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

[Escarabajo]

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.

I think the hyping of Porte is going to make for a great race in July in this forum.

 

[vedrafjord]

No Tour speculation! This is the Dauphiné thread! There'll be plenty time to talk about July in July.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Froome to step it up here, his form is usually good but still a level or two below what we will see in July. That's been good enough to win this in the past, but against a strong Porte and Valverde I'm not so sure.

Porte, Valverde and Froome to podium with Contador picking up a stage win.

 

[dacooley]

traditional toss-up between froome and porte. i'm expecting them to play out the dauphine win in tt and toy with the field on the climbs later on.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Froome to step it up here, his form is usually good but still a level or two below what we will see in July. That's been good enough to win this in the past, but against a strong Porte and Valverde I'm not so sure.

Porte, Valverde and Froome to podium with Contador picking up a stage win.

Hopefully

 

[HelloDolly]

You got to look at some of those stages and say Valverde,Martin & Kwaito but all 3 maybe not be fully there yet ...although Bala is always in form

I saw some where Contador was not going to go for it at the Dauphine ?
And Bardet is good on a solo downhill

Could be a good race

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

I saw some where Contador was not going to go for it at the Dauphine ?

Yeah he said he will not go for the GC but will target 1 or 2 stages to test himself.

 

[Tonton]

Porte vs. Froome vs. Contador. I'm curious to see what Aru and Bardet can do. I really hope that Gaudu wins a stage.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

I saw some where Contador was not going to go for it at the Dauphine ?

Yeah he said he will not go for the GC but will target 1 or 2 stages to test himself.

I know he said that, but I wonder how that'll actually work out on the road. I guess he could lose some time on stage one and the itt to be given some freedom.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Bala is pretty much always underwhelming at this point. Doesn't have the sustained effort. That said, I hope he will smash the *** out of this field, but it most likely won't happen. I think its all bout Froome, Porte and Contador with Porte winning.

 

[staubsauger]

The last race Bardet really looked sharp in was Lombardy. So he certainly has to show something here.

Aru has been at Sierra Nevada recently with Fuglsang and trained a whole lot since he's fit again.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

I saw some where Contador was not going to go for it at the Dauphine ?

Yeah he said he will not go for the GC but will target 1 or 2 stages to test himself.

I know he said that, but I wonder how that'll actually work out on the road. I guess he could lose some time on stage one and the itt to be given some freedom.

I'm guessing he'll want to go full gas in the TT to see where he's at compared to his TDF rivals. He could lose a couple of minutes on the flat stages then target 1 or 2 of the final 3 stages.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

I saw some where Contador was not going to go for it at the Dauphine ?

Yeah he said he will not go for the GC but will target 1 or 2 stages to test himself.

I know he said that, but I wonder how that'll actually work out on the road. I guess he could lose some time on stage one and the itt to be given some freedom.

I'm guessing he'll want to go full gas in the TT to see where he's at compared to his TDF rivals. He could lose a couple of minutes on the flat stages then target 1 or 2 of the final 3 stages.

Yeah true, I didn't think about that....

 

[johnymax]

I see there is a lot of hype about Porte. But rightfully so. I think he is the best climber in the world right now in one week races. His performance in Romandie was astonishing. He is also my pick for the win here.

 

[vedrafjord]

Re:

Bala is pretty much always underwhelming at this point. Doesn't have the sustained effort. That said, I hope he will smash the **** out of this field, but it most likely won't happen. I think its all bout Froome, Porte and Contador with Porte winning.

I know what you're saying but it's worth pointing out Piti's a two time winner in 2008 and 2009, although in 2009 he knew he probably won't be allowed race the Tour so circumstances were different.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Are you guys seriously suggesting Contador will lose time on purpose on the flat stages?

 

[Jspear]

Are you guys seriously suggesting Contador will lose time on purpose on the flat stages?

Well he might lose time somewhere if he isn't going for GC. He could lose it on stage 1. On the sprint stages he might just avoid fighting for position. That would lose him some seconds.

 

[sir fly]

A nice story in pictures.

Didn't read all the posts.. Someone certainly has mentioned Valverde and I think his performance will be interesting to follow.
While Froome, Porte, Contador, Bardet, Chaves... will be riding with the Tour in mind, Valverde's role in July isn't that clear.
Not sure the role would change much in his approach to the Dauphine, but something like backup option check we might see.

 

[movingtarget]

Not a bad route. Should be good viewing. Most interested in seeing how Froome and Contador go.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Are you guys seriously suggesting Contador will lose time on purpose on the flat stages?

Why not?

 

[silvergrenade]

Are you guys seriously suggesting Contador will lose time on purpose on the flat stages?

Why not?

Because it aint happening IMO.
Lets see what he says in the Pre-Dauphine Press conference.
He'll go for GC here. Thats the only way to test himself.

 

[dacooley]

no need to lower expectations in order not to get frustrated just in case one doesn't deliver. needless to say all of 3 biggest favorites will test themselves very seriously in all gc-relevant stages.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Are you guys seriously suggesting Contador will lose time on purpose on the flat stages?

Why not?

Because it aint happening IMO.
Lets see what he says in the Pre-Dauphine Press conference.
He'll go for GC here. Thats the only way to test himself.

indeed.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Are you guys seriously suggesting Contador will lose time on purpose on the flat stages?

Why not?

Because it aint happening IMO.
Lets see what he says in the Pre-Dauphine Press conference.
He'll go for GC here. Thats the only way to test himself.

indeed.

Will the other GC contenders allow Contador to go and test himself, even if he is a couple of minutes down? I don't think they will allow him any time, they will watch him like a hawk as they know what he is like (dangerous). No matter what he says in the press conference, you take his words with a pinch of salt! I think he'll finish on podium.

 

[dirkprovin]

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.

Tending to go with this scenario, fits Porte to a T.