The 2006 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré was the 58th edition of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré cycle race and was held from 4 June to 11 June 2006. The race consisted of a Prologue and seven stages covering a total of , starting in

Annecy Annecy ( , ; frp, Èneci or ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy, south of Geneva, Switzerland. Nicknamed ...

and finishing in

Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...

. American

Levi Leipheimer Levi Leipheimer (born October 24, 1973) is an American former professional road racing cyclist. He was twice US national champion, winning the time trial title in 1999 and the road race in 2007, and is an Olympic medalist. Leipheimer was born a ...

Team Gerolsteiner Gerolsteiner () was a German road bicycle racing team in the UCI ProTour. It was sponsored by the mineral water company Gerolsteiner Brunnen and Specialized. History The team was founded in 1997 as Schauff Oeschelbronn professional cycling t ...

initially captured the overall title and the ''maillot jaune et bleu'' ahead of France's

Christophe Moreau Christophe Moreau (born 12 April 1971 in Vervins) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. For many years Moreau was the primary French contender for the general classification in the Tour de France: he finished in the top 12 in the G ...

and Germany's

Bernhard Kohl Bernhard Kohl (born 4 January 1982, in Vienna) is an Austrian former professional road bicycle racer and recognized climbing specialist. After the Gerolsteiner team announced they would not be in existence for the 2009 season, Kohl signed with UC ...

(). Christophe Moreau (

AG2R Prévoyance A&G, AG, Ag or ag may refer to Businesses and organizations * A&G Railroad (former reporting mark AG) * Action Group (Nigeria), a political party during the Nigerian First Republic * Aktiengesellschaft, a German type of corporation * Assemblie ...

) secured the ''

King of the Mountains The King of the Mountains (KoM) is an award given to the best climbing specialist in a men's cycling road race; in women's cycle racing, Queen of the Mountains (QoM) is used. While the title may be given to the rider who achieves the highest po ...

'' competition and the ''combined classification'' (winner of the ''maillot bleu''). The points classification for sprinters went to Spaniard

Francisco Mancebo Francisco Mancebo Pérez (born 9 March 1976) is a Spanish professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He initially rode for team , but moved to in 2006. Mancebo is a stage race specialist, with good climbing and indiv ...

. French team

captured the team title. Leipheimer was disqualified from the result in 2012, following a

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent d ...

investigation. After admitting that he had been doping from 1999 to 2007, Levi Leipheimer lost all his results, and no overall winner is recognised by the race organisation. The 2006 edition featured a feast of climbing, and is considered the ideal race for the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

contenders to hone their form. After eight challenging stages, it finished on June 11 - just under three weeks before the start of ' La Grande Boucle'.

Teams

Twenty-one teams, each with a maximum of eight riders, entered the race:

Route

Stages

Prologue

4 June 2006 —

, ( ITT)

Stage 1

5 June 2006 —

Bourgoin-Jallieu Bourgoin-Jallieu (; frp, Brégon) is a commune in the Isère department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes in France. The city had 28,834 inhabitants in 2019 and lies 35 kilometres east-southeast of Lyon. It was formed by the merger of the ...

Stage 2

6 June 2006 —

Saint-Galmier Saint-Galmier () is a city in eastern France. It is a commune in Loire department, and belongs to the arrondissement of Montbrison. Saint-Galmier covers an area of 19.5 square kilometers. As of January 1, 2018, it had a population of 5,737, ranki ...

Stage 3

7 June 2006 —

Bourg-de-Péage Bourg-de-Péage (; Vivaro-Alpine dialect of oc, Lo Borg dau Peatge, ; ca, Lo Peatge de Pisançon) is a commune in the Drôme department in the region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France. Its inhabitants are called ''Péageois''; in 2017, the populat ...

, ( ITT)

Stage 4

8 June 2006 —

Tain-l'Hermitage Tain-l'Hermitage (; oc, Tinh de l'Ermitatge or ), commonly known as Tain, is a commune in the French department of Drôme, southeastern France. Geography It is located on the left bank of the river Rhône, opposite Tournon-sur-Rhône, which is l ...

to Le Mont-Ventoux,

Stage 5

9 June 2006 —

Sisteron Sisteron (; , oc, label=Mistralian norm, Sisteroun; from oc, label=Old Occitan, Sestaron) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, southeastern France. Sisteron is situated on the banks of the rive ...

Briançon Briançon (, ) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hautes-Alpes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in Southeastern France. It is the highest city in France at an a ...

Stage 6

10 June 2006 —

La Toussuire Les Sybelles () is a French linked ski area, located in the Savoie department in the Alps. It is one of the largest skiable domains in France. The resort was the home base of Jean-Pierre Vidal, winner of the gold medal in slalom at the 2002 Wint ...

Stage 7

11 June 2006 — Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to

Final standings

General classification

Points classification

Mountains classification

Combined classification

Jersey progress

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Criterium Du Dauphine Libere, 2006

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

2006 UCI ProTour 2006 in French sport June 2006 sports events in Europe