Volcanic landscape perfect setting for explosive Critérium du Dauphiné opening stage

Organisers of the 75th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné, running from June 4 to 11, have announced that the 2023 event will kick off in Chambon-sur-Lac, at the heart of the Auvergne region’s ancient volcanoes.

Stage winner Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma, right) and overall race winner Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) celebrate as they cross the finish line at the end of the eighth and last stage of the 2022 edition of the Criterium du Dauphine. Source: AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images

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The route of the first stage is 158 kilometres long, beginning and finishing in Chambon-sur-Lac. With close to 3000 metres of climbing, the steep, volcanic terrain is certain to explode more than a few sets of legs, providing spectators and riders with a strong indication of who is in form one month before the Tour de France.

While the remaining stages are yet to be announced, 2023 will mark the second start of the Dauphiné in the Puy-de-Dôme department following the opening stage in Clermont-Ferrand in 2020.

This year will be the first time Chambon-sur-Lac proudly adds its name to the map of the event, although several neighbouring municipalities have recently played host to the Dauphiné peloton giving the riders opportunities to express themselves on a variety of terrains.

It was in 2020, for instance, that Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) victoriously opened a reduced five-stage edition of the Dauphiné, which was moved to August due to a modified “Covid year” schedule. The following year in Issoire, Brent Van Moer (now Lotto Dstny) made a solo breakaway to pick up his finest victory.

In 2022, it was even nearer to the slopes of the Puy de Sancy that David Gaudu (Groupama FDJ) surprised van Aert to pip him at the post on the finishing line in Chastreix.

On the programme for 2023, the route of the first stage has been traced out to start and finish at Chambon-sur-Lac, taking in a 158-kilometre expedition among the direct surroundings of the town, spread over four loops. The first will take the peloton to the ski resort of Mont-Dore, while the second, measuring 23 kilometres and containing three laps of the same circuit, will include obstacles to the sprinters’ ambitions such as the Côte du Rocher de l’Aigle (900 vertical metres with an average gradient of 6.7 per cent).

In total, there will be 2,860 metres of climbing during this opening stage, with the relief of the Auvergne putting the riders to the test from the outset.

The Dauphiné's visit to Chambon-sur-Lac will also offer riders a short preview of the 10th stage of the 2023 Tour de France, as the peloton will be passing through the municipality midway between Vulcania and Issoire in July.