The riders start out in northerly direction before continuing on a west-southerly loop. The first KOM climb of five is the Côte du Mont-Dore (1.8 kilometres at 5.5%), shortly followed by the Côte de la Stèle (1.9 kilometres at 5%).
The riders enter the 23.2 kilometre long finishing circuit after 88.1 kilometres. It’s ridden three times with the Côte du Rocher de l’Aigle a recurrent ostacle. It’s a 1 kilometres climb at 7.3%, but it’s pepped up by a preceding climb of 4.9 kilometres at 4.7%.
A descent of almost 10 kilometres takes the riders to 1 kilometre at 4% before a flat final kilometre.
The opener of last year’s Dauphine was won by Wout van Aert. The Flemish star outgunned Ethan Hayter and Sean Quinn in the sprint.
The first three riders on the line gain time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the intermediate sprint comes with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
Ride the route yourself? Download GPX stage 1 Critérium du Dauphiné.
Another interesting read: results 1st stage 2023 Critérium du Dauphiné.
Critérium du Dauphiné 2023 stage 1: route, profiles, more
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