How To Watch Every Important Race Leading Up to the Tour de France
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The Giro d’Italia wrapped-up this past Sunday, which means it’s time to start thinking about July’s Tour de France. Most of the riders competing in this year’s Tour–at least the contenders–have built their seasons around the French grand tour, including the races they’ll use to put the finishing touches on their form. Here’s a look at who’s expected to go where–and why.
Critérium du Dauphiné
When: June 4-11
How to Watch: Peacock
For years the Critérium du Dauphiné has been the pre-Tour event preferred by most Tour de France contenders, with several riders who have won the 8-day French stage race going on to win the Tour several weeks later. And for good reason: it’s organized by ASO, the company who organizes the Tour, so there are always a few stages in the Dauphiné designed to mirror (or at least simulate) key stages the riders will face in July. In other words: it offers competition and reconnaissance all in one package, which makes it the ideal preparation for riders hoping to do well in July.
As such, it has attracted several pre-Tour contenders this year, including Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), the defending Tour de France champion and last year’s Dauphiné runner-up. Vingegaard should be joined on the starting line by Colombia’s Egan Bernal and Daniel Martinez (both INEOS Grenadiers), Spain’s Enric Mas (Movistar), and Ecuador’s Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost). And keep an eye on American Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar), who won the Tour of Oman earlier in the season and has turned heads all spring.
ZLM Tour
When: June 7-11
How to Watch: TBD
Sprinters often head to ZLM Tour, a 5-day stage race in the Netherlands, to top-off their Tour de France fitness. This year’s start list is a bit thin (as we went to press) with one key expectation: Great Britain’s Mark Cavendish (Astana)–fresh from his stage victory at the recent Giro d’Italia–is slated to take the start. Cav and his leadout train should get four chances to get their timing right on the ZLM Tour’s generally-flat stages (the first day offers a short Prologue), alongside sprinters such as Great Britain’s Sam Welsford (Team DSM) and the Netherlands’ Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma).
Tour de Suisse
When: June 11-18
How to Watch It: FloBikes
Riders who want to peak a bit later in the Tour de France (especially during years in which the Tour’s third week is super-hard) often head to the 8-day Tour de Suisse, which takes place a week later than the Critérium du Dauphiné. Riders from the Giro d’Italia also make the trip, as the Swiss tour allows them to enjoy a brief rest while still offering a chance for them to capitalize on whatever fitness they gained from the Italian grand tour. But they all need to be careful: the mountainous event is generally considered to be one of the hardest week-long stage races on the calendar. This year’s start list is still being finalized, but at the moment it’s headlined by Belgium’s Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), who’s hoping to peak for the world road race championships a few weeks after the Tour de France.
Baloise Belgium Tour
When: June 14-18
How to Watch It: GCN+
Along with the ZLM Tour, the Baloise Tour of Belgium is a great place to catch sprinters sharpening their legs for the Tour de France. This year’s 5-day race features Australia’s Caleb Ewan (Lotto Destny), Belgium’s Jasper Philippsen (Alpecin-Fenix), the Netherlands’ Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-Quick Step), and Norway’s Alexander Kristoff (Uno-X)--all recent Tour de France stage winners. With the exception of Cavendish, this is the best pre-Tour mix of sprinters we’ll see prior to the Grand Boucle itself–and with Dutch Classics superstar Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) thrown in for good measure, it will definitely be an exciting race from start to finish.
La Route d’Occitanie - La Dépêche du Midi
When: June 15-18
How to Watch It: GCN+
This tiny stage race in the Midi region of southwestern France always has a surprise Tour de France contender or two added to its start list–mainly because it spends much of its four stages climbing in the Pyrenees. So while the starting list is filled with second-tier French and Spanish teams with names most fans have never heard of, there are a several WorldTour teams as well: INEOS Grenadiers, EF Education-EasyPost, Groupama-FDJ, AG2R Citroën, Cofidis, Arkéa Samsic, and Movistar. We’re still a week or two away from seeing the final start list, but we bet at least a few Tour stars will participate at the last-minute.
Slovenian National Championships
When: June 23-25
How to Watch It: TBD
For the past two seasons, Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar has used the 5-day Tour of Slovenia as his last racing stop before the Tour de France. But the two-time Tour de France champion broke his wrist at Liège–Bastogne–Liège in late-April, and was “a bit stupid” in trying to get back on the bike too soon, delaying the healing process and forcing him to miss his home tour. He’s doing two high altitude training camps instead, with some Tour-recon in between. Then he’ll compete in the individual time trial and road race events at the Slovenian National Championships before heading to the Tour de France with the hopes of bringing a national championship jersey or skinsuit when he goes.
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