The ASO has rebranded the Critérium du Dauphiné to the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, trading decades of cycling history for a regional naming rights update. It’s not even the first time this year that an iconic race has changed its name to something moderately indecipherable. At this rate, the Giro will end up being called ‘Towards Rome: A Race Around Italy.’
Whatever the corporate letterhead says, the eight-day race running from June 7 to June 14 remains the definitive testing ground for the Tour de France. It’s like a mini Tour de France, but better because you can get close enough to the riders to smell Tadej Pogacar’s embrocation.
The 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Route
As it often does, the 1,208-kilometer parcours favors climbers. After navigating tricky transition stages on the opening weekend, the GC contenders will face their first real test during Stage 3’s 28.4-kilometer team time trial around Perreux.
The race will be decided across an alpine triple-header. Stage 6 brings the first uphill finish at Crest-Voland. Stage 7 forces the peloton over the Lacets du Grand Colombier before an uncompromising summit finish on the 10.2% gradients of the Grand Colombier itself.
If the time gaps are still tight, Stage 8 offers no place to hide. The final 120-kilometer route strings together the Col du Pré, Montée de Bisanne, and Col des Aravis before culminating on the steep ramps of the Plateau de Solaison.
Ones to Watch: Who Will Win the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes?
2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes startlist
This year’s start list highlights a clear generational shift in the peloton. Which is to say, many of big names in the sport are curiously absent this year. Maybe the name change confused them too.
Instead, the fight for the overall victory is a wide-open battle among the sport’s youngest top-tier talent. Isaac del Toro anchors the climbing roster for UAE Team Emirates-XRG alongside João Almeida. They will face challenges from Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) and local favorite Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CGM), who has the ideal terrain to test his climbing threshold.
Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe brings Remco Evenepoel to sort out his pre-Tour form, while Visma | Lease a Bike will deploy Wout van Aert and Matteo Jorgenson to manage the intermediate stages and drive the team time trial.
Nerd Corner
- Another Classic Newspaper Stunt: Just like the Giro’s pink paper origins, this race was originally created in 1947 by the local newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré to boost post-war circulation. The ASO fully swallowed the event in 2010, and this latest 2026 shift to the “Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes” is the final line item erasing the old paper’s print legacy.
- The Ultimate Tour Predictor: If you want to win the Tour, you usually ride this. And often you win it. Recent winners of the Dauphiné and the Tour de France in the same summer include Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, and Bradley Wiggins.
- The Record Holders: Nello Lauredi, Luis Ocaña, Charly Mottet, Bernard Hinault,and Chris Froome share the all-time record with three overall victories each. Given the state of the current start list, that elite tier won’t be breached this summer, giving the old guard another year of historical safety.
How to Watch the 2026 Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
We’ll have daily race highlights from the 2026 edition available for free on Cyclry TV.
You can also watch on these channels. And probably other channels too.
- Europe: Eurosport, Discovery+, and HBO Max
- UK: TNT Sports or streaming on HBO Max
- USA: Peacock
- Canada: FloBikes
