The 60th Dauphiné Libéré lives up to its tradition of serving up a mountainous challenge that continues to serve as the best barometer of fitness ahead of July’s Tour de France.

With Mont Ventoux and a seven-climb “queen’s stage” over the Croix de la Fer and the Télégraphe, the eight-day Dauphiné will give a clear indication of where everyone stands less than a month before the Tour’s start.

There’s no shortage of candidates, but like every June, it’s sometimes hard to read who’s firing at all cylinders and who’s simply looking to make some tests of fitness ahead of July’s big show.

First on the A-list is returning champion LeviLeipheimer, who’s blazed through an already successful spring campaignthat saw overall victory at the Tour of California and two stage wins atthe Tour de Georgia.

With those wins in the bag, the Discovery Channel champion has been able to fix his sights on making everything just right ahead of the Tour. For Leipheimer, that means the Dauphiné might not be the priority it has been the past few years.

“My fitness this year compared to last year when I won the Dauphine is good but not at the same level as last year at this point. I have had a different racing schedule this year and I have already had a lot of success as well,” Leipheimer told VeloNews. “I am coming off of a break and a few weeks of training, but I haven’t had any racing since the Tour of Georgia. However, I’ve done a lot of quality training this year, thanks to Max Testa, and all that hard work could payoff with more success at the Dauphiné. The bottom line is that I am relaxed without any pressure.”

Joining Leipheimer at the strong Discovery Channel team will be George Hincapie, a winner of two stages in the 2005 edition who’s coming off a strong first half of the Giro d’Italia, and Tom Danielson, who will be keen to make an impression in the French Alps.

Danielson is expecting to make his Tour debut this year and will wants to have a strong run at the overall.

“Like winning a stage in a grand tour was a big deal for me (Vuelta Espana 2006, Stage 17), I think the next step is to win a ProTour stage race,” Danielson said on thepaceline.com “I am going to target the Dauphiné and try to do well in the overall. I live near the course and I know all of the climbs and the roads pretty well. At the Dauphiné, there will be some big names riding and I hope to be able to show that I have truly taken my cycling up a level. I’ll be riding with the big boys.”

Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) is another rider who cannot be overlooked. The 1999 winner is in a similar situation as Leipheimer and has nothing to prove at the Dauphiné except perhaps to make a test. The Kazakh rider won atop Mont Ventoux in 2005 and could be a factor in the GC if he wants to.

It’s likely his Astana teammate Andrey Kashechkin who will be angling for a strong overall run. This will be Kashechkin’s chance to shine, as he’ll be working for captains Vinokourov and Andreas Klöden in the Tour.

Others to watch include Denis Menchov (Rabobank) and Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epargne), both looking to promote their candidacies ahead of the Tour.

Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Prodir) is hoping to use any leftover form from his excellent Giro performance (one stage, best climber’s jersey and three second places) to perhaps win at Ventoux.

Manuel Beltrán (Liquigas), Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) and Cadel Evans (Predictor-Lotto) are others that will likely be sticking their noses into the wind once the road goes up.

Team CSC will be a mixed squad of riders coming off the Giro (Dave Zabriskie and Vlodomyr Gustov) and others looking to hone their form ahead of the Tour (Bobby Julich and Christian Vande Velde).

“I’m not going for the overall win in Dauphiné, but I’m hoping for a stage win and also I’m going to test myself in a couple of stages,” Julich said on the team’s web page. “For me, it’s all about Tour de France. I’ll have to forget this spring, because it didn’t go according to plan. That’s why it was so good to be in the States and unwind a bit. But I feel in great shape and hopefully I’ll be peaking in the Tour. The Dauphiné Libéré has always been a tough one for me – even when I was just starting out as a pro.”

There are no shortage of sprinters, with Tom Boonen (QuickStep), Magnus Backstedt (Liquigas), Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) and Graeme Brown (Rabobank) on hand to bump shoulders.

The top French riders will come out of the closet, with such names as Christophe Moreau (Ag2r), a winner in 2001 and second last year, Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), Sandy Casar (FDJeux) and Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis).

The race opens with a flat 4.2km prologue through the streets of Grenoble, a change from Dauphiné tradition that typically included a climbing prologue to crank up the action. Hincapie, David Millar (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Zabriskie and Bradley Wiggins (Credit Agricole) will be among the favorites.

The 219km first stage into Roanne features a Cat. 4 with about 25km to go, but it’s the only stage that fits the classic profile for the sprinters, so they won’t want the chance to slip away.

The hilly 157km run into Saint-Etienne could serve up a breakaway with a Cat. 3 climb poised with about 25km to go and a fast 11km descent to the finish.

The 40.7km individual time trial will see the peloton’s TT specialists rise in a classic, long-distant race against the clock. Zabriskie, Millar and Julich should be bucking for the win on the undulating route starting and finishing in Anneyron.

The Dauphiné changes gears for the 197km fourth stage finishing atop Mont Ventoux, coming as this marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Tom Simpson on the arid, moonlike slopes on the fearsome climb.

Attackers will likely have some rope in the 195km march across Provence with a Cat. 2 stacked up about 20km from the descending finish into Digne-les-Bains.

The “queen’s stage” – a seven-climb trek over the Croix de la Fer – should crown the overall winner. A demanding, Tour-like climbing stage across the heart of the French Alps, the race finishes atop the Col de la Télégraphe with a short downhill run into Valloire.

The 129km finale into Annecy hits a Cat. 2 at 88km and the Cat. 1 Col de la Forclaz with 19km to go to assure a zesty ending to what’s always one of the most exciting races of the calendar.

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Be sure to check VeloNews.com throughout the week for Live, up-to-the-minute coverage of the 60th Criterium Dauphiné Libéré

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60th Criterium du Dauphiné Libéré (June10-17)Prologue, June 10: Grenoble-Grenoble (prologue), 4.2kmStage 1, June 11: Grenoble to Roanne, 219kmStage 2, June 12: Saint-Paul-en-Jarez to Saint-Etienne, 157kmStage 3, June 13: Anneyron-Anneyron (ITT), 40.7kmStage 4, June 14: Hauterives to Mont-Ventoux, 197kmStage 5, June 15: Nyons to Digne-les-Bains, 195kmStage 6, June 16: Gap to Valloire, 198kmStage 7, June 17: Valloire to Annecy, 129km