CRITÉRIUM DU DAUPHINÉ: Info with one day to go
August 11 th 2020 - 15:48
On the eve of an unprecedented start in August and with an unusual program condensed in five days of racing, the riders are set to kick-off the Critérium du Dauphiné from Clermont-Ferrand with a 218.5km stage en route to Saint-Christo-en-Jarez. This stage favours puncheurs while the rest of the race is for pure climbers. The favourites from Team Ineos and Team Jumbo-Visma will face a fierce opposition eager to shine ahead of the Tour de France: Nairo Quintana, Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet, riding from home, are among the contenders expected to shake up the race in the climb. The race brings many novelties, including the new Superb iv, Skoda’s first production model to be fitted with plug in hybrid drive.
BERNARD THÉVENET: “THE RIDERS NEED THIS SERIES OF MOUNTAIN STAGES”
The initial route of the 72nd edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné was already set to make history, without a time-trial - a first since 1947, when the race was introduced! The climbers are even more favoured by the new route designed after the cycling calendar was reshaped: the race is shortened to five days, with a first hilly stage for the puncheurs and then a massive mass of climbs. The idea for Bernard Thévenet is to attend the riders’ needs in their preparation towards the Tour de France: “Usually we like to mix things with different types of stages, but this year there won’t be anything for the sprinters, even the finish in Saint-Christo-en-Jarez doesn’t suit the ones with climbing abilities, like Sagan. Then, the riders need this series of mountain stages. They’ll have four in a row, which is something many of them haven’t done since the last Tour de France.” The unprecedented circumstances ahead of the Tour de France also bring uncertainty, according to the two-time winner of the Tour de France: “We’ve seen Ineos and Jumbo battle from far away at the Tour de l’Ain, but now they’ll have to fight for four consecutive days. And they’ll face a strong opposition with the likes of Thibaut Pinot and Romain Bardet. It will all depend on the riders’ will to make it hard, but Saturday’s stage is the key stage on paper. However, we’ve seen riders swap the leader’s jersey on the very last day on different occasions (2014, 2017) and it could happen again.”
NAIRO QUINTANA : “I SAW I’M UP THERE WITH THE BEST RIDERS”
Three Tour de France winners (Bernal, Thomas, Froome) against another trio of contenders for the Maillot Jaune (Roglic, Dumoulin, Kruijswijk): the teams Ineos and Jumbo-Visma are coming to the Dauphiné with impressive line-ups. Among their rivals, Nairo Quintana is enjoying a new environment with his team Arkéa-Samsic and he hopes to shine in the Alps after a very strong start of the season (winner of the Tour de la Provence, the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes and the queen-stage of Paris-Nice) and a positive return to competition (3rd of the Tour de l’Ain). “The Critérium du Dauphiné is the last race to prepare for the Tour de France with high altitude racing. It’s a race that helps us getting close to 100% physically. The Tour de l’Ain was a good preparation, I saw that I’m up there with the best riders. I see that I’m gradually recovering from the crash I suffered because of a car in Colombia. It cost me ten days of training.”
THIERRY GOUVENOU : “A REHEARSAL OF THE SAFETY MEASURES”
“It’s a sportive run-through and a rehearsal of the safety measures.” Two weeks away from the Tour de France, the Critérium du Dauphiné implements a new protocol elaborated according to the UCI guidelines and after discussions with local authorities. A meeting was held on Tuesday morning to explain the safety measures to the teams. Thierry Gouvenou, race director, details the protocol: “We’re creating a bubble with very little interaction with the media, the guests and the fans. The parkings will be closed at the start and at the finish and we have a mixed zone with specific rules for interviews. We’re limiting the number of persons allowed to access the area after the finish line. The fans won’t be allowed in the feeding zone and we have more ‘waste zones’ for the riders. It’s the same for the protocol: no kiss, no interaction between the partners, the local representatives and the riders. And face masks will be mandatory all along the race, also for the public when Prefectoral decrees apply.”
ROMAIN BARDET : “FOUR MOUNTAIN STAGES… AND THEY’RE BRUTAL”
On the day after Team Sunweb announced Romain Bardet was joining them next season, the Frenchman (AG2R-La Mondiale) is getting ready for another very special day. On Wednesday, he’ll take the start of his 7th Critérium du Dauphiné, a race he finished 2nd overall in 2016. And this time he’s riding on very familiar roads, as Stage 1 starts from his hometown Clermont-Ferrand and the route almost passes in front of his house in Royat. Bardet took his teammates for a “touristic ride” through the Auvergne’s main city in the morning. Then he spoke to the media about his feelings after a crash at La Route d’Occitanie : “I’m not entirely past my rib pain but I’m getting close to top shape and it can improve from now until the Tour de France.” Speaking via videoconference, Bardet discussed his plans to shake up the race against the collective strength of Team Ineos and Team Jumbo-Visma: “We’ll have to play it smart and fly below the radar. It’s the hardest Dauphiné I’ve ever seen. Usually, it gets hardest over the final week-end but now we have four mountain stages and they’re brutal. I’m the happiest.”
THE RED CARS TURN HYBRID
The most acute observers can notice at first glance there is something different with the vehicles of the race direction flanking the peloton. They sport a new “velvet red” livery, slightly darker with a metallic finish, and carry a sporty design, especially in the rear part. The new Superb iv, released in the first trimester of 2020, is Skoda’s first production model to be fitted with plug in hybrid drive and it will be introduced on the roads of the Dauphiné as Fanck Meneghini, manager of A.S.O.’s garage, explains: “We’ve been able to start preparing the cars at the beginning of June and that’s a race against the clock since we have 6 vehicles at the Dauphiné and then a total of 29 at the Tour. The all electric range of the new Superbs is up to 50 kilometres and most notably the battery is able to recharge autonomously, when the driver brakes for instance.”
THIBAUT PINOT : “I WANT TO GET CLOSE TO MY TOP SHAPE”
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) was already feeling good at La Route d’Occitanie (4th) and now he wants to up the ante with the Critérium du Dauphiné ahead of the Tour de France: “I’ve had two big training sessions over the week-end and I feel I’ve improved since the beginning of the preparation. I hope I’ll get a notch further with the Dauphiné. I want us to get better, have a good result this week and be serene towards the Tour de France. I want to get close to my top shape. Those who will be at 80% or 90%, I don’t see how they can catch up ahead of the Tour.” The French climber will face “a very hard route and an extraordinary field. I don’t think we’ve seen something like that in many one-week races.” But Pinot is coming without his main lieutenant for the mountain challenges as David Gaudu had to step aside with gastric problems. “It’s a pity but the most important is for him to get past this little health issue and be at 100% for the Tour”, Pinot explained.