Date: Sunday June 8, 2025 - Sunday June 15, 2025
Start: Domérat
Finish: Plateau du Mont-Cenis
Total distance: 1201.9km
Stages: Eight
Defending champion: Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe)
Taking place in the southeast of France, the Critérium du Dauphiné is considered to be one of the most important races leading up to the Tour de France. Like many other big cycling races, the Critérium du Dauphiné was created by a newspaper to increase circulation, in this instance Le Dauphiné Libéré. After organising the race for many years, the French newspaper handed over its management to the Tour de France organisers ASO in 2010. The Critérium du Dauphiné now holds a prominent place in the ASO calendar of prestigious races. This year sees the race's 77th edition after having first taken place in 1947.
Only a handful of riders have won the eight-stage race three times, including Nello Lauredi, Luis Ocaña, Bernard Hinault, Charly Mottet, and Chris Froome. Eleven riders have defended their titles throughout the race’s history, and in recent years, Alejandro Valverde, Bradley Wiggins, and Chris Froome have won the race in back-to-back years.
Attracting some of the best riders, the Critérium du Dauphiné is a week-long showdown for those who will be racing in the Tour in July to fine-tune their form. Primož Roglič will not be returning to retain his title, however, cycling’s other ‘big three’ are all expected to be on the start line, offering a mouthwatering encounter between last year’s Tour podium, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepeol (Soudal-Quick-Step). It will be the first time the three meet in 2025 and will give an indication of what is to come a month later at La Grande Boucle.
The Dauphiné is set to be a battle between these three sensational riders, but they will face competition in the form of Enric Mas (Movistar Team), Lidl-Trek pair Mattias Skjelmose and Tao Geoghegan Hart, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) and Vingegaard’s teammate Matteo Jorgenson. The race also represents the swansong of French home favourite, Romain Bardet, who is retiring from road racing at the end of the race to move to a career in gravel racing.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 teams:
- Alpecin - Deceuninck
- Arkéa - B&B Hotels
- Bahrain - Victorious
- Cofidis
- Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
- EF Education - EasyPost
- Groupama - FDJ
- Ineos Grenadiers
- Intermarché - Wanty
- Israel - Premier Tech
- Lidl - Trek
- Movistar Team
- Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Jayco Alula
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team TotalEnergies
- Team Visma | Lease a Bike
- Tudor Pro Cycling Team
- UAE Team Emirates - XRG
- Uno-X Mobility
- XDS Astana Team
Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 route:
The 2025 edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné is not for the faint-hearted. Race organisers ASO have designed a spectacularly testing route that will bring out the best mountain goats in the peloton, with no flat stages at all in the eight days. Overall, there are five hilly stages, one individual time trial - which is by no means flat - and two back-to-back mountain stages to round off the week-long race.
The opening stage begins in Domérat in the Allier department in central France and unlike in previous years, the stage offers little chance for sprinters to get the first leader’s yellow jersey. The 189.2km route includes seven category four climbs all coming in the second half of the stage. It’s not impossible for a versatile sprinter to win the stage into Montluçon but it will be a tough ask if the punchier riders decide to launch on one of the climbs.
Stages two and three are also hilly affairs and like stage one should lean more towards the more punchier riders in the bunch. Stage three starts in the retiring Romain Bardet's hometown of Brioude, in the heart of the Massif Central. The Frenchman is almost certainly going to be on the attack on the road to Charantonnay, which takes in five categorised climbs.
The following stage is the only individual time trial of the race, spanning 17.7km. Although relatively short, it is not a flat course, so this will be a stage for the GC-style riders who also excel in the race against the clock.
Stage five is the easiest day of the eight but the 182.6km from Saint-Priest to Mâcon still has four categorised climbs along the way. It does have a flat finish and could be a battle between a group of breakaway riders and the team of a versatile sprinter.
Stage six is another hilly stage with five categorised climbs through the 139.1km route, but most importantly it has a summit finish, which comes after two back-to-back category two climbs - the Côte de Domancy (2.4km at 8.6%) and the Côte de la Cry (2.7 at 8.2%) where the stage finishes.
If stage six was not hard enough, stage seven is where the GC race will really start to get interesting with the first mountain finish of the race. On the 132.1km route from Grand-Algueblanche to Valmeinier 1800, there are three HC category climbs, including the 16.5km at 6.7% summit finish up to the ski station and this is where we expect to see the GC contenders start their battle in their quest for the yellow jersey.
The race concludes with another mountain stage, which finishes on Plateau du Mont-Cenis after 133.8km, starting at a height of 315m and ending at an altitude of 2,097m, taking on six categorised climbs on the way. The final of which, the Col du Mont-Cenis is 9.6km at 6.9% and tops out with 5km to go along a false-flat drag to the line. Whoever pulls on the yellow jersey at the end of the stage will be a well-deserved Dauphiné winner and will have laid down a significant marker to their rivals before the Tour, starting only 20 days later in Lille.
Stage one: Domérat - Montluçon / 189.2km
Stage two: Prémilhat - Issoire / 204.6km
Stage three: Brioude - Charantonnay / 202.8km
Stage four: Charmes-sur-Rhône - Saint-Péray / 17.7km (ITT)
Stage five: Saint-Priest - Mâcon / 182.6km
Stage six: Valserhône - Combloux / 139.1km
Stage seven: Grand-Algueblanche - Valmeinier 1800 / 132.1km
Stage eight: Val-d'Arc - Plateau du Mont-Cenis / 133.8km
