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@andyp
The Dauphine is a major race in it's own right but is always overshadowed by the Tour a month later.
In recent years it has been a poor indicator of Tour form, mainly due to widespread blood doping which means those aiming to win the Tour extracting blood around the time of the Dauphine, causing a drop off in form. Normally this was done after the rider had tested their form, seeing odd results where someone would win the stage one day, then lose 15 minutes the next.
I think Wiggins' chances in the Tour are like him, slim. The route does him no favours whatsoever as it is heavily weighted towards the climbers, with just one individual time trial on the penultimate Saturday of the race, so he's not going to have much chance to gain any time on his rivals, most of whom will gain time on him in the Pyrenees and the Alps. A top ten is possible, anything higher would be a bonus.