Vinokourov leads the Dauphine Critérium
by Julie Smith on 2007-09-24The 60th Edition of the Criterium du Dauphine Libere, started on Sunday as part of the Pro Tour calendar. The competition is cataloged as one of the key lead up races for the cyclist to prepare for the Grande Boucle.
Because of the characteristics of the route, the Dauphine Libere appears to be a mini Tour de France, as a result, a very good indicator of the present form of the riders and their possibilities to be on the battle for the yellow jersey at the French Tour.
Well known teams as the AG2R, CSC, Astana and Quick Step are aiming to have a good performance this week, in view of the fact, that whoever makes a big impression at the Dauphine surely will be a big favorite for the Tour de France.
The Kazakh rider Alexandre Vinokourov of Astana is doing a great job for his team; he grabbed the overall race lead in the Criterium du Dauphine Libere on Wednesday after winning the third stage, a 40.7 km time-trial. The victory not only gives him the leadership, but it also affects the moral of his rivals. The 33 years old rider has a unique objective: to wear the yellow jersey at the Champs-Élysées on July 29th.
However, this week race is not over, there are four stages left for the Criterium to finish and the differences between cyclists are little: David Zabriskie from the CSC team, Evans (Predictor-Lotto) and Menchov (RUS, Rabobank) are less than 1 minute behind, waiting for a chance to step into the shoes of Vinokourov.
About The Author: Julie Smith is one of the most recognized copy writers on Sports Betting and currently writes for Instant Action Sports. Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety on your site, make sure to leave all links in place and do not modify any of the content.