Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 Route stage 8: Val-dArc

Critérium du Dauphiné 2025 Route stage 8: Val-d’Arc - Plateau du Mont-Cenis

Sunday, 15 June – The final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné features 3,600 metres of climbing over 133.3 kilometres. The last climb rises for 9.6 kilometres at an average gradient of 6.9%, followed by a flat 5.1-kilometre run to the finish.

A short, steep uphill kicker opens the action before the Côte de Saint-Georges serves up 4.7 kilometres of climbing at 7.1%. The riders crest this climb just over 15 kilometres into the race, after which the route remains relatively uneventful for for quite a while. The real climbing begins around the halfway point.

The Col de Beaune is a 6.6-kilometre ascent at an average of 6.8%. From the summit, the riders descend into Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne and, from that point — with roughly 60 kilometres remaining — the road heads uphill virtually all the way to the finale. It’s not always steep, and there are even a few flat kilometres, but the trend is unmistakable: up!

The Côte de Saint-Georges (2.5 kilometres at 7.6%) is followed, without any significant descent in between, by the Côte de Saint d’Aussois (6.3 kilometres at 6.2%). At this summit, the riders reach an altitude of 1,473 metres above sea level, and they will remain above 1,280 metres for the rest of the day.

After the Côte de Saint d’Aussois, the course undulates gently towards the base of the final climb of the Critérium du Dauphiné: the Col du Mont Cenis. Starting in Lanslebourg, it rises for 9.6 kilometres at 6.9% to the Plateau du Mont-Cenis. Once at the top, there’s still 5 kilometres to go, which include a brief descent followed by a gentle uphill drag to the finish.

According to some sources, over 2,000 years ago the Carthaginian general Hannibal crossed the Alps via the Col du Mont Cenis with his army to take on the Romans. In his wake: forty elephants, fifty thousand infantrymen, and nine thousand cavalry.

The first three riders to cross the finish line receive time bonuses of 10, 6, and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint offers 3, 2, and 1 second respectively.

Fancy riding the route yourself? Download GPX 8th stage 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné.

Another interesting read: results 8th stage 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné.