Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson will lead the two-pillar GC approach of Visma-Lease A Bike at the eight-day Critérium du Dauphiné starting in Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule on Sunday. 

The pair states that although the opening stage has challenges, they will turn to the last 3 stages to mark the overall classification. Le Corée d'Allevard in Stage 6, Samoan 1600 in Stage 7 and Plateau de Guglière in the Finale Stage 8.

Jorgenson also noted the difficulty of the mid-race time trial at Stage 4 from Saint-Germain-Laval to Neulise.

"The finale is very tough. No one can hide there. Even Wednesday's time trial will make a difference between GC candidates," said Jorgenson of the 35-kilometer test.

The Visma-Lease A bike team competing at the Criterium du Dauphine will also include Dylan Van Baal, Steven Kruiswick, Tiezibenut, Bertlemen and Cohen Buumann. And like many teams and riders, they will use the 6・day race as an important final preparation for the Tour de France starting at the end of the 8th month.

"We are in this race with GC ambition for ourselves and Sepp. We start with 7 strong riders, but most of them have been riding together recently to prepare for the tour," Jorgenson said.

"The competition with riders like Primoš Logric, Lemco Evenepoel and Juan Ayuso is very strong. The level will definitely be higher, but it will be better only after the last training block.

Jorgenson won the Paris-Nice and Dwysdore Vlaanderen this spring, he is looking forward to racing again, but his main goal is the Tour de France. "I'm interested in my form. We all do our best," he said.

The 2023 Vuelta a Espana winner Cus finished 8th in Volta ao Algarve and 13th in Volta Ciclista A Catalunya, and this season won the mountain classification in Itzulia Basque Country.

Sports Director Frans Maassen said the team would like to see how far KUSS and Jorgenson can go at GC. "In Paris-Nice, Matteo showed that he can handle the stage race for a week well. The qualities of Sepp were known for some time. He was integral to our recent success on some grand tours. Last year's Vuelta was the best achievement of his career. Hopefully he can also be a key part of this summer's success," he said.

"We are in this race with high expectations, but we also know that we will not be at our best in about 4 weeks until the Tour de France.

The team has not yet confirmed whether the Tour de France winner and last year's Dauphin winner Jonas Vingegaard will stand at the start line of this year's tour. 

He is now heading to an altitude training camp in Tignes, France, to continue his recovery from injuries sustained in the crash at Itzulia Basque Country on 4 May. 

In addition, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) recently returned to the race on a tour of Norway two months after the terrible crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen.

"As team management, we are not sure if Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert will fit again. It is not yet known exactly which riders will join the team because they will not be able to compete in the race. We have to wait and see. We want to do as much as we can in this race. It's a race that we have fond memories of," Maassen said.