ayuso, Tobias Johannessen, Tao Geoghegan Hart