Post Dauphiné domination, Slovenian says Jumbo-Visma have multiple Tour options
Critérium du Dauphiné 2022 overview
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Primoz Roglic wins the Criteriium du Dauphine(Image credit: Getty Images)
Carlos Verona won stage 7(Image credit: Getty Images)
Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) won stage 6 from the breakaway group in Gap(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) makes no mistake on stage 5 to win sprint ahead of Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe)(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) won stage 4, his fourth TT victory of the year (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
David Gaudu of Groupama-FDJ beats Wout van Aert of Jumbo-Visma at the line to win stage 3(Image credit: Sprint Cycling Agency)
Frenchman Alexis Vuillermoz of Team TotalEnergies celebrates winning stage 2(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Wout van Aert of Team Jumbo-Visma takes the first yellow jersey after winning stage 1(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Primož Roglič won the overall title at the Critérium du Dauphiné after a remarkable performance from Jumbo-Visma on the final ascent of the Plateau de Solaison.
Roglič and Jonas Vingegaard rode away from their rivals on the last climb to take 1-2 for Jumbo-Visma with Vingegaard winning the stage. Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroën Team) was their nearest rival and finished third on the day.
The stage placings reflected the final overall classification with Roglič taking the title by 40 seconds over Vingegaard and 1:41 over O'Connor.
Carlos Verona (Movistar) held off a fierce chase from new overall race leader Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) to take the stage 7 victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné in Vaujany.
Verona was the last man standing and the strongest from the day's original breakaway, and had enough power left in his legs on the final climb to take a solo win by 13 seconds ahead of Roglič and 25 seconds ahead of his Jumbo-Visma teammate Jonas Vingegaard.
Roglič capitalised on the remarkable show of strength from his Jumbo-Visma team on the final ascent into Vaujany and move into the overall race lead, taking over from his teammate and overnight leader Wout van Aert.
Valentin Ferron (Team TotalEnergies) won stage 6 of the Critérium du Dauphiné from a breakaway into Gap for his first World Tour victory. The 24-year-old Frenchman won ahead of compatriots Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM), who strengthened his KOM lead, and Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic).
The six-rider breakaway of the day made it to the line for a second time this week, and in Friday's mix with the top 3 finishers were Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën), Andrea Bagioli (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) and Victor Lafay (Cofidis).
Stage 6 of the Dauphiné covered a hilly 196.5km and was the longest day of this year’s race, with hills from Rives through Drôme region and into Gap. After a relatively quiet day of racing, Juan Sebastián Molano was disqualified after being caught on camera hitting a fellow rider, Frenchman Hugo Page, as Molano felt Page had cut across him in the battle for position in the peloton late in the stage.
Jumbo-Visma's Wout van Aert finished in the peloton, 32 seconds back and retained his yellow and blue jerseys ahead of a mountainous final weekend. The only change in GC was related to Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), who was eighth overall after the time trial on stage 4 and could not start stage 5 because of sickness.
The remaining two days will take the race to the high mountains of the French Alps.
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) won stage 5 of the Critérium du Dauphiné and used 10 bonus seconds to extend his GC lead. Unlike at Chastreix-Sancy on stage 3, there would be no late upset as Van Aert maintained his speed past the finish line to secure his second victory of the week. Jordi Meeus (Bora-Hansgrohe) closed quickly for second place, while Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) took third on the stage.
A reduced bunch hit the finishing straight in Chaintré with a flat-out chase to make the catch, and pass with 50 metres to go, of the four-rider breakaway - Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), Sebastian Schönberger (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis).
Van Aert now has a 1:03 lead on Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl), and 1:06 over Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), headed to Stage 6, at 196.5km the longest of race, from Rives through Drone region and into Gap.
Time trial World Champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) clocked the fastest time on the 31.9km TT course, 35:32, and won stage 4 of the Critérium du Dauphiné. GC leader Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) put in a strong performance, just two seconds slower, and extended his overall lead once he crossed the line in La Bâtie d’Urfé.
British time trial champion Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) posted the third best time, 17 seconds back, while Matteo Cattaneo (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) was fourth at 39 seconds.
Ganna took his fourth victory of the season in a race against the clock, impressing with an average speed of almost 54 kph. After the first time check, 11.6km from the start in Montbrison, Van Aert was 10 seconds faster than Ganna, but faded to finish second.
Stage 4 was a pivotal day for the general classification. The Belgian’s time, however, gave him a bigger advantage over Cattaneo, who now trails in the GC by 53 seconds. Two Jumbo-Visma riders are positioned just behind, Primož Roglič at 56 seconds and Jonas Vingegaard, who jumped 22 spots to fourth overall, at 1:26. Hayter jumped 36 spots to fifth overall, tied with same time as Vingegaard.
David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) won stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné by the narrowest of margins atop the category 2 ascent to Chastreix-Sancy. At the front of the group sprint, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) lifted his arms to celebrate victory, but as he crossed the line he realised Gaudu had the victory while he settled for second place. Victor Lafay (Cofidis) was third.
The Belgian champion reclaimed the yellow jersey after overnight leader Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) was distanced on the final climb. Gaudu moved up to second overall, six seconds behind Van Aert. Lafay was now third at 12 seconds, while the principal GC contenders, including Van Aert’s teammate Primož Roglič, was among a group at 16 seconds.
Alexis Vuillermoz (TotalEnergies) won stage 2 of the Critérium du Dauphiné from a five-rider breakaway group which held off a charging peloton in Brives-Charensac. Vuillermoz claimed his first win in three years, and took over the GC lead.
Anders Skaarseth (Uno-X) finished in second place, while Olivier Le Gac (Groupama-FDJ), who was the first of the break to surge for the line 500 metres out, held on for third place. Kevin Vermaerke (Team DSM) and Anthony Delaplace (Arkea-Samsic) rounded out the top five.
After winning the sprint on the opening day and the first leader's jersey, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) led the main pack across the line in sixth place. He now trails in fourth place overall, five seconds behind Vuillermoz. Skaarseth is second overall at three seoncds and Le Gac third at four seconds. Vermaerke, now fifth at seven seconds, gained three bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint that vaulted him above Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) and into the best young rider lead.
The hilly 169.8km stage travelled from Saint-Péray to Brives-Charensac and included the category 2 Col de Mézilhac (11.6km at 4.1%) inside the final 60km. Stage 3 on Tuesday is the first mountaintop finish of the week, after 164 kilometres culminating on the slopes of the category 2, 6.2km climb to Puy de Sancy.
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) won the opening stage of the 2022 Critérium du Dauphiné and gained the first leader's yellow jersey for the eight-day race. The victory was his fourth of his career on a stage at the French stage race.
The Belgian beat Ethan Hayter (Ineos Grenadiers) in the bunch sprint, with Sean Quinn (EF Education-Easy Post) taking third.
The hilly 191.8km stage in the Ardèche region began with a brief flurry of moves on the opening second-category ascent of the Col de Larisse, eventually allowing a day-long break go clear of Maxime Bouet (Arkéa-Samsic), Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM) and Laurens Huys (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux). But by the time the race reached the banks of the Rhône River, the sprinters' teams marched to the front.
Dates: June 5-12, 2022
Distance: 1,190.2km
Start: La Voulte-sur-Rhône, France
Finish: Plateau de Salaison, France
How to follow: Join Cyclingnews for live coverage all eight days, and check in after each stage for our full report, results, gallery, news and features.
The Critérium du Dauphiné returns for its 74th edition, its eight days of mountainous terrain serving as preparation in the past decade for the teams headed to the Tour de France. The race was shortened to five days in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, but returned to full strength last year with more than 1,200km of racing and back-to-back summit finishes on the final weekend.
The 2022 route is slightly under 1,200 kilometres, but continues with the mid-week time trial, this one almost twice as long at 31.9km, and four final days in the Alps. The doubleheader of mountaintop finishes on the final two stages will be intense. Stage 7 is the longest stage of the race at 196.4km between Saint-Chaffrey and Vaujany and the route will mirror terrain used on stage 12 of this year's Tour de France with the climbs to the Col du Galibier and the Col de la Croix-de-Fer. Stage 8 brings back the final uphill finish to Plateau de Solaison, which was last used in 2017.
Among the 22 teams at the first Grand Départ in Ardèche will be all 18 WorldTour teams and four ProTeams - B&B Hotels - KTM, Team Arkea-Samsic, Team TotalEnergies and Uno-X Pro Cycling Team. Ineos Grenadiers return, having won the last seven of 11 editions of the race, including 2021 with two riders on the GC podium. After two previous runner-up spots at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers) clinched his first victory at the race in 2021, alongside teammate Geraint Thomas on the final stage who took third overall.
This time around, Ineos will be led by Tao Geoghegan Hart. Jumbo-Visma will contest for the title with a line-up that includes Primož Roglič, Wout van Aert, and Jonas Vingegaard. Among the French teams, AG2R Citroën will count on Australian Ben O'Connor, while Groupama-FDJ are led by David Gaudu.
This year marks the first-ever start in the Ardèche for Critérium du Dauphiné, which will allow the riders to test themselves on the intermediate climbs of the opening two stages – 191.8km on stage 1 from La Voulte-sur-Rhône to Beauchastel and 169.8km on stage 2 from Saint-Péray to Brives-Charensac. Day three is the first battle of the climbers, 164km from Saint-Paulien to Chastreix-Sancy with attacks exploding on the slopes of the Puy de Sancy. Stage 4 brings a 31.9km individual time trial on twisting but flat roads between Montbrison and La Bâtie d'Urfé.
After this mid-way point in the eight-day race, it is all about climbing in the Alps, with 15 categorised climbs on the final four days of racing and two mountaintop finishes. Stage 5 is 162.3km from Thizy-les-Bourgs to Chaintré, followed by the gateway to the Alps on stage 6, 196.4km from Rives to Gap.
The queen stage is Saturday on stage 7, 134km between Saint-Chaffrey and Vaujany. The route offers much of the same terrain used on stage 12 of this year's Tour de France, with the climbs to the Col du Galibier and the Col de la Croix-de-Fer. The finish line of the Tour goes to Alpe d’Huez, while the Critérium du Dauphiné heads to the Isère ski resort at Vaujany.
The race's final stage on Sunday afternoon begins in Saint-Alban-Leysse and takes in 139 kilometres to Plateau de Solaison, which was last used for the finale in 2017. That year, Jakob Fuglsang took the title away from Richie Porte.
Critérium du Dauphiné history
The Critérium du Dauphiné has been held consecutively since 1947, with results voided in three years (2002, 2003 and 2006) because of anti-doping rules violations. Prior to 2010 the event was known as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré.
A number of riders have won the race on two occasions, but a quartet stand out for taking the title three times each – Luis Ocana (1970, 1972, 1973), Bernard Hinault (1977, 1979, 1981), Charly Mottet (1987, 1989, 1992), and Chris Froome (2013, 2015, 2016).
This year is the 74th edition of the French stage race. The individual time trial is set for the mid-point of the week, 31.9km in length, wrapped by five hilly days and the mountain stages on the final weekend to close the event.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2022 teams
AG2R Citroën Team
Astana Qazaqstan
Bahrain Victorious
Bora-Hansgrohe
Cofidis
EF Education-EasyPost
Groupama-FDJ
Ineos Grenadiers
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
Israel-Premier Tech
Jumbo-Visma
Lotto Soudal
Movistar Team
QuickStep-AlphaVinyl
Team BikeExchange-Jayco
Team DSM
Trek-Segafredo
UAE Team Emirates
B&B Hotels - KTM
Team Arkea-Samsic
Team TotalEnergies
Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
Races
Critérium du Dauphiné 2022
5 June 2022 - 12 June 2022|La Voulte-sur-Rhône|WorldTour
"Jonas and Primož just said ‘see ya’, catch you at the top',” says Bahrain Victorious rider of duo's winning performance on Dauphiné's Plateau de Solaison
