The 57th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré will take place from June 5-12, 2005, and return to one of the most mythical ascents of cycling, Mont Ventoux in French Provence, according to Spanish website todociclismo.com. This year's race is reported to include a 7.9 km long prologue and an individual time trial stage featuring a Cat. 3 climb and totaling 46.5 km. The fourth stage will see the riders climb the Ventoux, and the sixth stage will lead up to the Alpine ski stations Morzine/Avoriaz via Col de la Forclaz, Croix-Fry, Colombière and Joux-Plane. On the very last race day, the riders will make their way from there to Sallanches, passing over the Cat. 3 Côte de Domancy seven times, where Bernard Hinault won the World Championships in 1980.
Lance Armstrong, who has been able to win the event twice in the past, has already announced he would be participating again in 2005 to prepare for the Tour de France. Last year's winner, Iban Mayo of Euskaltel-Euskadi, is yet not scheduled to take part; neither are T-Mobile's Jan Ullrich and Alexandre Vinokourov, who have both opted for the Tour de Suisse, starting June 11.
