Critérium International Preview
We would like to welcome the teams to the beautiful island of Corsica for the 83rd edition of the Critérium International. Last season we saw an outstanding performance from young gun Thomas Hinault. He won the General Classification in front of Bradley Wiggins and Ion Izagirre. Those were also the 3 stage winners in reverse order. Hinault, now riding for Europcar, is at the start again this year, while Wiggins and Izagirre have not returned. Other big names have come to Corsica though, so it will be interesting to see if Hinault can win again this year.
The route
Everyone knows the French are very chauvinistic and they display that perfectly here. After Hinault's win last year the organisers were very eager to use the same route this year. The riders will start in Porto-Vecchio for a 90 km stage along the coast. The 2nd stage is a 7 km prologue around Porto-Vecchio. Stage 3 will decide the race with the finish on the Col de l'Ospedale. Before the final climb the riders will face the Côte de Roccapina, the Côte d'Orasi, the Côte de Viggianello, the Col de Sainte-Lucie-de-Tallano and the Col de Bacinu.
The startlist
There are 150 riders at the start this year, including 6 riders in La Pomme jerseys. They will ride around with pen and paper to take notes on all the action during the race. Of the 150 riders, there are 19 EPIC riders present.
The teams
Leader GC: Jean-Christophe Peraud
Leader Sprint: Davide Appollonio
Goal (hard): Win GC
Home team AG2R are here with a team that mostly focuses on the GC with Peraud as their leader. Peraud is good on both the mountains and the TT, so he should be able to get at least a top 10 here. Appollonio is here without a lead-out, so he will have to use the trains of other teams.
Leader GC: Sylvian Lipawsky
EPIC Riders: Sylvian Lipawsky
Goal (hard): Win GC
Androni have a great team to help Lipawsky. With Basso, Rosa, Capecchi and Santaromita they have an all Italian train for the mountains. They might not take control of the peloton, but they could cause a lot of pain to other teams. With no rider for the sprint they might try to get a rider in the break on the first stage.
Leader GC: Nicolas Roche
Leader Sprint: Dylan Groenewegen
While the manager got bored with the team, they are still here with a good team. With Roche they have a shot at the podium and if he fails they still have Aru present. Groenewegen is their sprinter here, but it would be a surprise if he gets a top 10.
Leader GC: Bauke Mollema
With no sprinter in their line-up it is very clear why Belkin is here. While we assume Mollema will be their leader, Kelderman could challenge him for the leadership. If they can't work together things could go downhill very fast for the Dutch team. Malori is a good bet for the Time-Trial as well.
Leader GC: Johann Nokkvason
Leader Sprint: Matteo Trentin
EPIC Riders: Johann Nokkvason, Pyroli Feunard
Goal (easy): Top 10 GC
With the team still looking for their first win of the season, they hope to get it here with Trentin. After failing with their train in earlier races, Trentin is mostly on his own here. For the GC they will look to Nokkvason, but he will challenge for a top 10 at best.
Leader GC: Firmansyah Sinaga
EPIC Riders: Firmansyah Sinaga, Voltali Feunard
We believe Champion System are only here to please Feunard. Their team is mediocre and they will mostly be seen in the breakaway and at the rear end of the peloton. Maybe Sinaga can come close to a top 20 on the last stage. Try a bit harder next time TCS.
Leader GC: Daniel Navarro
EPIC Riders: Anders Myrvold
Goal (medium): Top 10 GC
Navarro is an outsider for the podium, but only if he rides a decent TT. It should be easy enough for him to accomplish the goal of a top 10. With Pellizotti and Coppel he has great lieutenants to get a good result here.
Leader GC: Gorka Nieve
EPIC Riders: Gorka Nieve
The organisers don't know why they got an invite. Probably not even their own riders know why they are here. Nieve is their best rider, but it is highly unlikely he will be able to get a result here. They will have to hope to get in a breakaway that stays away for a result.
Leader GC: Thomas Hinault
Leader Sprint: Kevin Reza, Sébastien Chavanel
EPIC Riders: Thomas Hinault
Goal (medium): Top 3 GC
With last year's winner Hinault on their team, it should be no problem to achieve their top 3 goal. He is lacking a bit of support, but the mountain stage should be easy enough to have either Kloden or Chavanel still there to help him at the first half of the Col de l'Ospedale. For the sprint, they have multiple options, but they probably won't win the sprint.
Leader GC: Cristiano de las Campos
Leader Sprint: Enrique Sanz
EPIC Riders: Cristiano de las Campos
After his bad luck in the Giro d'Italia last year, De Las Campos got some good results this year. He is a candidate for the podium here, but there are a lot of good climbers here for only 3 podium spots. For the sprint on stage 1 Euskaltel is looking at youngster Sanz. He could get into the top 10, but he doesn't have a lot of help here.
Leader GC: Kenny Elissonde
Leader Sprint: Plusvite de la Lumiere
EPIC Riders: Erik Bousche, Plusvite de la Lumiere
Goal (hard): Top 5 GC
FDJ come here with Elissonde as their GC leader. While he has a hard task ahead of him, he could be able to get the team their top 5 goal. For the sprint they are looking to De la Lumiere, he is the best sprinter here.
Leader GC: Pierre de la Montagne
Leader Sprint: Danny van Poppel
EPIC Riders: Pierre de la Montagne
Giant comes here with De la Montagne for the GC. He is another rider that looks towards the final podium. For the sprint they have Van Poppel. He is the only one that could be able to keep Demare from winning on stage 1.
Leader GC: Przemyslaw Niemiec
EPIC Riders: Arda Akdeniz, Richard Plant
Goal (easy): Stage win
Another team that is aiming for the podium here. Niemiec has decent support here, with Plant and Polanc. They only have 6 riders here, so they have to hope Niemiec doesn't get caught behind with a flat tire. Their goal here is not a very easy one, as Niemiec will have to beat better climbers to achieve it.
Leader GC: Josef Hintermuller
EPIC Riders: Marouane Shaqif, Josef Hintermuller
We can add MTN to the list of teams aiming for the podium in the GC. A good TT from Hintermuller could give him an edge over some weaker TT riders. With Shaqif they have a good chance to win the time-trial.
Leader GC: Nairo Quintana
EPIC Riders: Ilja Kusnezov
Anything less than the overall victory would be disappointing for Movistar. With Quintana they have the strongest climber in the race and he should be good enough to limit his losses in the time trial. They also send some strong support to make it even easier for the Colombian.
Leader GC: Dominik Nerz
Leader Sprint: Nikias Arndt
EPIC Riders: Jose Alberto Juarez, Thomas Schwabe
Arndt will be up there in the sprint, although he lacks a good lead-out. For the GC, the German team is hoping Nerz could surprise here. It might be hard to get a top 5, but he might be able to get a top 10.
Leader GC: Frank Schleck
Leader Sprint: Romain Feillu
EPIC Riders: Kristjan Palmarsson
How about another challenger for the podium. Schleck probably wants to show his new team they did not make a mistake by signing him. For the sprint the Dutch team is working for Feillu, who has a lot of experience that makes up for his lack of speed.
The favourites
Nairo Quintana
Thomas Hinault | Bauke Mollema
Wilco Kelderman | Sylvian Lipawsky | Przemyslaw Niemiec | Nicolas Roche | Frank Schleck | Daniel Navarro | Fabio Aru | Pierre de la Montagne | Cristiano de las Campos | Josef Hintermuller | Kenny Elissonde
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