Top Tens Dauphine vs Tour de Suisse

Dauphine Top 10
1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 27.34.39
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence-Lotto 0.39
3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 1.24
4 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank 2.47
5 Haimar Zubeldia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3.19
6 Cyril Dessel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 4.01
7 Mikel Astarloza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4.25
8 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre 4.29
9 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis 4.45
10 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Quick Step 5.13

Tour de Suisse Top Ten
1 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Liquigas 35.43.46
2 Andreas Klöden (Ger) Astana 0.49
3 Igor Anton Hernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.55
4 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre 2.11
5 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team High Road 2.37
6 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 2.57
7 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Team High Road 2.58
8 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 4.08
9 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 4.18
10 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank 4.26


Do these tune up races matter? Sucess at the Dauphine usually translates to trouble in the last week of the tour. Armstrong won it twice during years he won the tour. Leipheimer won it in 06 when he finished the tour 13th, Moreau won it twice-never finishing the acompanying tour better than 37th. Other 20th century winners include Inigo Landaluze and Tyler Hamilton. So no real predictive element here.
As for the Tour de Suisse, hard to say. It never seemed to help Ullrich who won in 06 and 04. Additional winners include Karpets(07), Aitor Gonzalez(05), Vinokourov(03), and Zulle(02). Armstrong, Carmenzind,Cassagrande, and Garzelli round out a real rouge's gallery of dopers.
Either way names like Valverde, Evans, Cunego, and Kirchen are sure to be heard at the tour. Shleck, Dessel, Gesink,and Lovkvist as well. Milram's Knees always seems to turn up near the sharp end of races, but I don't know if he is going to the tour or not.
Ster Elektrotoer shows the sprinters are sharp-at least Cavendish and, too bad for him, Boonen. Now a few weeks of National Championships and waiting for the big show to kick off.