The Criterium du Dauphine has established itself as the final chance to test the legs ahead of the Tour de France. A prestigious event in it's own right, this year's champion Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) joins a list of winners that includes Chris Froome, Bradley Wiggins, Alejandro Valverde, Miguel Indurain, Greg LeMond, Bernard Hinault, Eddy Merckx and Jacques Anquetil to name just a few of the legendary winners.
As well as a final opportunity to test the legs, the Dauphine offers a platform to test new equipment in a race scenario. Many component and apparel manufacturers coincide their 2018 product launches with the biggest race of the year in July. Whilst riders will have been training with the products for many months, you can never quite replicate a race.
Nobody wants to see or run the risk of equipment failure at the Tour de France, so more and more 2018 products have become commonplace at the Dauphine in recent years.
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The 2016 edition was the year of the shoe. Chris Froome, Dan Martin and Team Giant-Alpecin wore the Sidi Shot, Mavic Comete and Shimano S-Phyre respectively, all of which were subsequently released in the months that followed, ahead of the 2017 season.
This 2017 edition of the race became the year of the frameset. BMC, Specialized, Trek, Merida and Lapierre all debuted new frames.
Whilst BMC officially launched the latest Teammachine SLR01 ahead of the race at a press camp in Switzerland, the remaining frames have yet to be officially launched and it is expected we will hear the full details during, or soon after, the Tour de France in July.
1. Specialized Tarmac SL6
2. Trek Emonda SLR
3. Merida Reacto 3
4. Lapierre Aircode 2
5. BMC Teammachine SLR
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
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