In early June, with the Giro completed, most pros focusing on the Tour de France are into their final preparation phase. This can include races like Luxembourg (Armstrong, F Schleck), Switzerland (Armstrong, Cancellara, both Schlecks, Vande Velde) and the Dauphiné Libéré (Contador, Menchov).
The Dauphiné runs right through our area of southern France next week with a 49k time trial starting in Monteux; we’ll have more on that soon. Besides the racing, many riders are pre-riding key routes, as some of the higher passes have just opened. Our photo above shows Contador on the Port de Balès during his recent recon mission in the Pyrénées.
© 2012