It hasn’t just been the GC men proving (or not) their form at the Criterium du Dauphine, with Nacer Bouhanni having been the man to beat earlier in the race.

Bouhanni sprinted to two stage wins, his first victories since April and his first in a major stage race since he dropped a tier to join Pro Continental outfit Cofidis.

The Frenchman joined Cofidis from FDJ to ensure he would be the leading man for the sprints at the Tour, with his preferred lead-out men following him, and two stage wins – and the green points jersey – at the Dauphine show Bouhanni shouldn’t be discounted.

Winning the points classification at the Giro d’Italia last year, alongside five stage wins across the Giro and Vuelta a Espana, also showed what he is capable of.

But, with the likes of Mark Cavendish (Etixx-QuickStep), Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) all skipping the Dauphine and opting to test their pre-Tour de France form at the Tour de Suisse, Bouhanni knows he will face tougher competition in July.