Two months on from being caught up in the horror crash at Itzulia Basque Country, Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe) will return to action at this crucial pre-Tour de France preparation race.
The pair did not finish stage four of Itzulia, with Evenepoel suffering a broken collarbone in the incident, but will once again do battle on French roads with Roglič.
Jonas Vingegaard was also supposed to be competing at the Critérium du Dauphiné, but is yet to have recovered enough from his more serious injuries, which he suffered in the same crash.
Along with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the winner of the Giro d’Italia, the four are the favourites for Tour victory next month. The Dauphiné is always a key staging post before the biggest race of the year, and Evenepoel and Roglič will want to show that they will be able to challenge Pogačar.
There will be other general classification riders there hoping to prove their form, including Mattias Skjelmose and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek), Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale).
The route, as always, is a brutal one, with barely a flat road across the eight stages. There are four hilly days, an individual time trial, and then three days in the high mountains to finish.
There is not a day where the GC hopefuls can afford to drop their attention levels, with five summit - or at least hilltop - finishes in the race. The flat finishes that do exist will not necessarily be for pure sprinters, with stage one and five featuring multiple climbs before the final run-in.
Even the individual time trial is far from flat, with 427 vertical metres across 34.4km. It is not a hill climb, but also might not favour pure rouleurs.
Alpine triple treat
The week ends with three mountain-top finishes: Le Collet d’Allevard; Samoëns 1600, and the Plateau des Glières. The first two are Hors Categorie climbs that will likely decide the race, before one final first-category finish on the last day. All three are reasonably unheralded, so will be fresh roads for many of the contenders.
The Collet d’Allevard is 11.km at an average gradient of 8.1%, on a day which acts as a warm up. Stage seven will see an elevation gain of 4,268 metres over a distance of 145.5km, finishing on the climb to Samoëns 1600 - 10km at 9.3%. Whoever conquers this climb will surely conquer the Dauphiné.
Finally, as some kind of dessert, there will be 3,856m of elevation on stage eight, concluding with the Plateau des Glières climb, a casual 9.4km at 7.1%.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2024 contenders
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step)
****
It is difficult to know what kind of form the Belgian will be in when he lines up at the Dauphiné, given that he has not raced since his Itzulia crash and broken collarbone. However, when Evenepoel races, he goes for the win, and so cannot be discounted. In his last completed stage race, Paris-Nice, he finished second.
Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek)
****
There will only be two sprint opportunities at the Dauphiné, maximum, so the fast men will have to make it count. On lumpy terrain, with few pure bunch sprinters present, it might be very much the race for Mads Pedersen, who has not raced since finishing third at Paris-Roubaix.
Primož Roglič (Bora-Hansgrohe)
****
Just like his big rival Evenepoel, Roglič has not raced since that Itzulia crash, so how well he will fare is a mystery. His Bora-Hansgrohe career is yet to really ignite, with 10th place at Paris-Nice disappointing for the multiple-time Grand Tour winner. However, he is really good at week-long stage races, so expect more.
Sepp Kuss (Visma-Lease a Bike)
***
Potentially leading Visma-Lease a Bike in the absence of Jonas Vingegaard, Sepp Kuss could shine as he is given responsibility in France. Alongside his American teammate Matteo Jorgenson, who won Paris-Nice, the Vuelta a España champion will be an interesting one to watch.
Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers)
****
Winner of the Tour de Romandie in April, Carlos Rodríguez is clearly a man in form, unlike some of his rivals. He finished second at Itzulia before that, and might well lead Ineos at the Tour next month. If he can prove himself in the Alps at the Dauphiné, he could become a Tour favourite.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2024 stages
Critérium du Dauphiné previous winners
Last year’s top three
Previous five winners
2022 Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma)
2021 Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers)
2020 Dani Martínez (EF Pro Cycling)
2019 Jakob Fuglsang (Astana)
2018 Geraint Thomas (Sky)
