There’s hardly a flat metre in the 2nd stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The first 30 kilometres virtually all go false flat uphill before the riders enter the more lumpy part of the route. The Col de la Toutée (2.2 kilometres at 6.6%) is crested at kilometre 46.7. The downhill coincides with the base of the second KOM, which is the Col des Fourches. This 2.7 kilometres climb at 6.5% is not followed by a descent, but keeps climbing false flat for some 4 kilometres.
The route continues to go up and down until the riders cross the line in La Chaise-Dieu after almost 100 kilometres. Two 35.1 kilometres laps round out the route.
The first part of the circuit goes downhill at shallow gradients. Then the riders tackle the Côte des Guêtes. Which is a punchy test, just 1 kilometre long but sloping at 8%.
The Guêtes peaks out 10 kilometres before the finish line. The first half goes downhill and then the last 5 kilometres open with a section of 1.3 kilometres at 5.1%. The run-in to the line continues to climb, but at moderate gradients – roughly 3% on average.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 2 Critérium du Dauphiné.
Another interesting read: results 2nd stage 2023 Critérium du Dauphiné.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2023 stage 2: route, profiles, more
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