Dylan Groenewegen will begin his final preparations for the Tour de France at the Criterium du Dauphiné starting Sunday in La Bourte-sur-Rhone, France. The Dutch sprinter will be part of the BikeExchange-Jayco team looking for a stage win in the eight-day race and hopes to gain momentum ahead of the French Grand Tour in July.

"After a little rest, I was very happy to get two wins in May and now I am ready for the last preparation block before the Tour de France. [It's a race I like, it's a hard race, and I think I have a good chance to win. There are a couple of stages that look like they could be sprint finishes, and it would be nice to get another win to keep the momentum going as we get closer to the Tour de France."

Grunewegen won four stages at the Tour de France between 2017 and 2019, but did not compete when he signed with Jumbo Visma in 2020.

He was banned for nine months for setting fire to Fabio Jacobsen's high-speed crash at the 2020 Tour de Pollogne and only returned to racing at the Giro d'Italia in May 2021, but did not compete at the Tour de France last season.

After moving from Jumbo Visma to Team Bike Exchange Jayco earlier this season, he was already assured of competing in the 2022 Tour de France and contending for a sprint victory.

Groenewegen had a strong start to the season with two wins in the Saudi Tour, one in the Tour de Hongri, and again in the Winnendal-Winnendal Classic.

Bike Exchange Jayco will send a team to the Criterium du Dauphiné, June 5-12, with Luke Durbridge, Alex Edmondson, and Amund Grondahl-Janssen supporting Groenewegen in the sprint, Nick Schulz, Tsgab Gourmay and Kevin Colleoni will concentrate on the hilly stages.

"My goal at the Dauphiné is to win a stage. Dylan won in May and is ready to go for a stage win at the Dauphiné. This race will be at a high level as usual and there are going to be a couple of parcours stages that will end in a bunch sprint, so I will be ready for those."

"We have young Colleoni for the hilly stages, so we will see what he can do on the harder stages and if he can make it to the top of the GC.