A Critérium du Dauphiné with a taste of the Tour de France. Evenepoel, Vingegaard, and Pogacar face off for the first time this season

Just without time to disconnect from the Giro d'Italia, the month of June starts with what is usually a long prelude to the Tour de France with two races that mark the calendar: Tour de Suisse and Critérium du Dauphiné. This last one becomes in this 2025 edition a true simulation of the Tour de France that will offer us the first face-to-face between the members of last year's podium and the top contenders also aiming to achieve victory on July 27th in Paris. A Critérium du Dauphiné that starts next Sunday, June 8th and will extend until Sunday, June 15th.

Evenepoel, Pogacar and Vingegaard favorites to win the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné

The three big names of the peloton arrive at this Dauphiné with different approaches to this race, which will undoubtedly condition their need to demonstrate that their form is optimal for the Grande Boucle.

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Being the number 1 in the world, current Tour winner and thanks to the fantastic spring that he has given us, the top favorite for victory in the Critérium du Dauphiné should be Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian has once again dominated the podiums of the spring classics and has won two more monuments. Besides, knowing how much he likes challenges, it is worth noting that he still does not have the Critérium du Dauphiné in his record. What better way to add it than in front of those who will be his top rivals in a month and, in the process, mark his territory.

As the second contender, we would place Remco Evenepoel. Although the Belgian did not shine in the Ardennes classics, he did so giving the impression of running at half throttle, something that was very clear in the Tour de Romandie where he stayed in the background until the time trial, where he showed all his potential to win with absolute ease. It could be that in the Critérium du Dauphiné he opts for a similar approach to not waste energy for the Tour de France, although the most logical thing would be for him to take advantage of this race to confirm if he can handle the high mountains, his weak point until now, so it would not be a good sign if we do not see him at the front in this race.

Finally, Jonas Vingegaard is a complete unknown. Despite his victory in the Volta ao Algarve, cemented in the final time trial after a discreet race, he completely disappeared after the crash suffered in Paris-Nice. His team has chosen to keep him protected and avoid another incident that could ruin his approach to the Tour de France, as happened last year with the crash in the Basque Country. This Critérium du Dauphiné becomes therefore an essential race for him to gain competition rhythm and validate the result of his preparation, so we should also see him at the front.

However, it is also worth considering that the favorites may play it cool, unlikely in the case of the always ambitious Tadej Pogacar, which could leave the general classification open to other cyclists like Maxim van Gils, Matteo Jorgenson, or Enric Mas who could take advantage of the surveillance situation among the top contenders.

Route of the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné

As usual with the Critérium du Dauphiné, there will be hardly any rest throughout the 8 stages that make up the race, with only the 5th stage potentially ending in a mass sprint. The rest of the stages are either a real rollercoaster of medium mountains or high mountain stages. In addition, there will be an individual time trial on Wednesday, June 11th.

The Critérium du Dauphiné will start with three really demanding medium mountain stages. Although the mountains to be overcome are only small climbs, we are talking about winding routes, without a single meter of rest, where we can find a myriad of ascents.

Just in the first stage, there are 7 categorized climbs, all of them 4th category. In the second stage, there are 6 categorized climbs: 3 of 4th category, 2 of 3rd category, and 1 of 2nd category; and in the third stage, they will have to climb 5 categorized climbs, all of them also long stages around 200 kilometers to add significant fatigue.

In the fourth stage, the first decisive moment of the race will come with the individual time trial of 17.4 kilometers, a time trial that is not completely flat as it includes a gentle ascent in its middle part.

The cyclists will have a small respite in the 5th stage, also with small climbs on its profile but with a less demanding route than the first stages. It will be the calm before a trio of final stages that must be definitive for the outcome of the race.

The first of them, on Friday, June 13th, with a medium mountain route like the previous ones but with the Cote du Mont Saxxonex, classified as a first category climb, just over 30 kilometers from the finish, and a conclusion that includes the Cote du Domancy and the final ascent to Comblux.

The next day, there are only 3 climbs but all of them categorized as Hors Categorie, a menu composed of Madeleine, Croix de Fer, and the uphill finish at Valmeinier 1080. The race will end with a stage that can almost be considered a constant uphill climb as the race will ascend the valley in search of the colossal Mont Cenis that separates France from Italy. In between, there are several small loops to include several more small climbs. The only downside of these last three stages is their tremendously short distance, around 130 kilometers, which will not allow for many conclusions regarding what may happen in the Tour.

How to watch the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné

As usual with races organized by ASO, RTVE joins the television coverage of the event alongside the usual Eurosport and Max, both through the Teledeporte channel and the online platform RTVE Play.

In the case of Eurosport, the only one that currently has the schedules of its broadcasts published, the coverage of the stages will start around 13:00 and end early around 15:00.