This WT stage race goes from Sunday to Sunday, and there will be climbs everyday, even on the TTT which will therefore be exceptionally difficult.
Unfortunately, this is yet another race which was 'bought' by the local elected officials, who changed its name to promote their fiefdom, and ⅓ of the Dauphiné will never be visited any more, as it belongs to a different administration.
Riders
No Pogatchar, no Vingegaard; this leaves the door open for the next level of favourites: the UAE duo Almeida🇵🇹/Del Toro🇲🇽 and Ze Elect (🇫🇷 Decathlon). Skjelmose (🇩🇰 Lidl-Trek) and Jorgenson (🇺🇸 Visma) will be the main outsiders.
Stages
(I apologise if the pictures look shitty, but they were already horribly compressed Jpeg on the official website...)
NB: there are no time bonuses on this race, neither at the end of stages nor within them.
Stage 1 (Sunday 7)
146 km, 3200 m D+
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Stage 2 (Monday 8)
234 km, 3700 m D+
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Stage 3 (Tuesday 9) Team Time Trial
27 km, 400 m D+
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Stage 4 (Wednesday 10)
167 km, 2100 m D+
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Stage 5 (Thursday 11)
196 km, 2200 m D+
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Stage 6 (Friday 12)
183 km, 2900 m D+
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Stage 7 (Saturday 13)
134 km, 3700 m D+
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Stage 8 (Sunday 14)
120 km, 4100 m D+
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Stage 1 (Sunday 7)
Strange behaviour from Decathlon. They had a hard time finishing the Tour of the Basque Country, but on this first stage, despite Riccitello🇺🇸's early withdrawal, they rode quite a lot all day to control the breakaway. And then... nothing (everyone let the breakaway win).
Seixas🇫🇷 was alone in his group after Vauquelin (🇫🇷 Ineos) attacked with 1 or 2 extra outsiders. His teammate in Vauquelin🇫🇷's group didn't drop to wait for his leader's group, and there was no one else around.
It looks pretty much like a demonstration of weakness by the team (not by Seixas🇫🇷 himself, but his team, bar Bisiaux🇫🇷). And they provoked it themselves, by being overconfident.
Jegat (🇫🇷 Total) was dropped early in the last climb, and arrived 12 minutes after the front groups: he doesn't seem to give a damn. Either he plans to go a breakaway, or he has signed a big contract elsewhere.
Sivakov (🇫🇷 UAE): same shit.
First WT victory for Baudin🇫🇷. EF doesn't shine this year (so far), but nonetheless that's their 4^th^ WT stage victory, and they also have several honest GC performances on one-week races. Let's say that they are discreet.
I wasn't inspired much 🤣: Almeida🇵🇹 finished after 24 minutes today...
And I forgot to list Ayuso (🇪🇸 Lidl-Trek) among the favourites, complementing his teammate Skjelmose🇩🇰. The Spaniard was the one who finally gave an impulse to the Seixas🇫🇷 group to reduce the gap with the Vauquelin🇫🇷 group, today.