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    The Inner Ring | Critérium du Dauphiné Route

    A quick look at the route ahead while the headline is that this race should see the the first clash between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.

    Stage 1

    In 2022 Paris-Nice had a time trial stage between Domérat and Montluçon, the same again but with a long loop into the countryside and then finishing laps in Montluçon, birthplace of Roger Walkowiak and where Julian Alaphilippe. The Montluçon circuit is harder than the profile suggests, Domérat is a long climb with some awkward sections, Buffon is in town with an irregular road that pitches up with 12% sections.

    Stage 2

    A sprint stage? Sure, but a test of summer form for any sprinters starting the race. The two climbs before the finish rise feature ruined castles. The second to Nonette can eject some sprinters, think of the Namur citadel in the GP Wallonie, minus the cobbles but a dash uphill to a fortified town.

    Stage 3

    A start in Romain Bardet’s birthplace in order to give him a send-off into retirement and then up into the Forez, the wooded mountains of Auvergne and across to the Rhone valley. The late climb of Château Jaune is new today but we’ll see it before as it’s one of the “wall” climbs that features in Paris-Nice’s Stage 4 this March.

    Stage 4

    A time trial stage and short too. It’s by the Rhone valley and scenic. The hairpin bends on the climb to Toulaud look good for spectators.

    Stage 5

    Remember last year’s race? Saint Priest was due to be the finish of Stage 5 but racing was halted after a mass crash downhill so the race dutifully returns for a start. Then it’s across to the Mâcon via the Beaujolais hills, another test for the sprinters with some climbs late on. The Quatres Vents (“four winds” is a col rather than just a côte but it’s not hard and there’s time to regroup for the finish.

    Stage 6

    No professional bike race has ever started or finished in Valserhône but if the place looks familiar that’s because the town used to be called Bellegarde, the Dauphiné, Tour de France and more have gone through many times. The stage visits recently-used roads of the Dauphiné and Tour, Mont Saxonnex featured in the 2022 Tour and it’s a tough climb with lots of 10-12% sections but there’s a long valley road to the Domancy climb and to Combloux, where Jonas Vingegaard ransacked Tadej Pogačar in the 2023 Tour. But this time the road goes out of town and uphill to the Cry ski lifts on a steep road that suits punchy riders.

    Stage 7

    A big day in the Alps. It’s only 132km but there’s little rest, a quick calculation says close to 5,000m of vertical gain, a lot. The Madeleine and Croix-de-Fer are scaled via the main routes, no backroad surprises. The final climb to Valmeinier might be “only” 6.7% average but that’s because a small descent two thirds of the way up that the profile doesn’t quite show, so most of the time the road is a steady 7-8%.

    Stage 8

    A stage that rides up the Maurienne valley, a rare place that doesn’t get its name from its river (the Arc in case you need to know). The race treats the valley like a halfpipe, swinging up the sides to avoid the main valley roads, notably with the climb of the “Col de Beaune”, which is actually the Col de Beau Plan, and featured in 2019 when Julian Alaphilippe won the stage finishing just below.

    Mont Cenis was turned into a main road by Napoleon and the big road retains an engineered feel and it’s a steady climb. The route flattens out to finish by the lake on the Italian border, it should look scenic and this route suggests Mont Cenis could be back in the Tour de France.

    Verdict
    A classic Dauphiné of the recent genre, it’s a tour of the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region and each year the race gets closer to a name change. The sprint stages are tricky and the mountain stages short.

    The surprise this year is the time trial is short too and because it’s hilly, no dress rehearsal for the Tour’s Caen stage. The final three stages in the Alps have variety with Saturday’s stage the big day on paper to the point where Friday and Sunday are lighter, there are no back-to-back big days.

    Gratin dauphinois
    Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard are due to meet for the first time here so that’s the headline contest. Vingegaard has won here before taking the Tour; Pogačar makes his debut as he rattles through his World Tour bucket list.

    Remco Evenepoel is scheduled to ride too but he might find third place on the podium is a tough ask as the short time trial doesn’t give him much of a boost; but the main thing to hope is he and the others are back and healthy.

    At the other end of the startlist Lotto have declined their right to an invitation meaning TotalEnergies, Tudor and Uno-X all get a wildcard invite. The Belgian team can do the Tour de Suisse for an Alpine race in June but once again if they want to be back in the World Tour next year, they’re avoiding it this year.

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