UAE Team Emirates for the Critérium du Dauphiné

UAE Team Emirates will head to the Critérium du Dauphiné, running this Sunday through June 10, with an eye on the Tour de France.

Its roster includes Sven Erik Bystrøm (Norwegian), Valerio Conti (Italy), Daniel Martin (Ireland), Manuele Mori (Italy), Simone Petilli (Italy), Edward Ravasi (Italy), Rory Sutherland (Australia). Philippe Mauduit (Fra) and Daniele Righi (Ita) will direct the team.

The historic race in southeast France opens with an individual time trial of 6.6 kilometres. It continues with two flat stages finishing in Just-Saint-Rambert and Belleville.

The team will time trial together in the third stage. It does not let up with two summit finish stages following in Lans-en-Vercors and Valmorel.

The second-last stage follows what the riders will face in the 11th stage of the Tour de France, 110 kilometres from Frontenex to La Rosière Espace San Bernardo.

The last stage covers 129 kilometres, finishing with a climb to Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc.

Daniel Martin heads the team: “The Critérium du Dauphiné is always a good test before the Tour de France, but given that this year there’s an extra week between the end and the start of the Tour de France, I expect that my form will be slightly behind with respect to the past years.

The training period leading up to this has gone well and my feelings are good, but it’s true that this is a very different race. The most important thing will be to get rhythm in my legs, race freely and end it with a precise idea of my form for the Tour.

 The Dauphiné is important also because it’s a mini-Tour de France, with an individual time trial, a team time trial – things that are hard to mimic in training – and because we race on some of the same roads that we are going to face in the 11th stage of the Tour.”