2025 Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 1 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 1 of the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
The opening stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné spans 189.2 kilometers and features an elevation gain of 2,300 meters. The final climb ascends at 8.6% over 600 meters, followed by a descent to the finish line in Montluçon.
Domérat and Montluçon are essentially neighbors. Three years ago, the two towns served as the start and finish for a stage in Paris–Nice: an individual time trial that concluded on the same hill, now located 4.5 kilometers from the finish. Wout van Aert claimed victory that day, finishing ahead of Primoz Roglic and Rohan Dennis.
After departing from Domérat, the riders head north, navigating a gently undulating loop before the terrain becomes more challenging in the latter half of the route. The first significant climb is the Côte de Sainte-Thérence, a 2.5-kilometer stretch at 4.6%, followed by the Côte d’Argenty, which adds 2.1 kilometers at 5.4%. By this point, the riders are nearing Domérat once again.
The riders enter the final circuit at kilometer 119.5, immediately confronting the Côte de Buffon—a brief, steep climb of 600 meters at 8.6%. The initial crossing of the finish line occurs 4.5 kilometers later.
The circuit also features the Côte de Domérat, which is 1.8 kilometers long at 4%. The 29.6-kilometer loop is tackled twice in its entirety, meaning the Côte de Buffon is ascended three times and the Côte de Domérat twice.
The first three riders to cross the finish line earn time bonuses of 10, 6, and 4 seconds, respectively, while the intermediate sprint awards 3, 2, and 1 second respectively.
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