The 2018 Critérium du Dauphiné commences with a 6.6 kilometres prologue on the flat, while the 1st stage is a hilly race featuring seven intermediate passes. The last col is crested with 4 kilometres to go.
The 2nd stage is mostly played out on rolling roads and the finale is a descent of some 30 kilometres. Then the riders face a flat TTT of 35 kilometres on stage 3.
The Critérium du Dauphiné brings its first summit finish at the end of the 4th stage. The second half of the 181 kilometres course features three climbs. The 5th stage ends uphill, too. The final climb is 12.7 kilometres with the average gradient at 7%.
The race often includes climbs or time trials from La Grande Boucle, but this year’s Dauphiné takes it a step further. Stage 6 runs to La Rosière and is identical to the 11th stage of the upcoming Tour de France. At merely 110 kilometres, the race travels over the Montée de Bisanne, Col du Pré and Cormet de Roselend to finish at the crest of a final climb of 17.6 kilometres.
The ultimate climb in this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné goes to Saint-Gervais Mont Blanc, which instills a déjà vu to the 2016 Tour de France. In the penultimate mountain stage of that edition Romain Bardet propelled to victory on the climb to the town at the base of Mont Blanc. Now it’s the Dauphiné’s last stage with the potential to shake up the overall. Featuring two huge intermediate climbs, the 7th stage is an 129 kilometres blast with a final haul up of 9.8 kilometres at 8%.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2018: Route maps, height profiles, and more
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Profile 7th stage
Stage 5: Details Valmorel
Stage 6: Details La Rosière
Stage 7: Details Saint-Gerais Mont-Blanc
