Based solely on his performances thus far this season - winning every week-long stage race he’s started - Floyd Landis (Phonak) would have to be the favorite for victory in the 58th Dauphiné Libéré when it kicks off on Sunday.

A flat, 4.1km prologue marks the start of an impressive route that hits some of cycling’s established giants, serving up the perfect backdrop as the Tour de France favorites go through a final dress rehearsal before July’s big show.

In all, 168 riders from 21 teams will be in Annecy for the start. Joining the 20 ProTour teams will be Agritubel, which lines up with Juan Miguel Mercado as its top GC hope.

The peloton will be ripe with big names looking to prove their heft ahead of the Tour, including Alejandro Valverde (Illes Balears), Iban Mayo (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Francisco Mancebo and Christophe Moreau (Ag2r), Chris Horner and Fred Rodriguez (Davitamon-Lotto), Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole), Alexandre Vinokourov (Astaná-Würth), Levi Leipheimer (Gerolsteiner), Denis Menchov (Rabobank), Floyd Landis (Phonak) and George Hincapie and José Azevedo (Discovery Channel) and Dave Zabriskie (CSC).

Unlike past Dauphiné prologues, this one is dead flat at Annecy, a charming city perched along the foothills of the Alps. Stage 1 is the longest of the week’s offerings and presents an ideal chance for the sprinters to stretch their legs ahead of the climbs on tap later in the race. The course pushes east out of the Savoie into Isere, hitting three Cat. 4 climbs in the final half of the course, with the final one about 20km from a downhill finish.

Stage 2 is another long, rolling stage that on paper could result into another mass gallop, but a bumpy finish into Saint-Galmier with four Cat. 4 climbs packed in the final part of the stage could favor a breakaway. The next day’s 43km time trial Bourg-de-Péage will produce the first real differences of the race. The course opens with a 170m climb on a Cat. 4 followed by three more undulating rises before a long, slowly descending run to the finish.

Mont Ventoux, a familiar presence in the Dauphiné, is back yet again for stage 4 and the Giant of Provence always proves decisive in any race. Vinokourov won here last year to deny Lance Armstrong a shot at victory in his last crack at the Ventoux. The course features two Cat. 4 climbs in the middle, but things go straight up when the peloton turns off at Bédoin as the route climbs the traditional southern approach.

Friday’s fifth stage takes in another legend with a pass over the Col d’Izoard, one of the most dramatic climbs in cycling. The route winds the bleak country north of Sisteron, hitting a Cat. 4 and a Cat. 3 in the first 60km. The beyond category I´zoard will separate the wheat from the chafe before a long, fast run into Briançon. The race finishes high on the citadel, so more gaps could be made in the final kilometers.

All eyes will be on Saturday’s 169km stage from Briançon to La Toussuire, which provides a preview of the same climbs the Tour de France will hit next month in the decisive final week. This is the Dauphiné´s “queen’s stage” and the winner will likely be decided on the road to La Toussuire. The route opens tackling another giant with the Col du Galibier in the first 30km. It’s a long drop down the Télégraphe before up the HC climb on the Croix de Fer at 115km. There’s a sharp descent before tackling the Cat. 2 Col du Mollard and another big drop before the final climb to 1,700m summit to La Toussuire.

The finale is no walk in the park, with one Cat. 3 and three Cat. 4 in the hills above Grenoble. It’s a steep and narrow drop of the final climb at the Cote de Roussets before the final flat 11km run to the finish.

58th Dauphiné Libéré (June 4-11)
Prologue, Sunday, June 4: Annecy-Annecy, 4.1kmStage 1, Monday, June 5: Annecy to Bourgoin-Jallieu, 207kmStage 2, Tuesday, June 6: Bourgoin-Jallieu to Saint-Galmier, 203kmStage 3, Wednesday, June 7: Bourg-de-Péage-Bourg-de-Péage, 43kmStage 4, Thursday, June 8: Tain-L´Hermitage to Mont Ventoux, 186kmStage 5, Friday, June 9: Sisteron to Briançon, 155kmStage 6, Saturday, June 10: Briançon to La Toussuire, 169kmStage 7, Sunday, June 11: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to Grenoble, 131km