Watch the Critérium du Dauphiné LIVE and FREE on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand with Stage 1 getting underway on Sunday evening from 9.05pm (AEST).
Fresh from two wins in May, the 28-year-old is building back his form after a small break and like many other riders in the peloton, Dylan Groenewegen will be using Critérium du Dauphiné as a part of his preparation for the Tour de France. The Dutch star will be hoping to claim his fifth victory of the season at the race, with multiple stages marked out as potential sprint opportunities.
“After a small break I was very happy to take two victories in May,” said Groenewegen. “Now I’m ready for the final preparation block before the Tour de France and that continues at Dauphiné.”
Despite having 60 career wins, Groenewegen has yet to claim a victory at the French race and will be hoping 2022 is the year to do it with a strong team around him. For the fast finishes, Australian duo Alex Edmondson and Luke Durbridge will be key support riders for the finale along with Norwegian powerhouse Amund Grøndahl Jansen.
“It’s a race I like, it’s a hard race and I think we will have some good opportunities to try for a victory,” said Groenewegen. “There’s a couple of stages which look like they can be sprint finishes and it would be nice to get another win to keep the momentum as we get closer to the TDF.”
For the hillier stages the team will feature Ethiopian Tsgabu Grmay, Australian rider Nick Schultz and young Italian Kevin Colleoni.
With a mix of everything, the race features a summit finish on day three before a hard Queen stage on the eighth and final day of competition. A mid-race individual time trial on stage four breaks up the flow with stages one, two, five and six all with the potential to finish in reduced bunch sprints or breakaway victories.
BikeExchange-Jayco sports director Tristan Hoffman was keen to highlight the stage-winning potential that the versatility of the team will offer at the race.
“The goal for us at Dauphiné is to go for stage wins. We have Dylan who is in good shape, he had some wins in May and is ready to try to take a stage win in Dauphiné,” said Hoffman. “It will be a high level of competition as always at this race and with the parcours, there looks to be a few stages that could finish in bunch sprints, so we will be ready for those.
“For the hillier stages we have young Colleoni, so he will have a go and see what he can do on those hard stages and look if he can place himself high up on the GC.”
Team BikeExchange-Jayco Line-up:
Kevin Colleoni (ITA)
Luke Durbridge (AUS)
Alex Edmondson (AUS)
Tsgabu Grmay (ETH)
Dylan Groenewegen (NED)
Amund Grøndahl Jansen (NOR)
Nick Schultz (AUS)
