After the Italian Giro, the riders head to the second grand tour: the Tour de France. The Critérium du Dauphiné is a good rehearsal for that important cycling race. Tadej Pogacar dominated in Italy, but in France, he will face competitors like the Belgian Remco Evenepoel. Read all about the race, the route, and the favorites this year.
Critérium du Dauphiné
The Critérium du Dauphiné is a multi-day cycling race in the southeast of France. This race was established in 1947 by the newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, and the first edition was won by the Polish rider Edward Klabinski. Last year’s edition was won by Jonas Vingegaard. This race has a mountainous character and is therefore an ideal preparation for the Tour de France.
The Route
The climbers will be able to fully enjoy this edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The riders will face no fewer than five uphill finishes. The race begins gently with a relatively flat stage. Along the way, the riders will cover three categorized climbs and a bit more than 2,000 meters of elevation, but this is a stage where sprinters should seize their chance.
However, the sprinters will have a much tougher time in the following days. On the second day, the climbers can immediately get into action, with a particularly tough finale featuring the Côte de Saint-Georges-en-Couzan (7 km at 5.8%), Col de la Croix Ladret (3.1 km at 6.1%), and the Col de la Loge.
After another climbing stage and a summit finish, day four begins with a 34.4 km individual time trial. Climbers who fall behind after this time trial should not despair too much. After the time trial, there are still three very tough mountain stages. But before we really start climbing again, the fifth stage offers one last chance for the sprinters. In the sixth, seventh, and eighth stages, the climbers will be back in action.
Key Absentees
The biggest name of all may be missing from this scene. Jonas Vingegaard, last year’s winner, is absent due to injuries sustained in the Tour of the Basque Country. It is also uncertain if he will be able to ride in the Tour de France. However, Primoz Roglic, who escaped the same crash in the Basque Country unscathed, will be competing. He won the Critérium two years ago, so he might be able to reclaim his title.
Favorites
The challengers are certainly present, and the biggest one might be Remco Evenepoel. The Belgian champion will start as the leader of Soudal Quick-Step. Like Roglic, he is making his comeback after the horrific crash on April 4th last year. His team is completed by Mikel Landa and Ilan Van Wilder.
Another big name among the general classification contenders is Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard won this year’s Tour of the Basque Country. If he is in form, he is definitely world-class, but if he has a bad day, he can be quite inconsistent. He is in a strong team, with Nils Politt, Pavel Sivakov, and Marc Soler.
Multiple winner Chris Froome is also present for Israel-Premier Tech. The Briton has won the race three times and joins a small list of only four other riders who have done so. Froome has stated that the Tour de France is his main goal, so we will immediately see in the Critérium what shape he is in for that. The 39-year-old rider could thus become the record holder. He rides alongside Jakob Fuglsang and Dylan Teuns.
BORA-Hansgrohe can count on strong men Jai Hindley and Aleksandr Vlasov in addition to Roglic. They will want to form a block against Tiesj Benoot, Matteo Jorgensen, and Sepp Kuss of Team Visma / Lease A Bike.
The last Belgian in the lineup is Thomas De Gendt. He is riding his final year as a professional cyclist and has his sights set on the Vuelta. But of course, he will not pass up a chance for another grand tour. He rides with Andreas Kron at Lotto-Dstny.
Then there are a few riders who definitely have a chance in this race. Felix Gall for Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale, for example, or Antonio Tiberi and Santiago Buitrago of Bahrain Victorious. For Groupama-FDJ, David Gaudu will have his chance, while Lidl-Trek will have Tao Geoghegan Hart participating.
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