Critérium du Dauphiné contenders face TT 'with lots of variation'

Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) during the Volta a Catalunya time trial
Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) during the Volta a Catalunya time trial (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

While it's understandable that the high mountain tests in the Critérium du Dauphiné's final days are the principal focus for attention at the race, Wednesday's 16.4km time trial between Firminy and Roche-la-Molière is set to provide a very intriguing test of the GC contenders' credentials.

It's described by BikeExchange directeur sportif Marco Pinotti as "a typical Dauphiné TT, in as much as the riders won't spend a lot of time going in a straight line. There's a lot of variation, lots of turns to the left, to the right, ups and downs. It's a nice course, I really like it, it's a proper test," he told Cyclingnews having looked over the course on Monday.

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Peter Cossins has written about professional cycling since 1993 and is a contributing editor to Procycling. He is the author of The Monuments: The Grit and the Glory of Cycling's Greatest One-Day Races (Bloomsbury, March 2014) and has translated Christophe Bassons' autobiography, A Clean Break (Bloomsbury, July 2014). 

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