Key points:
On 8 June, the men who stood on the podium of the 2024 Tour de France will meet again in the Allier department to inaugurate the 77th Critérium du Dauphiné on the roads from Domérat to Montluçon. Tadej Pogacar, fourth in his sole previous start in 2020, is the favourite to win the race, a cut above the 2023 winner, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel.
Florian Lipowitz, Carlos Rodríguez, Santiago Buitrago, Mattias Skjelmose and Enric Mas are among the outsiders gunning for a podium spot.
The young Lenny Martinez and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet will carry the hopes of the French nation, while Romain Bardet will be eager to hit the right note in his swansong.
It seems Tadej Pogacar can do no wrong in 2025. Curse of the rainbow jersey? What curse of the rainbow jersey? The Slovenian is arguably the most successful world champion of the 21st century. While it is true that Tom Boonen amassed sixteen victories between late 2005 and June 2006, the UAE leader has scooped up nine on a much lighter schedule, putting him ahead percentage-wise. The shadow of doubt still hangs over the participation of his main challenger in the classics, Mathieu van der Poel, who will only line up for the Critérium du Dauphiné if he has fully recovered from his crash in the Mountain Bike World Cup. The Slovenian, however, is certain to come up against his two closest rivals in the general classification of the 2024 Tour, as Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel have both decided to go toe to toe with the man of the hour before their high-stakes duel in July. Despite a succession of falls sabotaging their build-up at different points in the season, they will be a force to be reckoned with if they can hit peak form again. Neither the Dane nor the Belgian has tasted victory outside a time trial this year, so the 17.7 km race against the clock between Charmes-sur-Rhône and Saint-Péray will be a red-letter day for them.
The Ardèche department will provide an early snapshot of the pecking order, but the winner of the 2025 Dauphiné will be decided at the end of an Alpine triptych. The slopes of Combloux, Valmeinier 1800 and the climactic showdown on the Plateau du Mont-Cenis will set the scene for a gripping three-way standoff between the top favourites, but there will be no shortage of outsiders ready to crash their party. The young Florian Lipowitz, for example, already proved his mettle when he took second in Paris–Nice, while Santiago Buitrago is still looking for his definitive breakthrough. Carlos Rodríguez, on the other hand, needs to prove that his impressive showing in the 2023 Tour and his stage win on the Plateau des Glières in the finale of last year’s Dauphiné were no fluke. And Mattias Skjelmose is one of the few riders to have beaten “Pogi” this year, taking victory at the Amstel Gold Race.
Romain Bardet has stood on the overall podium of the Critérium du Dauphiné (second in 2016 and third in 2018), but he may settle for somewhat more modest objectives in his final curtain call. He will probably take on the role of a stage hunter, perhaps on the stage leading from his home town of Brioude to Charantonnay. Other French riders are lining up with loftier goals, chief among them Lenny Martinez, who had a blistering start to the season in Paris–Nice and the Tour de Romandie, with a couple of stage victories and solid GC performances. Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, no stranger to success in this race himself (third in 2020 and sixth in 2023), may also try to juggle these twin objectives.
22 teams, main contenders (as of 28 May)
Australia
Team Jayco–AlUla: Dunbar (IRL)
Bahrain
Bahrain Victorious: Buitrago (COL), Martinez (FRA) and Wright (GBR)
Belgium
Soudal–Quick-Step: Evenepoel, Vervaecke (BEL), V. Paret-Peintre (FRA) and Schachmann (GER)
Alpecin–Deceuninck: G. Vermeersch, Meurisse (BEL) and Price-Pejtersen (DEN)
Intermarché–Wanty: Meintjes (RSA) and Barré (FRA)
France
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale: Cosnefroy, A. Paret-Peintre and Seixas (Fra)
Groupama–FDJ: Martin-Guyonnet and Cavagna (FRA)
Cofidis: Buchmann (GER), Ferron (FRA) and Teuns (BEL)
Arkéa–B&B Hotels: Guernalec and Gesbert (FRA)
TotalEnergies: Burgaudeau, Latour and Turgis (FRA)
Germany
Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe: Lipowitz (GER), Lazkano (ESP) and Van Gils (BEL)
Great Britain
Ineos Grenadiers: Ca. Rodríguez (ESP), Laurance (FRA) and Sheffield (USA)
Israel
Israel–Premier Tech: Ackermann (GER), Lutsenko (KAZ) and Stewart (GBR)
Kazakhstan
XDS Astana Team: Tejada and Higuita (COL)
Netherlands
Team Visma–Lease a Bike: Vingegaard (DEN), Kuss and Jorgenson (USA)
Team Picnic PostNL: Bardet (FRA) and Poole (GBR)
Norway
Uno-X Mobility: T. Johannessen, Leknessund (NORD) and Cort (DEN)
Spain
Movistar Team: Mas, Guerreiro and Canal (ESP)
Switzerland
Tudor Pro Cycling Team: Trentin (ITA)
United Arab Emirates
UAE Team Emirates XRG: Pogacar (SLO), Narváez (ECU), Soler (ESP) and Sivakov (FRA)
United States
EF Education–EasyPost: Healy (IRL), Asgreen (DEN) and Chaves (COL)
Lidl–Trek: Skjelmose (Dan), Milan (ITA) and Skujiņš (LAT)
