On Sunday the 65th Critérium du Dauphiné kicks off. This WorldTour race goes on until Sunday 9th of June. For many riders it’s the final big test before the Tour de France, including Jurgen Van den Broeck (Lotto-Belisol).

With the Tour in sight they can already explore L’Alpe d’Huez, although this climb comes too early in the penultimate stage to provide its usual spectacle. The Dauphiné starts in Switzerland and almost immediately the riders have to cover a first category climb. It’s a race where some mountains or hills are waiting on the route on a daily basis. The only exception is Wednesday’s time trial of 32.5 kilometres.

Next to Van den Broeck Lotto-Belisol has also selected Bart De Clercq and Jelle Vanendert. They can support VDB, but depending on the race situation they can take their own chances as well. Today ends a period of more than three weeks of training for Van den Broeck during which he went on a training camp to the Sierra Nevada and did a recon of Tour stages in the Alps and the Pyrenees afterwards. He aims for a good classification in the Dauphiné as he finalizes his preparations before the Tour.

Van den Broeck has shown remarkable consistency at the race in its recent past, finishing 4th overall in 2010 and 2011 and 5th overall last year. In addition he won a stage in the 2011 edition.  Van den Broeck will face fierce competition at the Critérium du Dauphiné from the likes of Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff), Chris Froome (Sky) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar).

“This is a test for the Tour and of course that gives pressure,” said Lotto-Belisol ports Director Herman Frison. “Jurgen then always asks himself the question: “Am I good enough?”. Every year we’re waiting to see how he will perform. I have a good feeling about it. The goal is to ride a nice classification in the Dauphiné. We won’t mention a specific place, but he has to end in the top ten. The higher, the better - of course. The Tour is the main goal, but you should take everything you can pick up. So if he could win a stage that would be wonderful.”

The inclusion of a series of undulating climbs and mountains makes this year’s edition of the traditional Tour de France warm-up race extraordinarily difficult according to Frison. “It’s a very tough Dauphiné, the toughest edition in years. Apart from the time trial it’s always a finish on a top or a few kilometres after. There’s always a chance for a stage win. Also in the time trial Jurgen should be able to get a good result. Two years ago there was also a flat time trial and then he became eleventh. Jelle Vanendert and Bart de Clercq are the men that should be able to stay with Van den Broeck the longest. In the Tour of Belgium Jelle made progression every day, he’s on schedule for the Tour. If there’s an opportunity Bart De Clercq or Jelle Vanendert can also try to win a stage.”

Lotto-Belisol line-up for Critérium du Dauphiné:

Gaëtan Bille, Bart De Clercq, Sander Cordeel, Jurgen Van de Walle, Jurgen Van den Broeck, Jelle Vanendert, Dennis Vanendert and Tim Wellens.