2025 Criterium du Dauphine

[Jeremy McCreary]

With 3 of 8 stages now complete, the 2025 Criterium du Dauphine through eastern France is turning into an interesting race. I'm streaming it on Peacock.

All the big Tour de France (TdF) contenders are there — Pogi, Vingegaard, van der Poel, etc. But riders I know nothing about have been dominating the action so far.

After Stage 3, several riders commented on how hard it was — including Pogi, who said it felt every bit as tough as a TdF stage. And it wasn't just the elevation gain. Speeds on the last climb and the flattish final 15 km to the finish were exceptionally high.

Only 2 more World Tour events before the TdF begins on July 5, and the commentators and journalists are tripping over themselves trying to read the Dauphine tea leaves for clues as to how the TdF might go.

 

[stompandgo]

Dauphine has always been the TdF tuneup. Pogi has been lurking in the early season, making an appearance here and there. He should be 100%. Vingegaard has been hiding, but spotted training. He should be 100%. MVDP has been racing hard in the early season. The guy is a beast, but he is not a Grand Tour dominant rider. He excels on hard, flat to rolling stages, and in CX. Yates and Carapaz smoked themselves in the Giro. They will play support roles unless someone blows. The wild card has always been Roglic. Just when he looks to be off form, he surprises. Wout is just Wout. He will contend, and get TV time. It's funny, I met him at at a hotel in Oudenaarde, when he was young and riding for Leopard. A total snob.

Both Pogi and Jonas have great teams. It should again come down to them, with Roglic and Yates as spoilers. I will always be a Jonas fan and will pull for him throughout.

This Saturday, I'm working the MA State Road Championships as a Commissaire. One of my favorite assignments.

These are the best of times.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Caught up on the Dauphine with a serious case of TdF fever starting to set in, so tonight I'm looping back to watch the 2025 Paris-Roubaix with Phil Liggett and Bob Roll on the microphones. I like listening to those guys.

 

[BlackHand]

@Jeremy McCreary if you have access to Max you should stream at least a couple stages from the Giro. Notably the gravel stage (5 or 6 maybe?) and stage 20. Stage 20 was up there with the best TdF stages.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

@Jeremy McCreary if you have access to Max you should stream at least a couple stages from the Giro. Notably the gravel stage (5 or 6 maybe?) and stage 20. Stage 20 was up there with the best TdF stages.

Thanks for the tip! Will see if I can get access.

 

[stompandgo]

We have Max but the tier is too low for cycling.

 

[stompandgo]

I'm catching up. I just watched the finish of Stage 1. WOW!!!

 

[Rás Cnoic]

@Jeremy McCreary if you have access to Max you should stream at least a couple stages from the Giro. Notably the gravel stage (5 or 6 maybe?) and stage 20. Stage 20 was up there with the best TdF stages.

This year's Giro was very exciting. The Yates & Van Aert join up on the Finestre climb was the most stunning tactical move I've seen in many a long year. Just incredible, shows why road racing is endlessly fascinating. Chess on Wheels indeed.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

@Jeremy McCreary if you have access to Max you should stream at least a couple stages from the Giro. Notably the gravel stage (5 or 6 maybe?) and stage 20. Stage 20 was up there with the best TdF stages.

Watching the 2025 Giro gravel stage (9) on a temporarily upgraded MAX subscription now. OMG, the dust on that white hardpack (aka strade bianche)! I have visions of the small airways in the riders' lungs coated with white mud. Not good for VO2max.

Poor Roglic must have a karma problem. Reminds me of that Cream song Born Under a Bad Sign: "If I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."

Having a hard time understanding the commentators' various UK accents. They still speak English over there, right?

One of them has a melodramatic streak that gets pretty silly at times. Give me Liggett and Roll any day.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

This year's Giro was very exciting. The Yates & Van Aert join up on the Finestre climb was the most stunning tactical move I've seen in many a long year. Just incredible, shows why road racing is endlessly fascinating. Chess on Wheels indeed.

What stage was that?

 

[BlackHand]

What stage was that?

That's stage 20. Crazy effort by the Visma squad.

 

[stompandgo]

Is there any doubt that Jonas is on form?

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Is there any doubt that Jonas is on form?

His attack on Stage 1 of the Daupine was out of character. Looked like he was having fun. Loads of grins.

Hilarious breakaway with him Pog Remco & Van Der Poel. I mean the mere mortals back in the peloton must be tempted to just give up...

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Just caught the Stage 7 highlights. One minute, Pogi's running water bottles to his team mates from one end of the peloton to the other. Effortlessly.

The next minute, he's riding away from everyone to take the stage, looking not the least bit bothered as he crossed the finish with his usual big smile.

Meanwhile, Jonas is chasing with everything he's got, crossing the finish 20 some seconds later for 2nd place, looking like he's about to collapse.

I know you're a big Jonas fan, @stompandgo . He was my fave for a long time, too. But Pogi's such a class act!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

This year's Giro was very exciting. The Yates & Van Aert join up on the Finestre climb was the most stunning tactical move I've seen in many a long year. Just incredible, shows why road racing is endlessly fascinating. Chess on Wheels indeed.

Stunning's a good word. Masterful is another. Great race watching! Loved the post-race interview with van Aert.

But NOT great listening. The main Giro commentator (Irish accent?) drives me crazy. Melodramatic to the extreme. Over and over, I keep begging him, "Would you PLEASE shut up and let someone else talk?!"

 

[Chargeride]

Never heard of this, unless you are particularly seeking it out there isnt much exposure of French events and its an Irish accent then yes, subtitles required.

 

[BlackHand]

Stunning's a good word. Masterful is another. Great race watching! Loved the post-race interview with van Aert.

But NOT great listening. The main Giro commentator (Irish accent?) drives me crazy. Melodramatic to the extreme. Over and over, I keep begging him, "Would you PLEASE shut up and let someone else talk?!"

van Aert set his 1 hr avg power record pacing Yates after the climb: 428 watts. At the end of a 200km stage, after a big climb, after bridging to the breakaway at 40km into the stage.

Almost lost in the noise between van Aert's heroics and the EF/UAE Mexican standoff (technically a Mexican/Ecuadorian standoff) was Yates' amazing climb setting a new record on the Finestre climb.

Sure, the announcer is melodramatic but to be fair the last time Yates rode that climb was one of the most famous collapses in recent history to lose the Giro. Then he comes back 7 years later and just destroys it to win the Giro.

Simon Yates Smashes Finestre Record | Giro d’Italia 2025 Stage 20 - Lanterne Rouge

A historic day on Colle delle Finestre delivered one of the biggest upsets in recent Giro d’Italia history.…

lanternerouge.com

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

The

van Aert set his 1 hr avg power record pacing Yates after the climb: 428 watts. At the end of a 200km stage, after a big climb, after bridging to the breakaway at 40km into the stage.

I guess blood tests for doping don't pick up space aliens from advanced cycling civilizations.

All coast rides south take me through a very busy work zone with no bike lane and barely a full car lane. The motivation to get through that half-mile as quickly as possible is very high. On a good day, I can crack 400W for maybe 30 seconds there.

The idea that any human can do that for an hour just doesn't compute.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

van Aert set his 1 hr avg power record pacing Yates after the climb: 428 watts. At the end of a 200km stage, after a big climb, after bridging to the breakaway at 40km into the stage.

Almost lost in the noise between van Aert's heroics and the EF/UAE Mexican standoff (technically a Mexican/Ecuadorian standoff) was Yates' amazing climb setting a new record on the Finestre climb.


It was sweet for both of them, Van Aert after a miserable Spring classics season & back from injury and Yates for that collapse & humiliation on the same climb. Hollywood ending for sure. It was the most incredible conclusion to a major tour in yonks. And yes Mexican/Ecuadorian stand off is right! I did feel for Carapaz a bit, he knew exactly the dilemma: chase Yates again & he blows up and he hands Del Toro the win. Stay on Del Toros wheel and Yates gets away, as happened. Carapaz had been in this position too before. I wonder if team comms failed to notice Van Aert making it over the top? They must have been keeping an eye on this. Or if not did Del Toro think that with Yates gaining a 1.40 lead at the top he could claw 15 secs back by the end for the race order to stay the same?

High stakes all while busting a gut on this devilish climb. Unbelievable.

I don't watch on TNT sports. Or Discovery as it really is. They swept up the rights like they did in mtb downhill and a lot of rugby coverage. They immediately increased cycling subs to £31 a month from £40 a year with no warning and no added benefit. They don't care about cycling just the subs and cash. Trying to prop up the dying Discovery channel business with the dying of cable TV & desperately compete with the streamers. They saw a cheap acquisition in these sports and I hate my favourite sport being used like this. From next year we won't get the Tour De France on ITV (free to air) for the first time in about 30 years. A whole generation of kids not seeing it, in a country where road racing is under threat, and there are rumours Discovery are trying to buy the Six Nations rugby tournament from BBC/ITV making people pay for that too. It's pure greed.

 

[kojack]

I am going to have to subscribe to flosports here to get the bike action. I get my mountain bike fill for free on redbull, and need flo to get the tour and other road races.