Bernal, Roglic, Pinot: duel at the top of the Criterium du Dauphiné

From Clermont-Ferrand, where the event will start on Wednesday, following the health restrictions that will be observed during the Great Loop, to the Megève altiport, the scene of the last two arrivals at the end of the week, the menu is more than full-bodied: no far from 18 passes and climbs classified 2nd, 1st and out of category in five days, through Auvergne, Forez, Chartreuse and the Savoyard version of the Alps for an exceptional plateau. Even Peter Sagan will make the trip. The Slovak, usual green jersey of the Tour, discovers at 30 the Dauphiné although the course leaves only meager chances to the puncheurs (watch out for Van Aert).

But the event organized by ASO is proving to be even more useful this year, even essential because of the calendar upset by the pandemic, to shine on the Tour which will start on August 29. As proof, the ... 12 first of the last Tour answer the call! As well as two of those absent from last July, the Dutchman Tom Dumoulin and the Slovenian Primoz Roglic, who is a man to beat at the Dauphiné in view of his ease in the Tour de l'Ain which he won handily on Sunday last in front of the winner coming out of the Grande Boucle, the Colombian Egan Bernal.

For the two men, it is act 2. Bernal however recalls the obvious: the main objective remains the Tour de France. "I am confident, I feel that I am progressing", estimated Sunday the young Colombian (23 years old), who did not want to appear worried about the superiority of Jumbo de Roglic compared to his Ineos and to the half-fig recovery mid-grape of Briton Geraint Thomas, the winner of the 2018 Tour: "You have to keep calm, it was a preparation race."

A false duel

In the Dauphiné, Thibaut Pinot invites himself to spoil this false duel. "I will probably not be at 100%, but I take this event as an obligatory and essential stage for my preparation for the Tour de France", he warns. “If we follow our logic of progression, the team will be competitive and solid. The acquired automatisms should place us in a good position in the general classification. The quantified objectives will come later, ”confirms its sports director Philippe Mauduit.

The French must logically gain strength on the passes which bristle the course. With giants, like the Madeleine to join Saint-Martin-de-Belleville on Friday, or even Bisanne before the arrival the next day on the heights of Megève. Or nice climbs, both Thursday in the Chartreuse (Col de Porte) and Sunday with the Romme-Colombière sequence before the final.

The menu, whose density, due to the reduction from eight to five days of racing, leaves no room for recovery, will also situate the current level of Julian Alaphilippe in the mountains, and of the cohort of Colombian climbers behind Bernal (Quintana, Lopez, Uran and the Higuita nugget).

Chris Froome not up to the level to join in the fight

What about Chris Froome? The four-time Tour winner, who is recovering from a serious injury, is struggling to get his selection in the Ineos team, which he will leave at the end of the year. The Briton has become a simple teammate in the service of Bernal on the roads of the Tour de l'Ain. Far from any circumlocution, the Dutchman Bauke Mollema spat the song on Dutch television NOS: “I no longer consider him as one of the contenders for victory on the Tour. You can clearly see that he doesn't have the level to win it. ”

The stages:
August 12: 1st stage Clermont-Ferrand - Saint-Christo-en-Jarrez (Loire), 218.5 km
August 13: 2nd stage Vienne (Isère) - col de Porte (Isère), 135 km
August 14: 3rd stage Corenc (Isère) - Saint-Martin-de-Belleville (Savoie), 157 km
August 15: 4th stage Ugine (Savoie) - Megève (Haute-Savoie), 153.5 km
August 16: 5th stage Megève - Megève, 153 , 5 km 

The last winners:
2015: Chris Froome (GBR)
2016: Chris Froome (GBR)
2017: Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
2018: Geraint Thomas (GBR)
2019: 1. Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)
2. Tejay Van Garderen (USA) at 20 sec
3. Emanuel Buchmann (GER) at 21 sec ...
5. Thibaut Pinot (FRA) at 33 sec

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