2025 Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 8 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 8 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 final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné features 3,600 meters of climbing over 133.8 kilometers. The last climb ascends for 9.6 kilometers at an average gradient of 6.9%, followed by a flat 5.1-kilometer stretch to the finish.
A short, steep uphill kicker opens the action before the Côte de Saint-Georges presents 4.7 kilometers of climbing at 7.1%. The riders crest this climb just over 15 kilometers into the race, after which the route remains relatively uneventful for quite a while. The real climbing begins around the halfway point.
The Col de Beaune is a 6.6-kilometer ascent at an average of 6.8%. From the summit, the riders descend into Saint-Michel-de-Maurienne, and from that point — with roughly 60 kilometers remaining — the road heads uphill virtually all the way to the finish. It’s not always steep, and there are even a few flat kilometers, but the trend is unmistakable: up!
The Côte de Saint-Georges (2.5 kilometers at 7.6%) is followed, with no significant descent in between, by the Côte de Saint d’Aussois (6.3 kilometers at 6.2%). At this summit, the riders reach an altitude of 1,473 meters above sea level and will remain above 1,280 meters for the rest of the day.
After the Côte de Saint d’Aussois, the course gently undulates toward the base of the final climb of the Critérium du Dauphiné: the Col du Mont Cenis. Starting in Lanslebourg, it rises for 9.6 kilometers at 6.9% to the Plateau du Mont-Cenis. Once at the top, there are still 5 kilometers to go, which include a brief descent followed by a gentle uphill drag to the finish.
According to some sources, over 2,000 years ago, the Carthaginian general Hannibal led his army across the Alps via the Col du Mont Cenis to confront the Romans. In his wake: forty elephants, fifty thousand infantrymen, and nine thousand cavalry.
The first three riders to cross the finish line receive time bonuses of 10, 6, and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint offers 3, 2 and 1 second respectively.
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