Critérium du Dauphiné changes name to Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in 2026

Tadej Pogačar became the last winner of the Critérium du Dauphiné on Sunday. As of 2026, the race will be rebranded as the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, marking a significant break with tradition for the event.

The race was established in 1947 as the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, named for the newspaper that founded it. When the race fell under the aegis of Tour de France organiser ASO in 2010, the name was shortened to Critérium du Dauphiné.

The Dauphiné was a historic region of France, roughly corresponding to the present-day departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes, though the race had begun to extend well beyond that area in the 21st century.

On Monday, ASO announced that the race will be renamed as the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, marking a partnership with the local government of the wider Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.

“The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has enabled the event to take on a new dimension in recent years, offering even more possibilities for varying the route,” read the statement. “This name change reflects the geographical identity that the race has acquired over more than ten years.”

That view was reiterated by Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme in a press conference in Lyon on Monday. “It’s a new name that fully reflects the race's regional roots,” he said, according to L’Équipe.

The first edition of the rebranded Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will take place from June 7-14, 2026.

Pogačar was an emphatic winner of the last race under the Dauphiné appellation, when he also became the first reigning world champion to win the event since Bernard Hinault in 1981.