UAE also sends strong team to the Dauphiné alongside Visma | LaB: "Ready to show what we can do," says Pogacar

With the three top riders at the start, cycling fans can witness the first test ahead of La Grande Boucle. The course is relatively tough, with some challenging climbs in the final weekend. The time trial on day four will also give a good indication of how teams are shaping up ahead of the most beautiful cycling race of the year, the Tour de France, which starts on Saturday 5 July.

"It will be a real rehearsal for the Tour de France," said sports director Andrej Hauptman about the Critérium du Dauphiné. "Same organizer, similar race. Tadej will certainly perform at the highest level there. We are used to him being at the top all season. We will see where we stand, and then we will finish the altitude training."

For this first test, UAE has decided to provide strong support for its leader, Pogacar. For the real climbing, the Slovenian world champion will be accompanied by Pavel Sivakov and Marc Soler. At the same time, Pogi will also be well supported in all other areas by Tim Wellens, Nils Politt, Domen Novak, and Jhonatan Narváez. These names are likely to feature in the upcoming Tour de France.

“We’ve just come off a really solid block of altitude training with the team and I’m feeling good," said world champion Pogacar, expressing his confidence in a press release. The Slovenian rode the Dauphiné once before in 2020, finishing fourth. Not long after, he won his first Tour de France. “The legs are there, and the motivation is high. It’s been a few years since I’ve been to the Dauphiné and we’re excited to be there and racing again after many weeks of training all together. We have a very good ambience in the group, and we’re ready to pin on race numbers and show what we can do," said Pogi.

Tadej Pogacar