It’s party time in the beginning of the race with six categorised climbs and a few nondescript hurdles in the first 80 kilometres. Then a long drop takes the riders to Vizille, located at the altitude where it all began, after which the gradual climb to the finish line is about to start. In fact it is two stage ascent, beginning with with non-categorised climb up to Allemont, located at 714 metres. The closing climb up to Vaujany leads to an elevation of 1,223 meter.
In fact, that’s not the real end of the road as the top lies 1,705 metres. If you climb all the way there you did 12.2 kilometres at 7.7%. Possibly it’s agood thing stage 5 doesn’t go all the way to the top as the next few days has enough hardship in store.
At 6.4 kilometers, the Vaujany climb comes with an average gradient at 6.5%. Thing is, the average doesn’t tell us much. The climb is a perfect exemample of irregularity with kilometre five steepest at 12.5% before the sixth kilometre brings a drop at -1.3%, while the last 400 metres go up at 7.3%.
On thirteen occasions Vaujany was arrival place to La Grande Boucle Féminine Internationale, the percursor of La Course. A cable car and gondola link Vaujany to the ski-resort of l’Alpe d’Huez.
No intermediate sprints in the Dauphiné, yet at the finish time bonuses at 10, 6 and 4 seconds lay waiting for the first three riders.
Race results/race report stage 5, 2016 Critérium du Dauphiné.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2016 stage 5: Route maps, height profiles, etc.
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