Chris Froome (Team Sky) will line up at Criterium du Dauphine on Sunday aiming to become the first rider to win the race four times, and the first to win it three years in a row.
Froome is coming off the back of a block of training on Tenerife having last raced at the Tour de Romandie in April, where he finished in 18th place overall.
The 2016 Tour de France winner will face a strong challenge at Criterium du Dauphine. Amongst the other riders expected to challenge for overall victory are Richie Porte (BMC Racing), Romain Bardet (Ag2R – La Mondiale), Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Alberto Contador (Trek-Segafredo).
Chris Froome: “This time of the year it always feels like it’s really getting towards the business part of my season. I’m coming off the back of two great blocks of training with the guys up in Tenerife, which has got me in great shape and ready for the challenges ahead.
“I’m happy with where my form is right now. Everything is looking good and I’m looking forward to putting all the training into practice.
“I’m looking forward to going back and riding in France. There’s always a real buzz about racing there at this time of the season and a sense of excitement building about the Tour.
“I think the line-up of riders at the Dauphine is particularly impressive this year in terms of GC contenders and other Tour rivals, so it should be a big test and a real challenge.
“I’m going there hoping to win, but I’m fully conscious that I’m going up against some very strong competition – probably stronger competition than I’ve had at previous editions of the Dauphine – so I’m certainly not taking anything for granted.
“The Dauphine is also an important race for us as a team and getting a gauge of where our guys are at in terms of Tour selection.”
“I’m going there to do my best and, from there, I’ll have an idea of where I am ahead of the Tour and what work might need to be done”.
Nicolas Portal, Team Sky Directeur Sportif: “The Dauphine always forms a big part of our Tour preparation and it’s an important race in its own right. It really feels like the Tour is just around the corner now.
“There is always a good field of Tour de France contenders at the Dauphine and that’s definitely the case this year with riders like Richie (Porte), Bardet, Valverde and Contador. They will all be coming here in good form.
“It’s a good, challenging course with a mix of different types of stages, so it will be a proper test for Chris. We’ve got a good group of guys here and we’ll be racing for the win”.
The full Team Sky line up for the Criterium du Dauphine is:
Philip Deignan
Chris Froome
Peter Kennaugh
Christian Knees
Michal Kwiatkowski
David Lopez
Luke Rowe
Ian Stannard
