Preparation for the Tour de France begins with the Giro del Dauphiné , the first World Tour race after the Giro d'Italia.

The route will be very demanding, even if it will start more lightly with the first stage suitable for fast wheels.

The next two fractions both include uphill arrivals, but not particularly demanding ones, with long, pedalable climbs.

The fourth stage will be the first real test among the favorites with the individual time trial of 34.4 km , while the fifth will have a rough altitude development in the first part, perhaps suitable for an arrival of the breakaway.

The last three stages will decide the Tour of Dauphiné with equally tough uphill finishes at Le Collet d'Allevard (11.2 km at 8.5%), Samoens 1600 (9.9 km at 9%) and Plateau des Glieres (9.3 km at 7.3%) .

Among the big favourites, the names of Roglic and Evenepoel stand out, returning to racing after the terrible accident at the Tour of the Basque Country. The Slovenian will be supported by Hindley and Vlasov, while the Belgian by Landa and Van Wilder: uphill dress rehearsals with a Tour in mind.

Challenging the Bora and Soudal battleships will be Team Visma led by Kuss and Jorgenson and UAE Team Emirates led by Ayuso . Ineos and Bahrain will instead focus on Carlos Rodriguez and Buitrago respectively.

Other riders who could aspire to a place in the top ten are: Gaudu, Martin, Geoghegan Hart, Barguil, Tiberi and Fortunato.

As mentioned, there are very few possible sprints and, consequently, the startlist is devoid of numerous sprinters. Among the fast wheels the name of Mads Pedersen stands out, then we point out Bennett, Cort Nielsen, Liepins, Cortina, Menten, Venturini and Godon.

Photo: @Dauphine