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Criterium du Dauphine Libere - Discussion
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| Jakstar22 |
Posted on 08-02-2026 02:48
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 Criterium du Dauphine Libere (PTHC) Discussion
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.
| 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 |
| 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!
| 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!
| 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.
| 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.
And that's it! Here's the full start list.
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 08-02-2026 06:36
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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.
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| SotD |
Posted on 08-02-2026 06:46
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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.
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| Caspi |
Posted on 08-02-2026 08:36
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Thanks for the extensive preview 
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.
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| Booker |
Posted on 08-02-2026 12:46
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Very glad we’re not here seeing this startlist…
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| Gustavovskiy |
Posted on 08-02-2026 13:23
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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!
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 09-02-2026 22:12
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 08-02-2026 19:25
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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 |
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| jph27 |
Posted on 08-02-2026 19:31
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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! |
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| AbhishekLFC |
Posted on 09-02-2026 06:24
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Huge race for Haig and for the team. He has had a terrible season so far. We need him to come good in this one, as TDF will be the only race left on his schedule after this. Would've like a bit easier startlist but we have to live with what we get. A Top 4 should be the bare minimum acceptable result but really need to do better. Not much for us elsewhere, maybe Hayter can go for the U25s. He is part of a strong mountain unit we have, so not much excuse for not being able to keep up in the pack. Also would be interesting to see if Alben can do something in the weak sprint field.
Thanks for the preview!
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| redordead |
Posted on 09-02-2026 12:56
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I'll be surprised if get to 10 PpRD here. With Schlegel and Ackermann as "leaders" this is sure to be a dogshit race.
Thanks for the preview and reports.
"I am a cyclist, I may not be the best, but that is what I strive to be. I may never get there, but I will never quit trying." - Tadej Pogačar
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| Caspi |
Posted on 09-02-2026 13:04
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3rd in the prologue is good by Schomber.
Would have liked Choi to perform slightly better, but probably won't be that important by the end of the race.
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 09-02-2026 13:54
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Very good start from Skjelmose in the top 10, hopefully a good sign of things to come and not the peak of our race. 
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| SotD |
Posted on 09-02-2026 14:15
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Ouch that was a very very bad opener from Giannoutsos, who have the same PRL stat as Stavrakakis in 14th. Would have really liked to see him around 15-20th and not around 50th.
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| sammyt93 |
Posted on 09-02-2026 16:44
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It will be tough but hopefully we can get a top 10 on GC here to help us in our relegation battle
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| Luis Leon Sanchez |
Posted on 09-02-2026 19:56
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Pretty good performance from Sam to get a Top 10, underwhelming from Vandevelde outside the Top 20. But solid from Shikai for 22nd so not much time lost.
Great opener from King Power for the 1-2!
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| Bikex |
Posted on 09-02-2026 20:34
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It was a great chance for Leung in the opening prologue. I'm very he could take it and of course also with Matsuda in second.
Main focus will be on McNulty I hope he can be competitive in this rather strong startlist! |
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