There is great anticipation for the Critérium du Dauphiné , the appetizer for the Tour de France, which kicks off on Sunday 8 June with the three cycling stars who will also battle it out in the Grand Boucle: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel will be able to do a dress rehearsal of their condition and find out where their direct opponents stand.

On paper, these three will be the ones to compete for the final victory, followed by a series of good-level riders who seem truly cut off from the fight for the lead.

However, we would like to point out Carlos Rodriguez of Ineos, Enric Mas of Movistar, Matteo Jorgenson of Visma, Florian Lipowitz of Red Bull Bora, Santiago Buitrago and Lenny Martinez of Bahrain, and Max Poole of Team Picnic.

While Romain Bardet will be starting his last race of his career, we expect something good for stage hunters Magnus Cort, Magnus Sheffield, Maxim Van Gils, Jonathan Milan (although there is not much ground for sprinters), and Mathieu Van der Poel, whose condition remains to be seen after his bad mountain bike crashes.

The route is very demanding: the first stage measures 195.8 km and the finale is open to several solutions before the arrival in Montluçon.

Second stage, arriving in Issoire, with an easier finish before the third stage, with numerous short climbs and the finish line in Charantonnay.

Next Wednesday there will be a 17.4 km individual time trial with a slight climb halfway. The fifth stage includes the Côte des Quatres Vents (5.3 km at 4.6%), 28 kilometers from the finish.

Finally, the last three stages, the most difficult: on Friday we arrive in Combloux with the final climbs of the Domancy (2.4 km at 8.6%) and then the Côte de la Cry (2.7 km at 8.2%).

Saturday will see the climb above 2,000 meters with Madeleine, Croix de Fer and the arrival at altitude in Valmeinier after 16.5 km of climbing and average gradients of around 7 percent. Sunday will close with another five climbs before scaling the Col du Mont-Cenis (9.6 km at 6.9 percent average gradient) before the arrival on the Plateau du Mont-Cenis.

The race promises to be a spectacle.

The stages of the 2025 edition:

Stage 1 (08/06): Domérat – Montluçon (195.8 km)

Stage 2 (09/06): Prémilhat – Issoire (204.6 km)

Stage 3 (10/06): Brioude – Charantonnay (207.2 km)

Stage 4 (11/06): Charmes-sur-Rhône – Saint-Péray (17.4 km, time trial)

Stage 5 (12/06): Saint-Priest – Mâcon (183 km)

Stage 6 (13/06): Valserhône – Combloux (126.7 km)

Stage 7 (14/06): Grand-Aigueblanche – Valmeinier 1800 (131.6 km)

Stage 8 (15/06): Val d'Arc – Plateau du Mont-Cenis (133.3 km)

Sprint Cycling Photo