Critérium du Dauphiné

The Critérium du Dauphiné, before 2010 known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, is an annual cycling road race in the Dauphiné region in the southeast of France. The race is run over eight days during the first half of June. It is part of the UCI World Tour calendar and counts as one of the foremost races in the lead-up to the Tour de France in July, along with the Tour de Suisse in the latter half of June.

Critérium du Dauphiné
2023 Critérium du Dauphiné
Race details
DateEarly June
RegionRhône-Alpes, France
Local name(s)Critérium du Dauphiné (in French)
Nickname(s)The Dauphiné
DisciplineRoad
CompetitionUCI World Tour
TypeStage race
OrganiserAmaury Sport Organisation
Race directorBernard Thévenet
Web sitewww.criterium-du-dauphine.fr
History
First edition1947 (1947)
Editions75 (as of 2023)
First winner Edward Klabiński (POL)
Most wins Nello Lauredi (FRA)
 Luis Ocaña (ESP)
 Charly Mottet (FRA)
 Bernard Hinault (FRA)
 Chris Froome (GBR)
(3 wins each)
Most recent Jonas Vingegaard (DEN)

The race was inaugurated in 1947 by a local newspaper, the Dauphiné Libéré, which served as the event's title sponsor until 2009.[1] Since 2010 the race has been organized by ASO, which also organizes most other prominent French cycling races, notably the Tour de France, Paris–Nice and Paris–Roubaix.

As the Dauphiné is set in the Rhône-Alpes region, part of the French Alps, the race's protagonists are often climbing specialists.[1] Many well-known climbs from the Tour de France – like the Mont Ventoux, the Col du Galibier or Col de la Chartreuse – are regularly addressed in the Dauphiné. Five riders, Nello Lauredi, Luis Ocaña, Charly Mottet, Bernard Hinault and Chris Froome, share the record of most wins, with three each.[2]

History

Creation

The race was created in 1947 by newspaper Le Dauphiné libéré to promote its circulation. After World War II, as cycling recovered from a universal five- or six-year hiatus, the Grenoble-based newspaper decided to create and organize a cycling stage race covering the Dauphiné region. The race was named after the newspaper and set in June, prior to the Tour de France. Polish rider Edward Klabiński won the inaugural edition.[2]

Because of its mountainous route and date on the calendar, the race served as preparation for the Tour de France by French cyclists. French cycling icons Jean Robic and Louison Bobet used the Dauphiné Libéré as the ultimate stage race in their build-up towards the Tour de France.

The event was discontinued for two years in 1967 and 1968. The current form of the Critérium du Dauphiné is the consequence of a merger with the Circuit des Six-Provinces-Dauphiné in 1969. For many years, the organization of the Dauphiné was shared between the newspaper publishers and ASO. In 2010, the newspaper ceded all organizational responsibility to ASO, and the race's name was abbreviated to Critérium du Dauphiné.

For many decades, the race has also served as a test for both bike manufacturers to test advanced equipment, and for TV broadcasters preparing the Tour de France, as TV coverage is difficult in the mountainous region.

World Tour Event

In the 1990s the race was categorized as a UCI 2.HC event, cycling's highest-rated stage races behind the Grand Tours.[3] In 2005 it was included in the inaugural UCI Pro Tour and in 2011 in its successor, the UCI World Tour.

The Critérium du Dauphiné is the only race that was won by all the quintuple winners of the Tour de France, namely Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Induráin. Ten racers have also won the race and the Tour de France in the same year: Louison Bobet in 1955; Anquetil in 1963; Merckx in 1971; Luis Ocaña in 1973; Bernard Thévenet in 1975; Hinault in 1979 and 1981; Induráin in 1995; Bradley Wiggins in 2012; Chris Froome in 2013, 2015, and 2016; and Geraint Thomas in 2018. Lance Armstrong won the race in 2002 and 2003, but was retroactively stripped of his titles in 2013, in the wake of the protracted doping scandal.[4][5][6]

Route

Route of the 2011 race

The Dauphiné is raced over 8 days in the Rhône-Alpes region in the southeast of France, traditionally covering portions of the French Alps. The race has often, but not always, started with an opening prologue on Sunday. The Monday and Tuesday stages are usually held in the lower hilly regions of Rhône-Alpes, before addressing the high mountains in the second half of the Dauphiné. Often there is one long individual or team time trial included.[1]

Benefiting from its location and place on the calendar, race organizers often feature a mountain stage with a route that is nearly identical to what the Tour will trace one month later.[1]

Grenoble, the capital of the Dauphiné region, has hosted the start or finish of a stage most often. Other cities regularly hosting a stage are Avignon, Saint-Étienne, Annecy, Chambéry, Gap, Lyon, Aix-les-Bains, Valence, Briançon and Vals-les-Bains.

Jerseys

Jersey wearers at the 2011 event

The leader of the general classification wears a yellow jersey with a blue band, distinct from the other racers. In 1948, a mountains classification was added, which as of 2017 gives a polka-dot jersey to the leader. In 1955, a points classification was added, which gives a green jersey to the leader.

Winners

Year Country Rider Team
1947  Poland Edward Klabiński Mercier–Hutchinson
1948  France Édouard Fachleitner La Perle–Hutchinson
1949  France Lucien Lazaridès France Sport–Dunlop
1950  France Nello Lauredi Helyett–Hutchinson
1951  France Nello Lauredi Helyett–Hutchinson
1952  France Jean Dotto France Sport
1953  France Lucien Teisseire Terrot–Hutchinson
1954  France Nello Lauredi Terrot–Hutchinson
1955  France Louison Bobet Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1956  Belgium Alex Close Elvé–Peugeot
1957  France Marcel Rohrbach Peugeot–BP–Dunlop
1958  France Louis Rostollan Essor–Leroux
1959  France Henry Anglade Liberia–Hutchinson
1960  France Jean Dotto Liberia–Grammont
1961  Great Britain Brian Robinson Rapha–Gitane–Dunlop
1962  France Raymond Mastrotto Gitane–Leroux–Dunlop–R. Geminiani
1963  France Jacques Anquetil Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani
1964  Spain Valentín Uriona Kas–Kaskol
1965  France Jacques Anquetil Ford France–Gitane
1966  France Raymond Poulidor Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1969  France Raymond Poulidor Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1970  Spain Luis Ocaña Bic
1971  Belgium Eddy Merckx Molteni
1972  Spain Luis Ocaña Bic
1973  Spain Luis Ocaña Bic
1974  France Alain Santy Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson
1975  France Bernard Thévenet Peugeot–BP–Michelin
1976  France Bernard Thévenet Peugeot–Esso–Michelin
1977  France Bernard Hinault Gitane–Campagnolo
1978  Belgium Michel Pollentier Old Lord's–Splendor–K.S.B.
1979  France Bernard Hinault Renault–Gitane
1980  Netherlands Johan van der Velde TI–Raleigh–Creda
1981  France Bernard Hinault Renault–Elf–Gitane
1982  France Michel Laurent Peugeot–Shell–Michelin
1983  United States Greg LeMond[Note 1] Renault–Elf
1984  Colombia Martín Ramírez Système U
1985  Australia Phil Anderson Panasonic–Raleigh
1986   Switzerland Urs Zimmermann Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
1987  France Charly Mottet Système U
1988  Colombia Luis Herrera Café de Colombia
1989  France Charly Mottet RMO
1990  Great Britain Robert Millar Z–Tomasso
1991  Colombia Luis Herrera Postobón–Manzana–Ryalcao
1992  France Charly Mottet RMO
1993   Switzerland Laurent Dufaux ONCE
1994   Switzerland Laurent Dufaux ONCE
1995  Spain Miguel Induráin Banesto
1996  Spain Miguel Induráin Banesto
1997  Germany Udo Bölts Team Telekom
1998  France Armand de Las Cuevas Banesto
1999  Kazakhstan Alexander Vinokourov Casino–Ag2r Prévoyance
2000  United States Tyler Hamilton U.S. Postal Service
2001  France Christophe Moreau Festina
2002 Result void[7][8]
2003 Result void[7][8]
2004  Spain Iban Mayo Euskaltel–Euskadi
2005  Spain Iñigo Landaluze Euskaltel–Euskadi
2006 Result void[Note 2][9]
2007  France Christophe Moreau AG2R Prévoyance
2008  Spain Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne
2009  Spain Alejandro Valverde Caisse d'Epargne
2010  Slovenia Janez Brajkovič Team RadioShack
2011  Great Britain Bradley Wiggins Team Sky
2012  Great Britain Bradley Wiggins Team Sky
2013  Great Britain Chris Froome Team Sky
2014  United States Andrew Talansky Garmin–Sharp
2015  Great Britain Chris Froome Team Sky
2016  Great Britain Chris Froome Team Sky
2017  Denmark Jakob Fuglsang Astana
2018  Great Britain Geraint Thomas Team Sky
2019  Denmark Jakob Fuglsang Astana
2020  Colombia Daniel Martínez EF Pro Cycling
2021[10]  Australia Richie Porte Ineos Grenadiers
2022  Slovenia Primož Roglič Team Jumbo–Visma
2023  Denmark Jonas Vingegaard Team Jumbo–Visma

Multiple winners

Riders in italic are still active

Wins Rider Editions
3
 Nello Lauredi (FRA)1950, 1951, 1954
 Luis Ocaña (ESP)1970, 1972, 1973
 Bernard Hinault (FRA)1977, 1979, 1981
 Charly Mottet (FRA)1987, 1989, 1992
 Chris Froome (GBR)2013, 2015, 2016
2
 Jean Dotto (FRA)1952 + 1960
 Jacques Anquetil (FRA)1963 + 1965
 Raymond Poulidor (FRA)1966 + 1969
 Bernard Thévenet (FRA)1975 + 1976
 Luis Herrera (COL)1988 + 1991
 Laurent Dufaux (SUI)1993 + 1994
 Miguel Induráin (ESP)1995 + 1996
 Lance Armstrong (USA)2002 + 2003
 Christophe Moreau (FRA)2001 + 2007
 Alejandro Valverde (ESP)2008 + 2009
 Bradley Wiggins (GBR)2011 + 2012
 Jakob Fuglsang (DEN)2017 + 2019

Wins per country

There have been 75 editions since 1947. Three editions (2002, 2003 and 2006) have been stripped of their initial winners Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer. Organizer ASO intends to keep these results voided.

Wins Country
30
 France
10
 Spain
8
 Great Britain
4
 Colombia
3
 Belgium
 Denmark
  Switzerland
 United States
2
 Australia
 Slovenia
1
 Germany
 Kazakhstan
 Netherlands
 Poland

Notes

    1. The initial winner, Frenchman Pascal Simon was disqualified after a positive doping test.
    2. The initial winner, American Levi Leipheimer was disqualified after the findings of a USADA investigation.

    References

    1. Hood, Andrew. "Dauphine preview: Mountainous route could be anyone's race". Velo News. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
    2. "Histoire - Le palmarès depuis 1947". letour.fr (in French). ASO. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
    3. "50th Dauphine Libere, Cat HC. France, June 7-14, 1998". Cyclingnews. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
    4. "Lance Armstrong's record will be 'obliterated' says WADA chief". The Guardian. London. Reuters. 24 August 2012. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
    5. "Lance Armstrong Receives Lifetime Ban And Disqualification Of Competitive Results For Doping Violations Stemming From His Involvement In The United States Postal Service Pro-Cycling Team Doping Conspiracy". USADA. August 24, 2012. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
    6. "Press Release: UCI's statement on Lance Armstrong's decision". UCI Press Services. August 24, 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-08-27. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
    7. "Lance Armstrong: Governing body strips American of Tour wins". BBC News. 22 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2012.
    8. "Union Cycliste Internationale".
    9. Benson, Daniel (10 October 2012). "Six former Armstrong USPS teammates receive bans from USADA". Cycling News. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
    10. "Richie Porte wins Criterium du Dauphine with Geraint Thomas third". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. PA Media. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
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