Critérium du Dauphiné facts for kids

"Dauphiné Libéré" redirects here. For the newspaper, see Le Dauphiné libéré.

Quick facts for kids
Critérium du Dauphiné
Race details
2023 Critérium du Dauphiné

Date	Early June
Region	Rhône-Alpes, France
Local name(s)	Critérium du Dauphiné
Nickname(s)	The Dauphiné
Discipline	Road
Competition	UCI World Tour
Type	Stage race
Organiser	Amaury Sport Organisation
Race director	Bernard Thévenet
History
First edition	1947 (1947)
Editions	75 (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 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.

The race was inaugurated in 1947 by a local newspaper, the Dauphiné Libéré, which served as the event's title sponsor until 2009. 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. 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.

History
- Creation
- World Tour Event
Route
Jerseys
Winners
- Multiple winners
- Wins per country
See also

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.

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

Bradley Wiggins (in the yellow jersey) and Jean-Christophe Péraud during the 2011 Critérium du Dauphiné.

In the 1990s the race was categorized as a UCI 2.HC event, cycling's highest-rated stage races behind the Grand Tours. 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.

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.

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.

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

		Rider
1947		Klabinski, EdwardEdward Klabiński	Mercier–Hutchinson
1948		Fachleitner, EdouardÉdouard Fachleitner	La Perle–Hutchinson
1949		Lazaridès, LucienLucien Lazaridès	France Sport–Dunlop
1950		Lauredi, NelloNello Lauredi	Helyett–Hutchinson
1951		Lauredi, NelloNello Lauredi	Helyett–Hutchinson
1952		Dotto, JeanJean Dotto	France Sport
1953		Teisseire, LucienLucien Teisseire	Terrot–Hutchinson
1954		Lauredi, NelloNello Lauredi	Terrot–Hutchinson
1955		Bobet, LouisonLouison Bobet	Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1956		Close, AlexAlex Close	Elvé–Peugeot
1957		Rohrbach, MarcelMarcel Rohrbach	Peugeot–BP–Dunlop
1958		Rostollan, LouisLouis Rostollan	Essor–Leroux
1959		Anglade, HenryHenry Anglade	Liberia–Hutchinson
1960		Dotto, JeanJean Dotto	Liberia–Grammont
1961		Robinson, BrianBrian Robinson	Rapha–Gitane–Dunlop
1962		Mastrotto, RaymondRaymond Mastrotto	Gitane–Leroux–Dunlop–R. Geminiani
1963		Anquetil, JacquesJacques Anquetil	Saint-Raphaël–Gitane–R. Geminiani
1964		Uriona, ValentinValentín Uriona	Kas–Kaskol
1965		Anquetil, JacquesJacques Anquetil	Ford France–Gitane
1966		Poulidor, RaymondRaymond Poulidor	Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1969		Poulidor, RaymondRaymond Poulidor	Mercier–BP–Hutchinson
1970		Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña	Bic
1971		Merckx, EddyEddy Merckx	Molteni
1972		Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña	Bic
1973		Ocana, LuisLuis Ocaña	Bic
1974		Santy, AlainAlain Santy	Gan–Mercier–Hutchinson
1975		Thevenet, BernardBernard Thévenet	Peugeot–BP–Michelin
1976		Thevenet, BernardBernard Thévenet	Peugeot–Esso–Michelin
1977		Hinault, BernardBernard Hinault	Gitane–Campagnolo
1978		Pollentier, MichelMichel Pollentier	Old Lord's–Splendor–K.S.B.
1979		Hinault, BernardBernard Hinault	Renault–Gitane
1980		van der Velde, JohanJohan van der Velde	TI–Raleigh–Creda
1981		Hinault, BernardBernard Hinault	Renault–Elf–Gitane
1982		Laurent, MichelMichel Laurent	Peugeot–Shell–Michelin
1983		Lemond, GregGreg LeMond	Renault–Elf
1984		Ramirez, MartinMartín Ramírez	Système U
1985		Anderson, PhilPhil Anderson	Panasonic–Raleigh
1986		Zimmermann, UrsUrs Zimmermann	Carrera Jeans–Vagabond
1987		Mottet, CharlyCharly Mottet	Système U
1988		Herrera, LuisLuis Herrera	Café de Colombia
1989		Mottet, CharlyCharly Mottet	RMO
1990		Millar, RobertRobert Millar	Z–Tomasso
1991		Herrera, LuisLuis Herrera	Postobón–Manzana–Ryalcao
1992		Mottet, CharlyCharly Mottet	RMO
1993		Dufaux, LaurentLaurent Dufaux	ONCE
1994		Dufaux, LaurentLaurent Dufaux	ONCE
1995		Induráin, MiguelMiguel Induráin	Banesto
1996		Induráin, MiguelMiguel Induráin	Banesto
1997		Bolts, UdoUdo Bölts	Team Telekom
1998		de Las Cuevas, ArmandArmand de Las Cuevas	Banesto
1999		Vinokourov, AlexanderAlexander Vinokourov	Casino–Ag2r Prévoyance
2000		Hamilton, TylerTyler Hamilton	U.S. Postal Service
2001		Moreau, ChristopheChristophe Moreau	Festina
2002	Result void
2003	Result void
2004		Mayo, IbanIban Mayo	Euskaltel–Euskadi
2005		Landaluze, InigoIñigo Landaluze	Euskaltel–Euskadi
2006	Result void
2007		Moreau, ChristopheChristophe Moreau	AG2R Prévoyance
2008		Valverde, AlejandroAlejandro Valverde	Caisse d'Epargne
2009		Valverde, AlejandroAlejandro Valverde	Caisse d'Epargne
2010		Brajkovic, JanezJanez Brajkovič	Team RadioShack
2011		Wiggins, BradleyBradley Wiggins	Team Sky
2012		Wiggins, BradleyBradley Wiggins	Team Sky
2013		Froome, ChrisChris Froome	Team Sky
2014		Talansky, AndrewAndrew Talansky	Garmin–Sharp
2015		Froome, ChrisChris Froome	Team Sky
2016		Froome, ChrisChris Froome	Team Sky
2017		Fuglsang, JakobJakob Fuglsang	Astana
2018		Thomas, GeraintGeraint Thomas	Team Sky
2019		Fuglsang, JakobJakob Fuglsang	Astana
2020		Martinez, DanielDaniel Martínez	EF Pro Cycling
2021		Porte, RichieRichie Porte	Ineos Grenadiers
2022		Roglič, PrimožPrimož Roglič	Team Jumbo–Visma
2023		Vingegaard, JonasJonas 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.