The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré is traditionally one of the best organised races in the UCI WorldTour and one the riders love to ride as their thoughts turn to the Tour de France.
The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré covers many of the same roads and same mountain climbs as its bigger cousin, allowing the riders to test their fitness and study their rivals. Victory is important and prestigious, making whoever pulls on the winner's yellow jersey a natural favourite for the Tour de France and confirming them as one of the top stage racers in the UCI WorldTour. All riders who have won the Tour de France five times – Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain, have also won the race at least once.
The Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré was first held in 1947 as cycling recovered from the long absence of most top bike racing due to the Second World War hostilities. The Dauphiné Libéré newspaper, like many of its rivals in France and other media in Europe, decided to create and organise a cycling stage race to help sell copies of the newspaper. Each day the newspaper offered detailed reports and photographs of the previous day's stage. Edoard Klabinski from Poland defeated the local riders and French champions to win the first edition. However French riders dominate the early roll call of winners with Nello Lauredi, Luis Ocaña, Charly Mottet and Bernard Hinault each winning three editions of the race.
In the last 20 years, riders from around the world have enjoyed success, with Bradley Wiggins winning in 2011 and 2012, followed by his Team Sky companion Chris Froome in 2013.
Last year Andrew Talansky became only the fourth American to win overall. He took advantage of a fierce battle between Spain's Alberto Contador and Froome to gain time in a decisive breakaway on the final stage of the race. Froome was suffering after a crash but Contador was outmaneuvered and was unable to close the gap on Talansky's group, losing overall by a meagre 27 seconds.
This year's race will be the 67th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The racing starts on Sunday June 7 and ends a week later on Sunday June 14. It is expected to start in the town of Albertville, in the Alps, which hosted the 1992 Winter Olympic Games.