This race, along with a Tour de Suisse, can be known as a mini GT. These two races are where the big guys go to get ready for races like the Tour de France.
This race has it all! A short ITT prologue, followed by 2 flat stages, a large mountain top finish, a hilly sprint stage (most likely a selective sprint), then the big hilly ITT which should definitely separate the big GC guys. Then finally a long hard mountain top finish stage that will ultimately decide the GC.
2024 Results
1
Lachlan Morton
cycleYorkshire
23h54'42
2
Ryan Eastman
Oxxo - Frisby
+ 20
3
Fredrik Strand Galta
Carlsberg - Danske Bank
+ 2'02
4
Rafael Reis
Benetton Bimex Cycling
+ 2'21
5
Chen Shikai
ZARA - Irizar
+ 3'04
6
Daan Olivier
Sony - Force India
+ 4'22
7
Jan Hirt
Moser - Sygic
+ 5'07
8
Miltiadis Giannoutsos
ELCO - ABEA
+ 5'13
9
Matvey Mamykin
Tinkoff Team - La Datcha
+ 10'22
10
Petr Rikunov
Tinkoff Team - La Datcha
+ 10'54
GC Contenders
Rider
MT
MM
HI
TT
PR
ST
RS
AC
Kudus
85
82
78
72
72
79
77
70
Haig
83
79
74
77
77
76
75
73
Morton
83
79
75
72
72
78
77
66
McNulty
82
78
74
77
75
75
77
68
Eastman
81
76
70
76
72
75
74
68
Rodrigues
81
77
73
74
74
73
75
72
Oomen
81
78
75
74
77
78
77
69
Shikai
80
75
70
75
75
73
75
66
Giannoutsos
80
76
72
72
77
76
78
68
Skjelmose Jensen
79
77
74
76
76
73
77
66
Misbah
79
75
70
75
74
76
73
68
Cras
79
76
72
73
70
78
77
67
Lopez Nolasco
79
75
71
73
71
72
71
70
Choi
79
76
72
73
72
74
73
65
Rodriguez
78
75
72
73
70
73
74
71
Kudus looks like the big favourite here. Clearly the best mountain and hill climber out of the GC contenders. His TT ability does leave something to be desired and could be the difference in GC if he cannot get gaps in the mountains.
Haig and Morton are big contenders, the latter going for 3 GC wins in a row. Haig seems to be the guy who can compete the most in the TTs out of the top 3. Morton cannot be ruled out though, despite his decline as his age catches up with him.
McNulty could definitely produce an excellent race. He is a fantastic TT rider and could compete with the big boys if he can stay with them in the mountains.
Eastman, Rodrigues and Oomen will be at the pointy end of the race. That is for sure!
Shikai and Giannoutsos can not be ruled out. This race is extremely open GC wise!
Skjelmose Jensen is the first of our U25 competitors. A strong mountain and TT rider and should be able to take the U25 comfortably. However, Rodriguez will be competitive in this division as well and it should make for an exciting fight in the U25 classification!
Misbah, Cras, Lopez Nolasco and Choi are the final riders I see as contenders here.
This GC is extremely wide open and will be very exciting!
Sprint Contenders
Rider
FL
SP
AC
HI
ST
RS
Van Poppel
72
81
78
64
74
71
Zariff
70
80
80
61
71
67
Minali
73
79
79
58
70
74
Sanikwathi
72
78
78
66
70
67
Ackermann
72
77
80
77
75
71
Garcia Cortina
76
77
76
66
76
72
Sureda
73
77
79
71
71
69
Van Poppel, Zariff and Minali are, on paper, the main competitors here in the sprints.
Sanikwathi should be a big competitor to those 3, depending on form and leadouts.
Ackermann should be a competitor on the hilly stage with a fantastic hill ability and strong sprint. I wouldn't rule him out on the flat sprints either with his fantastic acceleration.
Garcia Cortina makes this list because after seeing some sprints recently with the leadout of a top sprinter winning instead of the sprinter. Still has a chance for sure.
Sureda will be a competitor in the hill stage as well. A small but exciting group of sprinters.
I think its wide open, and if I could have put all sprinters on this list I would have!
TT Contenders
Rider
FL
TT
ST
RS
FT
Bissegger
74
79
73
77
64
Oliveira
70
79
76
72
68
Howson
70
79
71
72
71
Norsgaard
73
79
69
75
57
Leung
73
78
65
77
66
Aguilar Mendez
74
78
72
72
65
Kämna
71
78
76
73
71
Christapopoulos
73
78
72
72
75
Vandevelde
75
78
72
74
73
Noia
76
78
70
74
70
Its hard to gauge what will happen in the hilly TT. How selective will the hills be? Will the distance be too much for the pure TT guys? Will the hills matter at all?
Since the GC TT guys have already been mentioned, I will talk about the pure TT guys here.
Bissegger, Oliveira, Howson and Norsgaard are the strongest TT riders here. All have a chance. Howson is the defending TT stage winner so he will want to repeat that.
Leung, Aguilar Mendez, Kämna, Christapopoulos, Vandevelde and Noia will all be able to compete depending on the damage the hills do.
Prologue Contenders
Rider
FL
PR
ST
RS
FT
Leung
73
82
65
77
66
Schomber
73
81
66
76
65
Oliveira
70
79
76
72
68
Howson
70
79
71
72
71
Milan
77
79
72
80
66
Groselj
78
79
74
78
69
Matsuda
76
79
70
76
61
Leung and Schomber are the big favourites for the prologue here!
Competitors include Oliveira, Howson, Milan, Groselj and Matsuda.
All these guys will want to take the early win and the GC lead, especially if the long ITT is not something these guys can compete in.
With the hill race being a flat finish its hard to gauge whether it will be selective enough to be a pure hill rider. If it is McCarthy should have a chance.
If Shikai can somehow repeat his Top 5 from last year, that would be a great result but I think he more realistically lands around 7th-9th. Here's hoping we can achieve something!
Thanks for the preview! Would expect a fairly open race, behind Kudus that is.
Giannoutsos was 8th here last season. I hope he Can land another top 10. He should be among the better GC riders after the prologue, which I hope will mean he Can stay with better guys in the difficult stages.
Koumpetsos is our best Bet for the sprints. He didn’t make the preview, but must be just on the other side. Whether or not he Can do something is a Big questionsmark though.
We got five riders mentioned, but experience tells me not to expect too much.
Regardless, I would be happy if we can get a stage win and top 15 in the GC.
Should be an interesting race with Kudus and Morton needing to prove his excellence in the climbs and McNulty and Haig looking at the TT to get some leverage.
We expect Rodrigues can get a low top10. He's got another completely dedicated squad (just like in California). A fifth place wouldn't be impossible, but given his track record I doubt he can fence off Eastman and especially Haig. Fingers crossed though.
Thanks for the informative preview, Jakstar. Good luck everyone!
This is going to be something of a litmus test for Skjelmose's viability going forward. On paper, this is a race he should be considered a leader for by the AI, and he has the skillset to compete for the top 10. A prologue and a (hilly) time trial are present, and while the second mountain stage looks very difficult, neither are exceedingly long or especially brutal like you might see in some races. He also doesn't have a sprinter to confuse things here (though I guess Forssell could still do that if the AI is silly enough). Also no Gregaard to confuse things, but he does have Hellemose and Eg here for support.
All that should mean he gets a chance to show what he's capable of. A top 10 would be a great finish, with 11-15 being okay too as long as we beat Rodriguez for white. Hell get his chances next year. I want that white jersey!
Thanks for the preview!
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Zariff for the sprints, Burke for hopefully an attempt at the KoM or a stage win, and then not much else - anything other than minimal points here would be a huge bonus!
Criterium du Dauphine Libere (PTHC) Discussion
