Monday 29 June 2015 17:25, UK
Chris Froome is right where he wants to be ahead of the Tour de France, after victory in the Criterium du Dauphine..
He’s not 100 per cent yet, which he admitted himself, but you can’t go into the Tour at 100 per cent. He’ll hope to start the Tour at 95 per cent knowing the other five per cent will come during the race.
Froome's performance at the Dauphine was impressive, even though he didn’t dominate. Tejay van Garderen wasn’t far behind him, but then he’s not at the same level as Froome in a Grand Tour. And don’t forget Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador both chose to miss the race too.
I think Froome did what he had to do to win and fair play to him for really going at it. He didn’t get much help in getting rid of Van Garderen on the last climb of the eighth (and final) stage.
Everybody probably thought Van Garderen would get dropped earlier than he did, but Froome kept attacking until he opened the gap he needed. I imagine he’ll be quite happy with that performance.
Overall Team Sky look to be coming into form at the right time, but they didn’t do particularly well in the team time trial at the Dauphine, which was disappointing.
However, the team time trial at the Tour de France isn’t a long stage and with Geraint Thomas and Richie Porte back in the line-up I don’t think Sky will lose time like they did at the Dauphine.
I expect them to go very close to the top three or four on the team time trial at the Tour which will strengthen Froome’s challenge for overall victory.
Pinot’s problems
Thibaut Pinot has been riding well at the Tour de Suisse, but then you see him losing time at the end of two stages. This is where the French hopefuls, the likes of Pinot and Romain Bardet, always fall down.
In the Tour de France, no one is taking any prisoners in the sense that if someone knows your weakness they will strategise and take advantage of it.
In last year’s Tour, Vincenzo Nibali and his team-mates exploited their rivals’ weakness on the cobblestones. We now know Pinot isn’t the greatest finisher, and Nibali and Astana will play on it at this year's race.
In the closing kilometres of many of the stages of the Tour, there could be crosswinds, tailwinds, roundabouts and all kinds of ‘road furniture’. Everybody will know that Pinot is the kind of guy who can lose time in those conditions and will look to exploit his weakness. He could lose vital time before the first mountain stages.
Normally guys like Pinot would also lose three to four minutes in a time trial but, given the Tour features only one short individual time trial, riders like Pinot and Bardet will not be allowed as much freedom by the peloton as in previous years.
Gradual build-up
One reason Alberto Contador and Nairo Quintana chose to miss the Dauphine and ride the Route de Sud is that it allows them to prepare for the Tour de France away from the limelight. It also means they don’t tip their hand to rivals like Froome and Nibali.
Riding the Route de Sud enables them to build towards the Tour gradually. It’s only four days of racing, there’s not an awful lot in it. I don’t think Contador or Quintana will be looking to gain a psychological edge over each other in the race. They are riding for race miles rather than performance.
With their rivals racing at the Dauphine or in Switzerland, beating the guys riding the Route de Sud wouldn’t mean anything. Everybody would look and say: ‘great, but who was there?’
Both Contador and Quintana will just be looking to fine-tune their bodies for the big one in two weeks’ time.
