Eagles or idiots?

March 15 ^th 2018 - 11:51

"The continuity of grandiose displays makes us either exalted or stupid. In the Alps, one is either an eagle or an idiot", says a poem by Victor Hugo, who never got to watch a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné! 

Time and again in the history of the race, champions have come to face their moment of truth at the bottom of the mountains where the legends of cycling are written. This romp through the Alps in June may be an unreliable oracle for the Tour de France, but it is still a pivotal moment from which valuable lessons can be learnt. It is not a rehearsal, but rather an opening act with a climax that always packs a punch. The 70th edition will give riders two opportunities to lay the groundwork for the challenges to come in July: far away from Cholet, but under similar conditions, for the team time trial between Pont-de-Vaux and Louhans-Châteaurenaud; and on the exact same course of stage 11 of the Tour between Albertville and La Rosière ski resort. However, it is far from certain that these two key stages will decide the overall winner. The last few editions of the Dauphiné have had their fair share of dramatic turnarounds. We could see one of these eleventh-hour surges on the climb to Le Bettex on the heights of Saint-Gervais, the ascent to Valmorel two days earlier, or even the brand-new 17 km Col du Mont Noir, near Lans-en-Vercors. We are ready to be surprised.

Christian Prudhomme