Pogacar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard will face off in the Dauphiné

Normally, the favorites to win the Tour de France usually avoid each other to not give more clues than necessary to their rivals before that big event. In the previous races, they usually split between the Critérium du Dauphiné, Tour de Suisse, or the Tour of Slovenia. However, in this 2025, the Critérium du Dauphiné becomes a preview of the Grande Boucle with the participation of the three top favorites for victory in Paris.

The Dauphiné becomes a preview of the Tour with the presence of last year's podium

The top contenders for victory in the Tour de France seem eager to test their strength. At least that can be inferred from the presence in the Critérium du Dauphiné, one of the traditional events to fine-tune their form for the French round, of Tadej Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, and Jonas Vingegaard. A race that will take place from June 8 to 15, just 3 weeks before the start of the Tour de France on July 5.

These favorites arrive at this event in very different ways. On one hand, the current winner of the Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar, who in the Critérium du Dauphiné will start the second block of his season after an excellent spring where his victories in the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège shine brightly.

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On the other hand, Remco Evenepoel started the competition with a victory in the Brabantse Pijl after a late start to 2025 due to a serious fall he suffered while training in Belgium in December. The last of the trio, Jonas Vingegaard, has had mixed results in the two races he has competed in 2025. On one hand, the victory in the Volta ao Algarve and, on the other hand, the abandonment in Paris-Nice after a fall and a change of plans by his team to keep him protected until this Critérium du Dauphiné.

The Critérium du Dauphiné, as usual, presents us with a tremendous amount of mountain stages, with the first days full of small climbs, a 17-kilometer time trial in the middle of the race, and three final stages of high mountain with finishes in Combloux, Valmeinier 1800 after crossing Madeleine and Croix de Fer, and a last stage marked by the tremendous ascent to Mont Cenis.

Ideal terrain to fine-tune their form for the Tour de France and start evaluating how these cyclists are arriving, especially considering the ambition of an insatiable Tadej Pogacar who still lacks the Critérium du Dauphiné in his illustrious record. They will surely not hide their cards and try to mark their territory before the start of the Tour de France.