Ineos Grenadiers V3.0 on view at Critérium du Dauphiné
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This article originally appeared on Velo News
The future of Ineos Grenadiers will be on full display this week at the Criterium du Dauphine.
Cycling’s super team will be leaning on its bevy of rising stars to lead during the Tour de France warmup race.
Tao Geoghegan Hart, Filippo Ganna, Eddie Dunbar, and Ethan Hayter will step into the spotlight during the Dauphine, running June 5-12.
Veterans Michal Kwiatkowski, Laurens De Plus, and Andrey Amador also line up.
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With Geraint Thomas set to race the Tour de Suisse, and defending champion Richie Porte skipping the Dauphine after pulling out of the Giro d’Italia, the team will look to its rising prospects to keep the ball rolling.
Ineos Grenadiers has dominated the key Tour warmup race since its formation in 2010, and the team’s won seven of the past 11 editions of the Dauphine.
The team won back-to-back editions with Bradley Wiggins in 2011 and 2012, and Chris Froome also won in 2013, 2015, and 2016. Thomas won in 2018, and Porte last year.
Can it keep its streaking going? It won’t be easy.
Arch-rival Jumbo-Visma will line up as the pre-race favorite Sunday in La Voulte-sur-Rhone, bringing such hitters as Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, and Jonas Vingegaard.
It will be telling to see how Ineos Grenadiers can match up against Jumbo-Visma across the difficult, climb-heavy route concluding next weekend in the high Alps.
All eyes will be on Geoghegan Hart
With the Tour less than one month away, there’s no hiding in the Dauphine.
With Egan Bernal still on the sidelines recovering from his January crash, and Richard Carapaz hot off finishing second at the Giro, cycling’s richest team is having to dig deep into its bench for next week’s big pre-Tour loop around France.
Two Dauphine rookies will have a chance to shine.
Dunbar is a winner of two races so far in 2022, including Coppi e Bartali and the Tour de Hongrie, but has never started the Dauphine or raced in the French Alps since his U23 days.
Hayter is also on a roll, winning four times this season, but like Dunbar, he’s never raced the Dauphine or in the Alps in a WorldTour-level race.
All eyes will be on 2020 Giro winner Geoghegan Hart. This will be his third Dauphine start, finishing 13th in 2018, and 10th overall last year.
The wheels came off in last year’s Tour debut, where he finished 60th overall.
Geoghegan Hart recently came off health issues to finish fifth at the Tour of Norway last week, and will be hoping for a strong ride next week to help his chances of making Ineos Grenadiers’ Tour selection.
Kwiatkowski, back for his fifth Dauphine start, is penciled in for a Tour slot and will be looking to confirm his ticket for July.
Ganna will be a favorite for the stage 4 time trial, while De Plus and Amador will both be riding to show off their condition ahead of July and a possible ticket to the Tour.
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