Bradley Wiggins favourite to claim the top overall position at the Criterium du Dauphine 2012
Bradley Wiggins of Team Sky Procycling is all set to test his splendid form at the Criterium du Dauphine 2012.
The cyclist is having a terrific season and has already filled his bag with numerous victories in the first half of the season.
The British registered overall victories at the Paris-Nice and the Tour de Romandie along with a third place finish at the Volta ao Algarve.
Wiggins also bagged stages at the Paris-Nice, Volta ao Algarve and the Tour de Romandie in the current season.
He currently holds the sixth overall position after the UCI World Tour Elite Men rankings with a total number of 224 UCI points to his credit.
Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver of Team Katusha is leading the category with 404 UCI points in his back pocket.
Tom Boonen, Vincenzo Nibali, Samuel Sanchez and Peter Sagan occupied the next four spots.
The 32-year-old will now be tested amongst some of the finest cyclists at the Criterium du Dauphine 2012.
David Millar of Team Garmin-Barracuda has already declared Bradley as a favourite for an overall victory at the French race.
British news paper, The Independent quoted Millar as saying, "He'll be expected to win the Dauphiné and that's the mindset he has now in every race he does".
“It's going to be a bit of a Sky display, I think. [The Dauphiné] is the closest to a mini-Tour de France because it's got all the elements on a slightly shorter scale”.
“It's a bit of a weird one, because if you're going well there's a good chance you'll be going well at the Tour”.
“Brad and the people around him know what he's doing there, there's no reason why he can't do very well there and even better at the Tour".
The 64th running of the Criterium du Dauphine is scheduled from June 3-10. The race will start in Grenoble and will finally conclude at Chatel after seven gruelling stages.
Winner of the race will be awarded with a hundred UCI points while the second and the third position holders will earn 80 and 70 points in the respective order.
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