Not very talkative but extremely calm, Jonas Vingegaard is ready for the Critérium du Dauphiné and his physical condition and objectives were described by Visma-Lease a Bike's coach Grischa Niermann on the eve of the race. The Danish champion has only 10 days of racing in his legs and the last time we saw him compete was at Paris-Nice. Now Vingegaard is back, he's doing well, and for him, this Dauphiné will be an important test ahead of the Tour de France.

"Jonas is obviously our leader," Grischa Niermann explained. "The competition is fierce with Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel, but we are used to always looking at ourselves and not at others."

Visma appears to be a very strong team, galvanized by the pink race won with Simon Yates. "This Dauphiné is an excellent opportunity for us to see where we stand. Most of our riders are returning after a long high-altitude training camp and are eager to start racing again. The fourth day's time trial is an excellent test of strength and the final mountain stages are truly challenging. That's when we'll see where we are."

Vingegaard will be the undisputed team captain, but Niermann and Visma-Lease a Bike also intend to count on Matteo Jorgenson, second at the Dauphiné last year and winner of Paris-Nice. With Jorgenson, Sepp Kuss will also be present, who will play a crucial role in the team that will go to the Tour de France. "The Dauphiné is the ideal race because it integrates well with the final training block before the Tour. It has worked well for us in recent years because the Dauphiné is a very high-level race that never lies. Obviously, the biggest goal is the Tour de France. But we will do everything possible to win the Dauphiné as well."