Written by: Jonathan Tessler

French cycling stage race the Dauphine Libere is set to be organized by the current owners of the Tour de France this June ahead of the eventual takeover.

The race takes place just three weeks before the Tour de France, the ‘Dauphine’ is considered a very tough one-week event held around the Alps, and is thus considered one of the key warm-up races for many of the Tour’s top GC riders.

The Dauphine has been held since 1947, and has been organized by the Dauphine Libere newspaper, but it is now set to be taken over by ASO (Amaury Sports Organization), which runs the Tour, Paris-Nice and a number of other major one-day classics as well as major events like the Paris-Dakar Rally and the French golf Open.

The Dauphine Libere newspaper announced the news in its Thursday edition.

“We have handed over the organization of the 2010 edition to ASO. Talks over ending the race (as organized by the Dauphine) are at an advanced stage,” said Henri-Pierre Guilbert, the chairman of the Dauphine Libere group.

According to internal sources at the newspaper the race was incurring losses annually.

Gilbert said ASO was a logical choice to take over the race.

“It’s the most legitimate choice given their experience in organizing races,” he added.

“We want the race to survive. It is an important part of our regional heritage.”

ASO, which also owns races in Belgium, Oman and Qatar will henceforth own and run all the major stage races in France.

In 2008 the company (ASO) also increased their stake in Unipublic, which owns 49 percent of the Tour of Spain.

This year’s edition of the Dauphine Libere is likely to attract a host of big stars.

Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong, winner in 2002 and 2003, is expected to follow current yellow jersey champion Alberto Contador by competing at the race.