Race analysis, favourites, and predictions for Critérium du Dauphiné 2025

Tadej Pogačar (1200) and Jonas Vingegaard (1200) are the two main favorites for the overall victory at the Tour de France, having shared the last five editions between them. Although their rivalry is clear, the Slovenian and the Dane rarely face each other outside the French Grand Tour. The 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné, which starts this Sunday, will be one of the few chances to witness this much-anticipated showdown—offering valuable clues about what we might expect at the Tour in a month’s time.

 
Route

The Critérium du Dauphiné features an eight-stage route that, as usual, resembles a miniature Tour de France. The race begins with three hilly stages, with total elevation gains between 2,000 and 3,000 meters. The fourth stage, a 17 km individual time trial, will be a good opportunity for the specialists, while the fifth day offers the most favorable profile for sprinters—though with 1,700 meters of climbing, it is far from flat.

The general classification will be decided in the final three stages. Stage six finishes uphill in Combloux (2.7 km at 7.7%), and stage eight ends at Plateau du Mont-Cenis (9.7 km at 7%), both demanding. However, the queen stage will be Saturday's, featuring a spectacular sequence of three Hors Catégorie climbs: Col de la Madeleine (24.7 km at 6.1%), Col de la Croix de Fer (22.4 km at 7%), and a summit finish at Montée de Valmeinier (16.2 km at 6.8%).

 
Favorites

As mentioned, the two biggest names in this edition are Tadej Pogačar (1200) and Jonas Vingegaard (1200), but the start list also includes other big stars such as Remco Evenepoel (1200), Mattias Skjelmose (1000), Mathieu Van Der Poel (800), Carlos Rodríguez (1000), Matteo Jorgenson (1000), Enric Mas (1000), Lenny Martínez (800), Felix Gall (1000), Sepp Kuss (1000), Santiago Buitrago (800), Romain Bardet (800), and Florian Lipowitz (800), to name just a few.

 
Photo: © Charly Lopez / A.S.O.