Critérium du Dauphiné 2017 (04/06 > 11/06/2017)

[Cance > TheRest]

Agree with Porte being the favourite slightly ahead of Froome. Looking forward to the Mont du Chat stage after I saw the video of the climb, posted on Criterium du Dauphiné's facebook page.

 

[DanielSong39]

Re:

Porte doesn't have a chance agaisnt froome. Froome will gain a minute in the time trial and he will control in the climbs. Contador will go bananas on mont du chat

Let's save the talk for the Tour (when Froome will probably do exactly what you stated).

 

[RattaKuningas]

When I first time checked the profiles in steephill it was nice to see that one stage ends in Alpe D'Huez but then I discovered that it was just a clickbait (they actually don't climb it).
I want Contador to win but I have a feeling that it is going to be Froome.

 

[Mr.White]

Porte favorite #1 for me.
Froome should be in decent form, but not too good.
Valverde, I expect slower start, he should be ok in the last stages though, but TT is not in his favor, too flat and too early.
Contador, it will be interesting to see in what kind of form is he. Judging by his season so far he should be good, but not great. That's a podium at best.
Bardet, I think TT will bury his chances.
From outsiders i think best chance has Talansky. He was very good in California and if he brings that form in this race he could finish quite high in the GC.

Prediction: 1.Porte, 2.Froome, 3.Valverde (with bonus seconds)
1.Porte, 2.Froome, 3.Contador (without bonus)

 

[Anderis]

Why do people think this race has a bad route?

 

[staubsauger]

Porte's gonna win the Dauphine Libere and be massively hyped as a potential Tour de France winner. Until he cracks totally at one point in a not as conservatively as last year outlining race.

 

[Tank Engine]

With the Col de la Roche and col de Porte on the parcours, BMC will have no excuses and as stated, Porte will probably be the one most on form.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Porte's gonna win the Dauphine Libere and be massively hyped as a potential Tour de France winner. Until he cracks totally at one point in a not as conservatively as last year outlining race.

Yes, that's also my prediction.

 

[DanielSong39]

Re:

Porte's gonna win the Dauphine Libere and be massively hyped as a potential Tour de France winner. Until he cracks totally at one point in a not as conservatively as last year outlining race.

To be fair that's not that different from Bradley Wiggins' form entering the 2012 Tour de France. I guess sometimes the hype is justified?

I'm guessing he finishes on the podium, may have to fight Quintana and a couple of outsiders for the placing.

 

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

Porte's gonna win the Dauphine Libere and be massively hyped as a potential Tour de France winner. Until he cracks totally at one point in a not as conservatively as last year outlining race.

To be fair that's not that different from Bradley Wiggins' form entering the 2012 Tour de France. I guess sometimes the hype is justified?

I'm guessing he finishes on the podium, may have to fight Quintana and a couple of outsiders for the placing.

To be honest Wiggins would've cracked completely once Froome had ignored team orders imho.

 

[DanielSong39]

Re: Re:

Porte's gonna win the Dauphine Libere and be massively hyped as a potential Tour de France winner. Until he cracks totally at one point in a not as conservatively as last year outlining race.

To be fair that's not that different from Bradley Wiggins' form entering the 2012 Tour de France. I guess sometimes the hype is justified?

I'm guessing he finishes on the podium, may have to fight Quintana and a couple of outsiders for the placing.

To be honest Wiggins would've cracked completely once Froome had ignored team orders imho.

That was one of the more curious team orders to be sure. All Wiggins had to do was to follow Nibali's wheel and he seemed capable of doing that. The only thing the team order accomplished was to keep Nibali in the race a little longer.
Well, Froome had his revenge in 2013 and Nibali in 2014 so I guess it worked out.
As for Porte I think he's learned how to finish a Grand Tour so barring bad luck, he should finish high up the standings.

 

[silvergrenade]

Richie Porte and Christopher Froome to ride away from everyone on the mountains and high five each time they finish. :lol: :lol:
On a serious note, Porte should be the favourite to win GC but you can't deny Froome the victory with the 24 Km TT without being crazy good in the mountains, which would mean dropping froome on the climbs. THAT would be tough.

 

[Netserk]

Porte to hang out with his buddy Froome and finish 2nd.

 

[TheYouyou7]

This race has "Porte" written all over itself.

 

[SeriousSam]

 

[spalco]

I know the Dauphine is often a preview for the Tour de France, but if they use a climb like Mont du Chat for the first time since decades - why not make the reveal in the actual Tour?
Of course I'm interested in seeing what happens there, but I think it would be more special if it wasn't already included in the Dauphine.

That bothers me. Especially when there isn't much to look forward to in the Tour anyway.

 

[Velolover2]

Froome vs. Porte.

But on these very steep mountain stages, Froome tend to be better.

 

[rick james]

this route is made for Porte, not expecting much from Froome

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re:

I know the Dauphine is often a preview for the Tour de France, but if they use a climb like Mont du Chat for the first time since decades - why not make the reveal in the actual Tour?
Of course I'm interested in seeing what happens there, but I think it would be more special if it wasn't already included in the Dauphine.

That bothers me. Especially when there isn't much to look forward to in the Tour anyway.

Since they bought it, ASO have been busy killing off the Dauphiné, turning it from a week-long Tour tune-up to an extended recce with UCI points. When used to test out the possibility of various climbs for the Tour - the MTFs at Béal, Gueulaz, Collet d'Allevard and this year Solaison - this is not a problem, but when it is used (presumably as a means of enticing a stronger field, prompting top stars to come to the Dauphiné instead of the Tour de Suisse) as a simple visua for the Tour route, like it is with Mont du Chat here, Pra-Loup in 2015, the Lacets de Montvernier, and most egregiously the time trial in Grenoble in 2011 (I'll pass on Mont Ventoux in 2009 as everybody knows that climb anyway and I can't remember if that might have been before ASO bought the race), it's a problem. Again I think the idea is to advantage those who went to the Dauphiné as they'll have taken on the climb in a race situation before so have a better idea of dealing with it than those that didn't do the Dauphiné, but it does also take away some of the special feeling that comes with the unveiling.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Looks like Porte dropped back to swap shirts with Contador before riding back up to pass Froome. lol

Porte to win both DL and Tour.

 

[May0maniac]

Yes, that hurts the Tour de Suisse, but the UCI has also been messing with them, the organizers want to have the race earlier possibly durning the Dauphiné, but the UCI didn't allow that, they didn't want to have both races at the same time.

 

[yaco]

Last three stages will test the climber's legs - Stage 1 and 2 no certainty for sprinters and probably favor the classic type riders - Stage 3 and 5 for sprinters - Stage 4 is a pan flat ITT - Lot's of variety in the parcours so every type of rider will have a chance to shine.

 

[Sciatic]

Porte to pull a Mayo at this Dauphine . . . and at the Tour.

 

[SeriousSam]

The time has come for the apprentice to challenge and surpass his old master. In time, he will take on an apprentice of his own for there must always be two. It will not be young Teejay, I think. He is unworthy.

 

[vedrafjord]

Re:

When I first time checked the profiles in steephill it was nice to see that one stage ends in Alpe D'Huez but then I discovered that it was just a clickbait (they actually don't climb it).

It's hard to see from the map because the finish is covered up with a big chequered flag: http://www.letour.fr/criterium-du-dauphine/2017/us/stage-7.html

But from the profile it's pretty obvious that they're going to join the traditional Alpe d'Huez climb just above Huez village, and the last 3.5km will be identical to the normal route. I think this is much better though - the Col de Sarenne is a good climb - more irregular than Alpe d'Huez and more likely to reward attacks. I think we deserve a break from the Alpe for a while.

If you've ever been cycling there you'll know there are a ton of climbs nearby that have never been raced in the Tour, partly due to commercial concerns re: bids for finishes, partly because there's no way some of them could accommodate the giant caravan and tens or hundreds of thousands of fans. One of my favourites was right across the valley in Oulles, which will probably never be in any race - the road is way too narrow and there are sheer drops with no guard rails in many places.

There are plenty of routes though that are too small for the Tour, but fine for the Dauphiné. I think the Dauphiné should make a point of including some of them so it becomes something truly unique and representative of its region, rather than just a Tour recon.