Critérium du Dauphiné 2026 route - Stage-by-stage guide

The 2026 Critérium du Dauphiné features a diverse, eight-stage route. It starts with a mountainous 146.2km circuit from Vizille to Saint-Ismier on Stage 1, followed by a 234.3km transition to Le Puy-en-Velay on Stage 2. 

The race then shifts to a 28.4km TTT for Stage 3, a rolling 167.4km test on Stage 4, and a 195.8km sprint opportunity on Stage 5. 

The Dauphiné brings the high mountains, where Stage 6 finishes atop Crest-Voland, Stage 7 tackles the steep Col du Grand Colombier via Virieu-le-Petit, and Stage 8 delivers a Queen Stage showdown on the Plateau de Solaison to define the GC battle.

The race organisers opted for a testing, semi-mountainous circuit to kick off the newly rebranded race. Beginning in Vizille, the action kicks off immediately with an uncategorised ramp just 6km in, followed by a total of five classified climbs scattered across the Isère department. 

First is the early category 2 Col de l'Arzelier (8.6km at 5.7%) before navigating the mid-stage steps of the category 3 Côte de Seyssins (2.6km at 6%), Côte de Quaix-en-Chartreuse (2.3km at 9.2%), and the category 2 Col de Vence (5.1km at 6%). 

The final climb is the hardest of the stage, the category 1 Côte de Rousset. This 8.2km climb, which averages 7.6%, could see significant splits, and with the summit coming 20.9km from the finish, it means that the strongest riders could make a move at this point. 

From the summit, the riders will descend their way towards Le Versoud, before the road begins to gradually rise in the final kilometres to the finish in Saint-Ismier. 

Serving as the longest day out of the Dauphiné, stage 2 presents an endurance test designed to sap the legs before the upcoming team time trial. 

The 234.3km route from Saint-Martin-Le-Vinoux to Le Puy-en-Velay features a wearing succession of five rolling ascents throughout the stage. While none are above the category two status, the accumulation and the distance of the stage are more than enough to make this an attritional day in the saddle. 

Following the start in Saint-Martin-Le-Vinoux, the riders will reach the foot of the first categorised climb after 13km, the category 2 Col de Chatain (7.9km at 5.7%). The climb is followed in relatively quick succession by the less significant climb, the Col de la Croix de Toutes Aures (2.8km at 6.1%). 

The longest climb of the day, the category 2 Col Robert Marchand (10.9km at 4.4%) comes mid-way through the lengthy trek and isn't likely to be as significant as the final two climbs.

Kicking off the finale inside the final 30km is the category 2 Côte des Baraques (4.2km at 6.6%). However, attention will be firmly on the Côte de Saint-Vidal (2km at 7.4%) as a prime launchpad for attacks. The category 3 test peaks just 11.8km from the finish, and with a downhill run-in, should incentivise opportunistic racing in the finale.

This stage could arguably be one of the most significant of the race, taking place in the shape of a high-stakes team time trial for the GC battle.

Additionally, scheduled less than a month before the Tour de France begins with a team time trial in Barcelona, the stage will serve as a crucial high-speed dress rehearsal, using the same format as in the Tour: a team time trial in which individual times count.

The 28.4km route outlines Perreux, challenging teams across two intermediate time checks at 8km and 15.8km that crest the route’s main rolling climbs. A fast downhill section dominates the final 10km back into Perreux before culminating in a punishing final kick to the finish line.

This stage will not only be a crucial stage for the GC battle, but the teams will know that it presents a key opportunity to hone their craft in the discipline ahead of the Tour’s opener in Barcelona. 

Stage 4 offers no time for a slow warm-up, climbing immediately out of the start up the Category 4 Col de la Croix de l'Arbre (4km at 4.1%).

The terrain becomes significantly more rugged over the middle section of the 167.4km route, where five categorised climbs are crammed into a 40km window.

The centrepiece of this sequence is the Category 2 Côte de Chougoirand, which averages 5.5% over 7.8km. Following the final climb in this sequence, the Category 4 Côte de Roche-en-Forez (2.1km at 4.5%), with just under 60km to go, the road continues to rise for a brief period before the descent begins.

After descending their way to Montverdun, the riders will have a flat 30km run-in to the finish in Montround-Les-Bains, balancing the scales for a dramatic high-speed chase between the day's breakaway and the fast finishers' teams.

This stage offers the sprinters a rare opportunity, utilising a second half that contains some of the flattest terrain in this year's Dauphiné.

Action will spark early out of Saint-Chamond, where two categorised climbs in the first 10km, the Côte de la Croix-Blanche (3km at 5%) and Col de la Gachet (1.6km at 4.4%), will fuel the breakaway fight.

Though these are the day's only categorised climbs, rolling roads persist until the intermediate sprint in Blacé midway through the stage. 

From here, the profile flattens dramatically, setting the fast men up for a prime opportunity for a bunch sprint in Parc des Oiseaux-Villars-les-Dombes.

Stage 6 offers the first of three consecutive summit finishes at the end of 182.3km from Saint-Vulbas to Crest-Voland.

In total, there are four categorised climbs, and they are split into pairs. The first two climbs, the Côte de Châtelard (4.3km at 5.7%) and Col du Granier (8km at 5.7%), come in quick succession, with no descent proper between them. 

Midway through the stage, the two climbs are unlikely to have as big an impact as the final pair of category 1 ascents. 

The Côte d'Héry-sur-Ugine (11.5km at 5.1%) is the longer but less steep of the pair, and will be crested with 9.1km of the stage remaining. A very short descent follows before the road kicks back up to Crest-Voland (5.9km at 7.7%). 

With the two stages that follow, it will be interesting to see how committed the GC contenders are to controlling this finish. 

Sandwiched between two other crucial profiles, stage 7 is another brute of a stage, featuring six categorised climbs including a stern summit finish atop the Grand Colombier. However, the route to the Grand Colombier will also pose its challenges too. 

Beginning in La Bridoire, there are three categorised climbs inside the first 25km of the stage: the Col du Banchet (5.3km at 5.7%), the Col de la Crusille (2.9km at 4%) and the Côte de Saint-Maurice-de-Rotherns (4.9km at 7.1%).

Next up is one of the most stunning climbs in cycling, the Lacets du Grand Colombier (7km at 8.4%). This category 1 climb comes mid-way through the stage, with the road snaking its way to the summit with 57.4km remaining. 

A final pre-appetiser comes in the shape of the category 2 Col de Richemond (7.7km at 6%), crested with 22.4km to go, before attention turns to a brutal finale.

Ultimately, the Grand Colombier (8.4km at 10.2%) is the main event of the penultimate stage. The Grand Colombier is the first HC climb of the 2026 Dauphiné, and it's easy to understand why, considering the average gradient remains north of 10% throughout the 8.4km. 

The race organisers have saved the toughest until the very last on stage 8. This firecracker of a queen stage is 120.1km in length, featuring two Category 1 climbs and two HC climbs. 

From the start in Beaufort, the riders will instantly get a feeling for what kind of day it will be, starting at the base of the category 1 Col du Pré (6.9km at 10.1%). This climb should see plenty of action as strong climbers try their luck one last time to get into the breakaway. 

Next is the first HC climb of the stage, the Montée de Bisanne (11.4km at 7.7%), which is marginally the longest climb, crested after 43.1km of racing.

The descent of the HC climb is shallower than the first, taking the peloton past the intermediate sprint in Les Glières before the category 1 Col des Aravis. 

This climb is summited with a little under 50km to go, before the most drawn out descent of the stage takes the riders to the final battleground of the 2026 Dauphiné.

There's no escaping the brutality of the Plateau de Solaison (11.3km at 9.1%), and at the end of a queen stage like this, this final HC ascent will expose any lingering fatigue and crown the overall winner.