Dauphine Libere Underway, Valverde Already Victorious

The Dauphine Libere Parcours

The Dauphine Libere stage race commenced on Sunday, with the American Levi Leipheimer taking the first leader's jersey after the short opening prologue time trial. Stage one was an uphill sprint, and Alejandro Valverde won ahead of fellow GC contenders Cadel Evans, Leipheimer, Robert Gesink and Carlos Sastre.

Sastre has been all but invisable thus far in 2008, but seems to have decent form as we approach the most important bike race of the year, the Tour de France. Gesink has been quiet since his epic meltdown at Paris Nice a few months ago, and looks to be rebuilding his form for a run at the polka dots in the Tour. Evans is on track as well, and will be a formidable adversary for Valverde and a few others in the hunt for the Malliot Juane in less than a month.

Meanwhile, some other Tour de France hopefuls are racing at the Tour of Luxembourg, a race previously won by lance Armstrong (1998), Bernard Hinault (1982), and Christian Vande Velde (2006). CSC has Frank and Andy Schleck at their home tour, as each of the young stars plan for the July Tour, and their teammate Fabian Cancellara will hope for good form again in July, like last year when he took the yellow jersey for his Danish team.

Now inside a month, the main topic of discussion will be the Tour de France. Even when talking about other races (Dauphine, Luxembourg, Tour de Swiss), they will be used merely as indicators for who will have the best chances once the Grand Boucle arrives. The heat of the cycling season has fallen, as we charge toward the second half of the 2008 cycling season.