All set for the Alps
ByReuters
Published 03/06/2006 at 10:27 GMT
The search for a successor to American champion Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France begins in earnest this Sunday at the Dauphine Libere stage race. Considered the first major warm-up for the Tour, a strong performance in the eight-day race has often led to solid results in July.
CYCLING 2005 Dauphine Libere
Image credit: Imago
Armstrong himself won the event in 2002 and 2003 before going on to take two of his seven straight Tour victories.
Starting with a four km flat prologue in the streets of Alpine city Annecy on Sunday, the Dauphine Libere offers its usual potent mix of time trials and high mountain climbing.
A 43 km race against the clock on Wednesday at Saint-Galmier precedes a summit finish of the daunting Mont Ventoux on Thursday.
Two days in the Alps covering similar terrain to Tour stages then follow, starting when the riders cross the Izoard pass on Friday en route to Briancon.
Saturday's leg is by far the hardest, mirroring the 2006 Tour's stage 16 by using the Galibier and Croix-de-Fer passes before an unprecedented summit finish at La Toussuire.
Last year's Tour top-ten finishers Levi Leipheimer and Floyd Landis of America, as well as Spanish contenders Francisco Mancebo and Alejandro Valverde are all taking part.
However, the 2005 Dauphine winner Inigo Landaluze of Spain, recently cleared of a suspected doping offence, will not be present.
Kazakhstan's Alexandre Vinokourov, whose team manager Manolo Saiz of Spain was recently detained by police during an
anti-doping operation, will be taking part - but he'll be wearing a brand new jersey after Liberty Seguros dropped its sponsorship of the team.
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