Video: Porte ready ahead of Dauphiné start

The Critérium du Dauphiné starts with the 5.7km prologue in Grenoble today and much has been written in the lead up to the race about defending champion Bradley Wiggins and his Team Sky colleagues.

Wiggins is gearing up for another push at GC success at the Tour de France and this race is seen as a crucial step in his preparations. Cyclingnews caught up with his teammate Richie Porte ahead of today's prologue and he spoke in our exclusive video about the team's hopes for the coming week.

The Australian is in his first season with the British outfit and has already justified his move by winning the Volta ao Algarve in February and finishing in fourth place, behind overall winner Wiggins, in the Tour de Romandie. He is realistic about his role at the Dauphiné, saying his main job will be to support Wiggins in the tough mountain stages. He also revealed that Wiggins is fitter than he was at this time last year but that he would need to be wary of the challenge of Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Cadel Evans (BMC).