GILLES MAIGNAN: “A BUNCH SPRINT IS QUITE POSSIBLE”

June 2 ^nd 2024 - 05:07

While the inaugural stages of the Criterium du Dauphiné can sometimes lead to unexpected results, the course of the first stage around St Pourçain sur Sioule looks ideal for sprinters to seize a rare chance of winning a stage. That is the opinion of race director Gilles Maignan, the man who designed the route, and he expects team Decathlon-AG2R to control the bunch all day. “They don’t really have a GC leader but they took Sam Bennett who seems to be back in great shape. They might try to stop a big breakaway group from going and might find help in the teams of Mads Pedersen and Magnus Cort, who also look like potential winners. For me, a bunch sprint is quite possible,” he said. The stage ends up with a 29-km loop to be ridden twice and the bunch could be split if the weather allows: “The last nine kilometres are in the open and the riders will ride them twice. If the wind blows, there might be echelons that could prevent a sprint to take place and a group of escapees might go all the way.”