Remco Evenepoel and Mikel Landa are back in action for Soudal Quick-Step.
If it’s the first weekend of June, then it must be the start of the Critérium du Dauphiné, the prestigious race won in the past by the likes of Louison Bobet, Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Luis Ocaña or Bernard Hinault. Taking place between 2-9 June, the Dauphiné will be for many the last important test before this summer’s Tour de France, which starts one month from now.
The course of this 77th edition will be heavily tilted towards the climbers, who’ll take on a total of five uphill finishes: Col de la Loge, Les Estables, Le Collet d’Allevard (11.2km, 8.1%), Samoëns 1600 (10km, 9.3%) and Plateau des Glières (9.4km, 7.1%). Squeezed between these is the 34.4km individual time trial held around Neulise, which comes just four days into the race and promises to widen the gaps between the general classification contenders.
Critérium du Dauphiné will mark Remco Evenepoel’s return to competition following the Itzulia Basque Country crash that derailed his spring campaign almost two months ago. The Belgian Champion, making his Dauphiné debut, leads a strong Soudal Quick-Step squad comprising also neo-pro Antoine Huby, James Knox, Volta a Catalunya runner-up Mikel Landa, Gianni Moscon, Casper Pedersen and Ilan Van Wilder, a top-five finisher this season at the UAE Tour and the Tour de Romandie.
“I am looking forward to returning to racing in a couple of days’ time. I am in a good place after the crash in Itzulia and the injuries I sustained there, but there is still some work to do so I get back to my top shape. I am happy to discover the Dauphiné, but I will look less towards my general classification position, as this will be more a chance to return to the race rhythm and see where I’m at”, said Remco ahead of his first appearance at the French World Tour event.
“It’s going to be a hard race, with a demanding course overall and a tough weekend. The many summit finishes will be important, as they will give us the chance to see where Remco stands at this point in the season. We also want to discover how he will fare in the time trial, which will be his first since that injury. The confidence is there, the team is a very good one, consisting mainly of strong and experienced riders, but the plan is to take it one day at a time as we know we still have some progression to make”, added Soudal Quick-Step sports director Tom Steels.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
