The Dauphiné Libéré is a French race with an international cast of characters, but American riders are dominating the top positions.
Levi Leipheimer, the US leader of the Gerolsteiner team, gained the overall leader's yellow jersey after the fourth day of the week-long event by coming in one second behind Colombian rider Santiago Botero (Phonak) on the individual trial.
Botero sits in second place overall, followed by US racers Lance Armstrong (Discovery Channel, 30 seconds behind the leader), Floyd Landis (Phonak, 42 seconds back) and George Hincapie (Discovery, 1 minute 9 second behind the leader).
The Dauphiné Libéré in southeastern France is considered one of the last tune-ups for the Tour de France, which begins July 2. A good showing here is an indication that a rider is ready for the Tour.
From the size of things today, it appears that Armstrong could face some serious challenges from his own countrymen. However, the acid test comes Thursday with the stage-ending 25-mile climb of Mount Ventoux.
Results are available at VeloNews and CyclingNews, as well as the official Dauphiné Libéré website.
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