Brace yourself for the ultimate pre-Tour de France test, the Critérium du Dauphiné this June 4th to 11th. The French stage race has mountains galore, one time trial and one sprint stage – and the defending 2022 Tour champion Jonas Vingegaard.

Last year, Vingegaard won the last mountain stage and placed second overall while helping Primoz Roglic win. This year, he's the Jumbo-Visma team leader looking to hone his form before July 1st and the start of his Tour de France title defence.

Primoz Roglic Wins Giro, Skips Dauphine

Roglic just won the Giro d'Italia and won't be racing, but Vingegaard has an A-Team hit squad that includes Christophe Laporte, Dylan Van Baarle, Tiesj Benoot and Steven Kruijswijk.

Big rivals for the Dauphiné title will be Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ).

And let's not forget rising American star Matteo Jorgenson. The Movistar rider won a stage in the Tour of Oman and the overall this year before coming into the spring with eighth in Paris-Nice, ninth in the Tour of Flanders and second in the Tour de Romandie. He should be a leader along with Enric Mas.

Mountains are crammed into this eight-day race. It's easier to mention the other stages first: a possible sprint in stage three and a 31-kilometer time trial stage four. Sprinters include Dylan Groenewegen, Ethan Hayter, and Sam Bennett.

The stage race starts with a bang and ends with a bang, next Friday, Saturday and Sunday, summit finishes every day. Saturday is the big one with the Madeleine and a 24km run to reach the Croix de Fer at 2000 meters. The final day over the Col de Porte, ends with a fast descent and fast uphill kick in Grenoble.

The Critérium du Dauphiné shines in its own right, but also serves as a strong indicator of who's hot and who's not with only three week's after – the Tour de France.