A 28.4km team time trial is part of the route for the renamed Critérium du Dauphiné, providing a final dress rehearsal for the Tour de France, it was revealed on Thursday.
The French Grand Tour begins on 4 July with a 19km TTT in Barcelona; three and a half weeks earlier, stage three of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will be the same format, providing one last chance for teams to try things. The race runs from Sunday 7-Sunday 14 June.
It was announced last June that the Dauphiné would now be known as the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, 2026 will be the first edition of the renamed race.
“Rooted in its history, the new Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes is also very much a product of its time,” the race’s director, Christian Prudhomme, wrote in the press material. “Its dynamic route promises a thrilling race from start to finish, with an early start that favours attacking riders and a grand mountain finale to crown the champions.
“The team time trial in Perreux will serve as a true dress rehearsal for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Barcelona. The start in La Bridoire will delight fans of the Classique des Alpes Juniors, particularly Paul Seixas.
(Image credit: Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)
Stage one, from Vizille to Saint-Ismier, is a hilly 140.1km which includes five classified climbs, including the Côte de Saint-Jean-le-Vieux Montée, 5.6km at 8.7%.
The next day is an epic 237.3km from Saint-Martin-le-Vinoux to Le Puy-en-Velay, with four classified climbs, This is 30km longer than the longest stage of this year’s Tour.
Stage three is the 28.4km TTT in Perreux, which is not completely flat, before stage four is hilly again, with six classified climbs in 165.8km from Le Puy-en-Velay to Montrond-les-Bains, althgouh the run looks largely flat.
Thursday 11 June’s stage five looks like the only nailed-on sprint, 198km from Saint-Chamond to Parc des Oiseaux – Villars-les-Dombers; there are three fourth-category climbs, but nothing in the final 80km.
The mountains then hove into view, with stage six from Saint-Vulbas to Crest-Voland. This includes four categorised climbs, including the first-cat Côte d’Héry-sur-Ugine (11.3km at 5.1%) and then Crest-Voland (5.9km at 7.7%). The latter is a summit finish, and the first time it has been raced.
Stage seven is much the same, 133.3km from La Bridoire to the Grand Colombier, with six climbs, including the Lacets du Grand Colombier (7km at 8.4%) midway through the stage, before the Colombier is tackled again via the gruelling Virieu-le-Petit slope (8.4 km at 10.2%).
The race ends with another mountainous day, with four climbs in 120km from Beaufort to the Plateau de Solaison. Those four are the Col du Pré (6.9 km at 10.1%), the Montée de Bisanne (11.4 km at 7.7%), the Col des Aravis (7 km at 6.8%) and the finish at Plateau de Solaison (11.3 km at 9.1%). Simple.
The lineup for the June race is yet to be confirmed, but one rider who will not be there is defending champion Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who will be at the Tour de Suisse the next week instead.
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