By Dave Campbell — Both of these June events are exciting week-long mountainous stage races on their own but also extremely important preparation events for riders targeting cycling’s biggest prize: The Tour de France! The Dauphiné Libéré newspaper founded the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 1947 to boost sales. In 2010 the name was shortened to the Critérium du Dauphiné. French riders have traditionally dominated the race with 30 editions falling to home riders.
The Tour de Suisse began in 1933 and at times has been considered to be the fourth most difficult stage race in the world. Its list of winners includes many of the all-time greats (Bartali, Kubler, Koblet, Saronni, de Vlaeminck, Merckx, Kelly, Hampsten, Ullrich), so it is not just a preparatory event but one of significant prestige.
- Q1. The Dauphiné has had a remarkable number of American winners…FIVE if you count the two later removed for doping infractions. Can you name them all?
- Q2. The Dauphiné has served as a preparation for Tour de France contenders for many years. Many riders, in fact, have won the Dauphiné (including Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault!) and then went on to win the Tour later that same season. Who was the last rider to do this June/July double?
- Q3. Recently, the Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse have overlapped with Tour riders choosing one or the other. This has not always been the case and in the past riders would ride both in their final preparations. When was the last time a rider triumphed in both?
- Q4. Not surprisingly, Switzerland has won the most Tour de Suisse titles at 23, but it has been a few years since a Swiss rider triumphed! Who was the last Swiss winner?
- Q5. Who was the last rider to win in Switzerland and then carry that form into victory at the Tour de France?
