Tony Gallopin has told Cyclingnews that he will target stage wins at this year's Critérium du Dauphiné.

"I'm here for stage wins. It's too hard here for GC for me, with a lot of tough stages. I won't even try for GC", the French rider said. "It's still a good stage race for me though. There are just two days for the sprinters and then a lot of finishes that suit riders like me. I can even look at stages 2 and 3 as opportunities."

Gallopin finished second in yesterday's stage, two seconds behind Jesus Herrada (Movistar Team). "I think it's a good question, to ask about my form. My last race was Liège-Bastogne-Liège, so it's been around six weeks since my last race. I did a good training camp in Sierra Nevada but right now I don't know how I'll go. I'll take each stage as they come. I needed a break after the Classics, I always do. Then I had the camp and I'm back at the Dauphiné. I've had the same pattern for the last five years and I know I’ll have a mixture of good and bad days here but the goal remains the Tour de France."

He is really motivated to deliver great performances at the Tour de France this summer. In 2014, Gallopin escaped on Stage 9 of the Tour de France, gaining almost 8 minutes on leader Vincenzo Nibali to take the yellow jersey. Three days later, Gallopin escaped from the peloton on the final descent into Oyonnax to win the stage by a whisker from the chasing pack.

"I want a Tour like the one I had in 2014, when I went in the break and took yellow. It was a really special ride. This year a stage is important for me as a target. Of course, last year was important to me but you have to prepare and focus on that from a long way out if you want to ride for GC. This year, I'm going back to ride like I did in 2014. I could go back and ride for GC in the future, maybe when I'm more than 30 years old. I would like to do it but you need to have the team focused on this too and at the moment the focus is winning stages."