Dauphine route

[MatParker117]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/2017-critrium-du-dauphin-route-features-novel-ascent-of-alpe-dhuez/

The opening stage, starting and finishing in Saint-Étienne, features three laps of a tough finishing circuit over the Rochetaillée climb and will provide an early, though hardly decisive, test for the overall contenders.

The following two legs, to Arlanc and Tullins, ought to give the sprinters an opportunity to shine, before the general classification picture begins to take shape with a 23.5-kilometre individual time trial from La Tour-du-Pin to Bourgoin-Jallieu.

Stage 5 to Mâcon takes in some rolling terrain that might give a breakaway attempt a fighting chance to hold off the fast men, who will be eager to grasp their final opportunity before the tough finale in the Alps.

The first instalment offers riders an important pre-Tour de France reconnaissance, as stage 6 tackles the hors-categorie Mont du Chat (8.7km at 10.3%) before the descent to the finish in La Motte-Servolex. Mont du Chat will feature in the finale of stage 9 of the Tour to Chambery, the first time it has been on the route of La Grande Boucle since 1974.

The penultimate stage brings the Dauphiné from Aosta in Italy to Alpe d’Huez by way of the Col du Cucheron, Col de Porte, Côte de Garcin and the hors-categorie Col de Sarenne (15.3km at 6.9%) before the shortened finale on the Alpe d’Huez (3.7km at 7.2%). The Tour descended the sinuous Col de Sarenne in 2013 when stage 18, won by Christophe Riblon, included two ascensions of Alpe d’Huez.

In keeping with organiser ASO’s recent tendency across its stage races, the final leg from Albertville to Plateau de Solaison is short but potentially spectacular. Although only 115 kilometres in length, it features the category 1 Col des Saises (15.1km at 6.4%), the category 2 Col des Aravis (6.6km at 6.9%) and the category 1 Col de la Colombière (11.3km at 6.1%), before the hors categorie haul to the finish on the Plateau de Solaison (11.3km at 9.2%).

2017 Critérium du Dauphiné route:

Sunday, 4 June. Stage 1: Saint-Étienne - Saint-Étienne (170 km)
Monday, 5 June. Stage 2: Saint-Chamond - Arlanc (171 km)
Tuesday, 6 June. Stage 3: Le Chambon-sur-Lignon - Tullins (184 km)
Wednesday, 7 June. Stage 4: La Tour-du-Pin - Bourgoin-Jallieu (23.5 TT)
Thursday, 8 June. Stage 5: La Tour-de-Salvagny - Mâcon (175 km)
Friday, 9 June. Stage 6: Parc des Oiseaux Villars-les-Dombes - La Motte-Servolex (145.5 km)
Saturday, 10 June. Stage 7: Aosta - Alpe d'Huez (167.5 km)
Sunday, 11 June. Stage 8: Albertville - Plateau de Solaison (115 km)

Good route for Froome has to be the favourite to set a record.

 

[Gigs_98]

Aosta to Alp d Huez over Cucheron, Porte and Sarenne in 168 kilometers? Can anyone tell cyclingnews that it's not April 1st.

 

[barmaher]

Aosta to Alp d Huez over Cucheron, Porte and Sarenne in 168 kilometers? Can anyone tell cyclingnews that it's not April 1st.

 

[Gigs_98]

Aosta to Alp d Huez over Cucheron, Porte and Sarenne in 168 kilometers? Can anyone tell cyclingnews that it's not April 1st.

How? there are mountains between France and Aosta

Edit: Is there a tunnel?

 

[Forever The Best]

Plateau de Solaison <3
Nice to see the Dauphine finish the Chat stage on La Motte Servolex.
Also the L' Alpe d' Huez stage starts in Aoste which is a small town in France, not in Aosta. Also good that L'Alpe is reached via Sarenne.

A Moutiers-L'Alpe d'Huez stage via Madeleine-Galibier-Sarenne would be great as a future stage in Tour or Dauphine. Around 170 km and 2 HC, 2 1C and a 3C climb to L'Alpe.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Good route for Froome has to be the favourite to set a record.

Of course he is, there's no one else that could set a record.

 

[fauniera]

How? there are mountains between France and Aosta

Edit: Is there a tunnel?

Aoste

Edit: Would be nice to put the profiles into the OP.

 

[Forever The Best]

Aosta to Alp d Huez over Cucheron, Porte and Sarenne in 168 kilometers? Can anyone tell cyclingnews that it's not April 1st.

How? there are mountains between France and Aosta

Edit: Is there a tunnel?

Look at this map, Gigs. The stage starts in Aoste which is a small town in France.
https://www.la-flamme-rouge.eu/maps/viewtrack/hd/110948

 

[Gigs_98]

I only repeated what I read in the op which was that the stage starts in aosta in italy.

 

[sQiD]

why they don't put this brutal climb in the TDF ?

 

[barmaher]

Aoste is a town 35km west of Chambery. You learn something new every day.

 

[Forever The Best]

I only repeated what I read in the op which was that the stage starts in aosta in italy.

I was just saying that the stage starts in Aoste. I didn't try to be mean or whatever. Sorry if I offended you

 

[Max Rockatansky]

I really like the idea to climb to Alpe d'Huez via Sarenne. Mont du Chat in this course is a love/hate thing. It will be in the Tour, so why here too? Just that Sky can study the climb and suck the life out of it at Le Tour? Still it is great to have the finish after the descent, which is a crazy one. Last stage is of course brutal, nice itt too.

Still I like the old Dauphinés before ASO a lot more. They often had longer itt's and used a lot more smaller roads and unknown climbs. It was a more local race without that Paris centered ASO vibe. Just my feeling.

 

[Forever The Best]

I really like the idea to climb to Alpe d'Huez via Sarenne. Mont du Chat in this course is a love/hate thing. It will be in the Tour, so why here too? Just that Sky can study the climb and suck the life out of it at Le Tour? Still it is great to have the finish after the descent, which is a crazy one. Last stage is of course brutal, nice itt too.

Still I like the old Dauphinés before ASO a lot more. They often had longer itt's and used a lot more smaller roads and unknown climbs. It was a more local race without that Paris centered ASO vibe. Just my feeling.

Very good point about Mont du Chat. Agree with this post mostly, except the unknown climbs part. Solaison is not a known climb. Also Meribel stage last year was good. Also in previous years some new MTFs were used, like Valmorel, Col du Beal, Finhaut Emosson, Le Bettex (though it was used in 1990, but not from the side via Amerands.)

 

[veji11]

Re:

why they don't put this brutal climb in the TDF ?

Because they like to try things out in the Dauphiné first, so having this climb now on the Dauphiné is a very good sign for the future if it works out well from a logistical point of view.

 

[veji11]

What I really like is that the route is irregular and tricky. A first stage with a distinct Paris Nice vibe, a 20+km ITT (a rare thing now compared to the 50km ITTs of old), 3 different Mountain stages with only one classic MTF and what a pain it will be. Really a nice route.

 

[Red Rick]

Seems like a km at 11.%3 is a huge lot steeper than a km at 11.1%

 

[Laplaz]

Re:

Seems like a km at 11.%3 is a huge lot steeper than a km at 11.1%

That was my also my first thought...

 

[Valv.Piti]

Whats the overall take on the route? We will get to see 3 very interesting finals that we haven't seen so far, so thats a plus altho Im not too sure about Chat. I'd honestly rather wait for that in July. The time trial is a plus as well, its a decent length for modern standards in a week long race and balances it out. Froome is the huge favourite, but its good for Alberto the 3 difficult mountain stages will come at last as he tends to get better and better in these kind of races. Those 2 and Porte are the only ones capable of winning the race.

And the 1 stage looks interesting for sure.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

Whats the overall take on the route? We will get to see 3 very interesting finals that we haven't seen so far, so thats a plus altho Im not too sure about Chat. I'd honestly rather wait for that in July. The time trial is a plus as well, its a decent length for modern standards in a week long race and balances it out. Froome is the huge favourite, but its good for Alberto the 3 difficult mountain stages will come at last as he tends to get better and better in these kind of races. Those 2 and Porte are the only ones capable of winning the race.

And the 1 stage looks interesting for sure.

I agree. I'd rather see a medium mountain stage with a tough/selective finale than Mont du Chat getting spoiled a bit.

 

[Brullnux]

Final very hard MTF misplaced. Also there's no point having such a short stage with such a hard MTF as little will happen in the stage.

 

[Netserk]

But this is not an autonomous race any longer The short final stage should be seen in the light of Dauphiné as the official Tour de France prep race. Better not tire the riders too much a month before, eh?

 

[barmaher]

I like the route. Quite a bit actually.

 

[vedrafjord]

Re:

Seems like a km at 11.%3 is a huge lot steeper than a km at 11.1%

Does anyone still take ASO's profiles and climb categorisations at face value?

 

[Gigs_98]

I think the route is decent but not great. The biggest problem is the extremely hard mtf on the last stage which might lead to conservative racing on the days before. And thats a shame since I really like the finales of the Alp d'Huez and the Mont du Chat stage. (Although I also would have preferred to wait for the Mont du Chat until July instead of seeing it twice in a few weeks)
Besides that stage one looks very promising and I'm happy that there is an ITT although I haven't looked on the details of that stage yet.