The 2015 Critérium du Dauphiné was the 67th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné stage race. It took place from 7 to 14 June and was the sixteenth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour.[1][2] The race was won by Chris Froome, making this the second time that he won this race.
As the Critérium du Dauphiné is a UCI World Tour event, all seventeen UCI ProTeams were invited automatically and obligated to send a squad. Four other squads were given wildcard places into the race, and as such, formed the event's 21-team peloton.
In the Critérium du Dauphiné, four different jerseys are awarded. For the general classification, calculated by adding each cyclist's finishing times on each stage, the leader receives a yellow jersey with a blue bar.[3] This classification is considered the most important of the Critérium du Dauphiné, and the winner of the classification was considered the winner of the race.
Additionally, there is a points classification, which awards a green jersey.[3] In the points classification, cyclists get points for finishing in the top 10 in a stage. For all stages, the win earns 15 points, second place earned 12 points, third 10, fourth 8, fifth 6, and one point fewer per place down to a single point for 10th. Points towards the classification can also be achieved at each of the intermediate sprints; these points are given to the top three riders through the line with 5 points for first, 3 for second, and 1 point for third.[3]
There is also a mountains classification, the leadership of which is marked by a red and white polka-dot jersey.[3] In the mountains classification, points are won by reaching the top of a climb before other cyclists. Each climb was categorized as either hors, first, second, third, or fourth-category, with more points available for the higher-categorised climbs. Hors catégorie climbs awarded the most points, with 20 points on offer for the first rider across the summit; the first ten riders are able to accrue points towards the mountains classification, compared with the first eight on first-category passes and the first six riders on second-category climbs.[3] Fewer points are on offer for the smaller hills, marked as third-category or fourth-category.[3]
The fourth jersey represents the young rider classification, marked by a white jersey.[3] This is decided the same way as the general classification, but only riders born after 1 January 1990 were eligible to be ranked in the classification. There is also a classification for teams, in which the times of the best three cyclists per team on each stage were added together; the leading team at the end of the race was the team with the lowest total time.[3]