Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 6 Preview

The Dauphiné goes into the Alps but this is a taster before the weekend, some sharp punchy climbs rather than long mountain passes.

You win Saone, you lose Saone: a lively stage, the breakaway never got much more than two minutes and it was close with the last riders being swept up in the streets of Mâcon. Lidl-Trek had done a lot of the chase but Jonathan Milan misfired, Jake Stewart launched first and stayed away for the win.

There was a small crash with Remco Evenepoel in the the streets of Mâcon, he said right away he was fine but as Cyrille Guimard likes to say there’s never an insignificant crash. The greater significance was the earlier fall of Louis Vervaeke who leaves the race with a broken collarbone. He was supposed to be a mountain domestique for Evenepoel this summer.

The Route: 127km and 2,600m of vertical gain. There are lots of déjà vu with roads from the Tour and Dauphiné in recent years. It’s uphill from the start and then a long descent to Frangy, and then more climbs. All this to reach the first marked climb of the day, a case study in arbitrary allocation as it’s only a small rise while bigger efforts before and after are omitted.

The Col des Fleuries is a gentle climb and takes the race into the Alps proper. The Mont Saxonnex climb is the same start as the Plateau de Solaison summit finish used for the final stage of the 2017 Critérium du Dauphiné, a narrow approach road where it’s too late to move up, followed by a even more narrow funnel unto the start of the climb.

Listed as 5.4km at 8.7% it’s a hard climb on paper… and harder on tarmac. The valley road feels like it smashes into the cliff and it rears up instantly with 10 and 12% ramps to start and many non-climbers will be quickly dropped here. It’s the hardest climb of the day by far.

The Finish: the steep Domancy climb as seen before in the Dauphiné, Tour and World Championships past (and future in 2027) and then the main road to Combloux. It was here that UAE made the mistake of a bike swap in 2023 when the main road and gentle gradients suited a TT bike as used by Vingegaard. Then a turn-off in town to the Cry ski lifts, it’s a wide road and steep and while the slope eases to 5% it’s still uphill all the way to the line.

The Contenders: on paper this looks like a stage for Tadej Pogačar (UAE), the uphill finish suits him just right, he’s normally got more punch than Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel for this kind of finish. But we’ll see more about the form today after his relative losses in the time trial on Wednesday. It’d be an upset if the GC group comes into contest the win and he’s not winning out of it… but he needs the UAE team to control things and that’s not certain on the final climb.

The breakaway has a good chance, over half the field are five minutes or more down on GC. Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull) is suited but is he reserved for helping Florian Lipowitz? Alex Baudin and Ben Healy (EF), Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ), Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana) fit the bill.

–
Pogačar
Vingegaard, Van Gils, Buitrago, Evenepoel, Jorgenson, Baudin

Weather: sunny and 30°C

TV: KM0 is at 13.50 and the finish is forecast for 17.15 CEST. The last 90 minutes are live so we’ll see the Saxonnex climb.

Postcard from Combloux
We’re in the Alps and the stage finishes right next to some ski lifts. The race uses the Domancy climb which is famous for being famous, it’s branded as “the Berhard Hinault climb” as he won the World Championships here in 1980. If you like analogue tributes there’s a commemorative sign at the foot; the top is listed on Google Maps.

It all sounds like a great place to ride? Non, as much this area is in investing in cycling, it’s not a great destination. The Domancy climb is a case in point, it’s no scenic mountain pass, more a steep short-cut on the flanks of the hillside. Ride it and you can appreciate the gradient, especially how the inside line up some of the hairpins can be very steep.

Now if it was in the Netherlands you could charge cyclists €5 a go but here the challenge is the abundance of other roads nearby where you can get a genuine Alpine cycling experience. Sallanches and Combloux here are in a big valley without too many quiet passes for cyclists. Exit Combloux, pass Megève to reach Flumet and this is where more charming roads are be found.

Still if you like seeing the Domancy climb today, you can watch it 20 times in a day in 2027. The World Championships road race will take place here, the men’s race will feature 20 laps of the 13km circuit with 285m of vertical gain per tour. That’s over 5,700m of vertical gain and so while it may not be the best road in the Alps, it will surely provide satisfaction for the best rider of the day.

33 thoughts on “Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 6 Preview”

  5. I assume the tempo of 45 km/h for four hours and the heat got to Milan, but well done Stewart – another guy without a contract yet for next year.

    Ben Healy was the man sitting up at the back of the peloton everytime the TV camera was turned on yesterday, and today should suit him. Pogacar has some time to make up so I expect a Saturn 5 type lift off sometime.

    Hope Remco’s crash was not too bad – apparently not, but after years of listening to team statements, I’d advise having some salt close to hand.

    Be interesting to see what Visma do with their second card Jorgenson. Send him up first from the bottom of the last climb maybe?

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  6. Do you know that the Mont-Saxonnex is named after Saxo Grammaticus, the Danish writer, and that Vingegaard want to attack there to make a tribute to his famous ancestor ?

    Well, not sure on this one, maybe I mixed my files…

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  7. A probable goodbye, and hopefully see you all again in some months time.
    Health issues in the extended family will quite probably keep me away from now on.
    I won’t be posting on CN or CW or anywhere, either 😉

    Just to prevent commenters from thinking they finally succeded in kicking me out 😛 (just joking, of course, only a reference to other well-known cases) or that I’m not able to endure Vingo winning these next three stages, the TDF and the Worlds (did I forget the Vuelta…?) ^___^

    Enjoy!

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  9. I’m always amused when it’s 30 degrees and people are talking about the intense heat. I understand that they are racing, but nobody where I’m from would even consider that hot. When it’s 40+, that’s hot…although anything over 35 is less fun to ride in.

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    • And we all know all humans are the same and every pro cyclist is from the area whwre only 40°C counts as hot. Everyone complaining at below 35 is just a snowflake

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      • That is unnecessarily sharp, especially from an anonymous poster. Of course people are from different environments, that’s the whole point. I find it funny that Scandinavians get hot when it’s 30 degrees; I also find it funny when Uno-X is fine at cold races where other teams are literally dropping out from hypothermia. And I’ll sign my name to my “controversial” comment.

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  10. Agree with InRng’s comments on riding in that area. The main Arve valley running towards Chamonix is busy and industrial and you’re quite literally hemmed into it, often with no way of avoiding the main valley roads to link things up and never far from the roar of traffic on the Autoroute Blanche.

    There is some great riding nearby – Joux Plan, Flaine, Ramaz to the north and the more rolling hills of Vallee Verde above Saint-Jeoire to the north west and Colombier and Aravias to the south-west – but the main valley is not a pleasant cycling experience.

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  11. Totally agree re heading for Flumet for more quieter and more scenic climbs. From Flumet you have the Aravis (do in the AM before the traffic builds) and then just a short hop over you have the Col de la Croix Fry into the Manigod Valley – a stunning place and like a fairytale Disney mountain landscape.

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  12. Well that was the Dauphiné.

    And probably an indication of where the Tour will be heading. On the upside I’ll get more time for gardening and family this summer. 😉

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    • Pog isn’t the youngster he was a few seasons ago, but still. People have thought it was all over when he appeared strong at the start of the racing, only to get the suspense back later.
      Also, for the Tour, you’d think he couldn’t stay on high form for that long, right? Or maybe he can. But whatever happens, I won’t say it’s over until the end.

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    • Well, I for one misread Remco here. I thought he was hiding, but what a return from TP.
      En danseuse for 4 seconds, checking the opposition and riding away seated on an 8 % incline and exteding all the way to the line. What a monster. That was scary.
      Whatever confidence JV and Visma may have had must have vaporised.

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