Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025: Key Details

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 is the 77th edition of the race, and is being held between June 8 and June 15. Its mountainous terrain and spot in the calendar, just three weeks before the start of the Tour de France, makes it a favourite warm-up race for the major GC contenders. 

The race was created in 1947 by the newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, and was known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré until 2010, when it came under the control of Tour de France organisers ASO. 

Despite its status as one of the key warmup races for the Tour, relatively few riders have won both races in the same year. Chris Froome won both three times, in 2013, 2015, 2016, while Bernard Hinault did the double in 1979 and 1981. Most recently, Jonas Vingegaard won both races in 2023. 

Taking place in the Rhône-Alps region in the southeast of France, the eight-day stage race favours climbers, and tends to feature a number of Tour de France climbs including Mont Ventoux and the Col du Galibier. This year the Col de la Madeleine on Stage 7 is the most infamous, with the majority of the toughest climbs packed into that penultimate stage. 

Home favourite Romain Bardet is set to retire from road racing at the end of the Dauphiné, so expect some gutsy performances from the veteran Frenchman, while the entire 2024 Tour de France podium - Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel - are on the provisional start list. 

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025: The route

This year the race will begin with a 189km stage from Domérat to Montluçon, in the Allier department, with a bunch sprint likely but some late climbs offering a potential springboard for a puncheur to take the yellow jersey.

Stages 2 and 3 - the latter beginning in Romain Bardet's home town of Brioude - are firmly in puncheur territory, with category 3 and 4 climbs aplenty as well as the odd cat 2. Stage 4 is a zippy 17.7km time trial with a large bump in the middle of the parcours to liven things up and potentially cause problems for the TT specialists. 

The hills return on Stage 5, the last possible outing for the sprinters, while Stage 6 is where things start to get serious, with the first Cat 1 climb - the Côte de Mont-Saxonneux - 40km or so from the uphill finish at the Combloux ski resort. From there, it's into the major mountains and the real GC showdown. 

The riders will tackle three HC climbs and 4,700m of elevation gain on Stage 7: the 2000m Col de la Madeleine straight out of the gate, the Col de la Croix Fer at the halfway mark, with a summit finish at Valmeinier 1800 to finish. 

The final stage is comparatively gentler, with six climbs but only two Cat 1s, including one - the Col du Mont-Cenis - shortly before the finish line at the Plateau du Mont-Cenis. 

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025: Stage-by-stage

Critérium du Dauphiné: The jerseys

Like at other ASO-run races including the Tour de France, the leader of the race - the rider with the lowest overall time - wears a yellow jersey, the best young rider (aged 25 or under) wears a white jersey, and the points leader (collecting points from sprints) wears a green jersey. The King of the Mountains (rider with the most points over classified climbs) wears a dark blue jersey with white polka-dots, a similar design to that at the Tour de France but with different colours.

Critérium du Dauphiné: Past winners

2024: Primož Roglič (Slo) Bora-Hansgrohe

2023: Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma
2022: Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma
2021: Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
2020: Daniel Martínez (Col) EF Pro Cycling
2019: Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana
2018: Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky
2017: Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana
2016: Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
2015: Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
2014: Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp
2013: Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky
2012: Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky
2011: Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team Sky