Preview: Five questions for the 2023 Critérium du Dauphiné

Egan Bernal
Egan Bernal (Image credit: Getty)

Other races may be better-known, more prestigious or more popular, but when it comes to rune-reading, the Critérium du Dauphiné is in a class of its own every year. Being considered a key warm-up race for the Tour de France tends to have that effect.

The eight-day French event, which starts this Sunday, is both blessed and cursed by its status regarding the Tour. On the one hand, it's a prestigious event in its own right, being considered one of France's top three stage races and with a star-studded palmares. With major mountains, summit finishes, and a mid-week time trial, the performance of every major contender and the implication for the Tour de France is heavily scrutinized.

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Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.

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