We take a look at the route for the traditional Tour tune-up at the Criterium du Dauphine.
Preview of the 65th edition
The favourites for victory at this summer’s Tour de France will get one last chance to fine-tune their form at the Criterium du Dauphine in France from June 2-9.
In each of the last 11 years, the eventual winner of the Tour on the road has used the Dauphine as their tune-up race, with those who take glory in July often appearing on the podium in this race.
Chris Froome, Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) will all be on the start line for a demanding week of racing that represents a key warm-up for their bid for the yellow jersey three weeks later.
A mountainous parcours awaits the riders, with only one of the eight stages not featuring a barrage of categorised climbs.
There are two true summit finishes, on stages five and eight, and two
hors-categorie ascents for the riders to negotiate, including the legendary Alpe d’Huez, which will also feature twice in the Tour.
Team Sky arrive in France in search of a third consecutive victory in the race, after Sir Bradley Wiggins’s back-to-back triumphs in 2011 and 2012.
Stages
Stage 1: Sunday 2 June – Champery to Champery, 121km
There is no gentle introduction to this year’s race. With the ink still dry on the sign-on board, the riders are sent up a category-one climb, the Cote de Morgins, which summits just 12.5km from the start line. It is the first of the day’s two category-one climbs and four categorised ascents in total, and although it is unlikely to shake-up the general classification, it is a clear indicator of the terrain to come. A breakaway could go clear on the climb, but it is likely to be hauled back in on the Col du Corbier, after 76km, or Pass du Morgins, after 101.5km. That should bring the bunch back together ahead of a category-three climb and short flat to the finish line.
TV coverage: Highlights on Eurosport 2 from 2230.
Stage 2: Monday 3 June – Chatel to Oyonnax, 191km
The race moves west across the southern shore of Lake Geneva on another hilly route littered with no fewer than six categorised climbs, five of which come in the second half of the stage. The two crucial ones will be the third last and last – the Cote du Communal and Col du Sentier. Both category two, the Communal, which summits 28km from home, will likely see the peloton thinned down over its 5.6km distance, before the Sentier, 11.5km out, could see a final selection made ahead of a downhill sprint to the line for either a lone attacker or a reduced bunch.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport 2 between 1200-1400.
Stage 3: Tuesday 4 June – Amberieu-en-Bugey to Tarare, 167km
Stage three is the gentlest road stage of the race, with just two category-three climbs on an otherwise flat route to negotiate. The first, the Col de Echarmeaux, is unlikely to have a major impact on the race other than slowing down the breakaway, but the second, the Col des Sauvages, offers more scope for gaps to open up. It averages 5.5 per cent in gradient over its 4km distance – just enough to encourage attacks ahead of another breakneck descent to the finish line. It will be a good chance for the breakaway to stay clear, but if they fail, a reduced-bunch sprint is likely.
TV coverage: Highlights on Eurosport 2 from 1830.
Stage 4: Wednesday 5 June – Villars-les-Dombes to Parc des Oiseaux, 32.5km individual time trial
Day four sees the riders given a break from the mountains but thrust into a demanding time trial. The mid-length course includes prolonged stretches of straight road, so will reward those who can merge sustained high power outputs with streamlined form. There are a handful of sharp, technical turns, however, that will leave little room for error on an otherwise high-speed, pan-flat route.
TV coverage: Highlights on Eurosport 2 from 1830.
Stage 5: Thursday 6 June – Gresy-sur-Aix to Valmorel, 139km
The race heads straight back uphill on day five for a lumpy stage containing three categorised climbs and an
hors-categorie summit finish. The opening 125km of the 139km stage should see a breakaway go clear but, with the first three climbs only category three and four, there is unlikely to be much action among the general classification contenders. However, that all changes just under 13km out, when the road rises steeply up to the finish line atop the Montee de Valmorel. What is left of the breakaway will be swept up early, and then the favourites for overall victory will come to the fore as they look to put time into their rivals over the climb’s 12.7km distance and average gradient of seven per cent.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport 2 between 1200-1400.
Stage 6: Friday, June 7 – La Lechere to Grenoble, 143km
Day six serves up another hilly stage with four categorised climbs, only this time ending with a long and technical descent to the finish line. After a flat opening 50km in which a breakaway will pull clear and probably open up a sizeable gap, the climbs arrive in quick succession: Cote d’Arvillard (category four, 60.5km), Col du Barioz (category one, 80.5km), Col des Ayes (category two, 90.5km) and Col des Mouilles (category four, 98km). The road then rolls gently for about 20km, before plummeting down to the finish line in Grenoble. The day is another golden chance for a breakaway rider to claim victory.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport 2 between 1200-1400.
Stage 7: Saturday 8 June – Le Pont-de-Claix to Superdevoluy, 187.5km
The race’s queen stage is more than worthy of the title thanks to five categorised climbs, including the iconic,
hors-categorie Alpe d’Huez. After leaving Le Pont-de-Claix, just south of Grenoble, the road the road rises gently up along a valley bottom towards the foot of the climb to Alpe d’Huez, in Le Bourg-d’Oisans. From there, it is a 13.2km, twisting ascent to the top averaging 8.1 per cent in gradient, after which the riders will then have to dig in again to reach the adjoining, category-two Col de Sarenne. Another tricky, technical descent is followed by the category-one climb up the Col d’Ornon, still with only 101km ridden. The route then rolls gently for around 50km, before two more back-to-back ascents to finish the stage: the category-one Col du Noyer and then the category-three rise to the finish line. Alpe d’Huez comes too early in the stage to have a decisive say in the outcome, but the Noyer could provide the ideal platform for a lone attacker to take a famous win.
TV coverage: Live on Eurosport 2 between 1200-1400.
Stage 8: Sunday 9 June – Sisteron to Risoul, 155.5km
Last day of the race, but that doesn’t mean things get easy. On the contrary, three final categorised climbs, including a potentially race-deciding summit finish, await the riders. The first 100km should see a breakaway go clear but relative calm in the peloton, with the only test being the category-three Cote de la Breole, after 52.5km. However, the bunch could well get blown apart on the 10.4km climb to Col de Vars, which summits at 119km and averages 6.9 per cent in gradient. A fast descent could see any gaps stretched ahead of the category-one climb to the finish line at the top of the Montee de Risoul, which is just shy of 14km long and averages 6.7 per cent. The first man to the top here could well be the man on the top step of the podium.
TV coverage: Highlights on Eurosport from 1715.
Team Sky history
The men in black and blue return to the Dauphine as two-time defending champions after back-to-back victories from Sir Bradley Wiggins in 2011 and 2012. Last time out Wiggins produced a dominant performance in the stage four time trial to drive home his advantage. Edvald Boasson Hagen was also a stage winner back in 2010 in a race which has been good to the team.
