Local newspaper Le Dauphine said it was the deadliest accident in the French Alps since 2003.

CNN: 9 dead in France avalanche, police say

In the ensuing inquest, there were accusations he had peaked too early in the season, most notably at the Dauphine Libere.

BBC: SPORT | Other Sport... | Cycling | Iban Mayo

Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins, who has won the Paris Nice and Criterium du Dauphine this season, will start the three-week race as favorite.

CNN: 2010 champion Andy Schleck out of this year's Tour de France

He won stage five of the Tour de France, won two stages in the Dauphine Libere, was third in the Milan-san Remo and won a track gold at the Olympics.

BBC: SPORT | Other Sport... | Cycling | Stuart O'Grady

"The first sign in two years that I was back on track came on Friday's stage when I finished second, " said Mayo, whose last win was overall in the Dauphine Libere in 2004.

BBC: SPORT | Other Sport... | Cycling | Mayo masters Alps to claim stage

It completes a miserable 2012 for Schleck, who has been forced to abandon preparatory stage races such as Paris-Nice, the Tour of Catalunya and the Dauphine through a mixture of injury and illness.

CNN: 2010 champion Andy Schleck out of this year's Tour de France

Heads of departments at the best universities, such as Toulouse 1, Grenoble 1 or Paris-Dauphine, waste time bending the rules to lure the professors and students they want, or to raise private finance.

ECONOMIST: A much-needed but still half-hearted set of reforms