Follow cyclingfans on Twitter and never miss a race. Cyclingfans.com: The #1 destination on the internet for live race coverage.

- Click for Criterium International LIVE - Stage 1

Note:  Saturday's Stage 1 starts at 11:00 CET (6am U.S. Eastern).  French television LIVE coverage gets underway at 14:50 CET (9:50am U.S. Eastern).  Our detailed Criterium International Live Guide with the latest information and links will be posted before the stage begins.  Criterium International Official Website here.

Critérium International
Held for years in the hills of the Ardennes, but no longer.
Copyright © Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

- The 2010 Critérium International is Saturday and Sunday with the usual 3 weekend stages: one for the sprinters, one for the puncheurs/climbers and one for the time trialists.  However, after years in the Ardennes, the race this year is being held at Porto Vecchio on the island of Corsica.  Also, whereas traditionally the Saturday stage has been the sprinters' stage, this year organizers have moved the climbing stage to the first day.  And what a stage it is!  (see Stage Profiles below)

2010 Criterium International official poster.  Corsica!

Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank) has won the last 3 editions of the race and 5 editions overall.  But he won't be back to defend this year.  Lance Armstrong (RadioShack), who last competed in the Criterium in 2004 (where he finished on the podium in 3rd place, see photo below), and Alberto Contador (Astana), 50th in 2006, are among the riders expected on the start line in Porto Vecchio.  It may be the only time the two Tour champions face each other before the 2010 Tour de France.  See below for full Criterium International Start List.

2004 Criterium International:  With team manager Johan Bruyneel and Sheryl Crow following in the team car, Lance Armstrong (USPS) competes in the final stage time trial in Charleville-Mezieres.  This was Armstrong's last appearance at the Criterium.
Copyright © Pete Geyer/www.cyclingfans.com

2010 Criterium International Live Coverage

France Télévisions will once again broadcast the Criterium International live, with France 2 showing Stage 1 live on Saturday and France 3 showing the final stage time trial live on Sunday.  One of the benefits of moving the traditional Sunday morning climbing stage to the Saturday afternoon is that we will have live coverage of this stage.

Eurosport will also be showing the Criterium International live this year, with Eurosport 2 showing Saturday's Stage 1 live according to race organizer A.S.O. and Eurosport France and Eurosport International scheduled to show Sunday's time trial showdown.

See below for the principal live TV coverage options and broadcast times.

There will also be some form of coverage on a variety of other TV channels including TV2 (Norway), TVE (Spain), NOS (Holland), TV2 (Denmark), VRT (Belgium), RTBF (Belgium), Rai (Italy), Versus (U.S.A.), Sky TV (New Zealand) and SuperSport (South Africa).

Note:  We will of course post our 2010 Criterium International Live Coverage Guides with live video feeds and tickers on the weekend.  Plus, more Criterium International info later this week.

Click for Weather forecast for Porto-Vecchio

 2010 Criterium International Start List

Principal Live TV Coverage Options (our full Live Coverage Guide to come)
 

Stage 1 Saturday, March 27:  Porto Vecchio to Col de l'Ospedale (175.5km)

14:50-16:00 CET
(9:50am-11:00am U.S. Eastern)

 
15:00-16:00 CET
(10:00am-11:00am U.S. Eastern)

Stage 3 Sunday, March 28:  Porto Vecchio to Porto Vecchio ITT (7.7km)

15:20-16:00 CET
(9:20am-10:00am U.S. Eastern)

 
 (Eurosport France/Eurosport International)
15:15-16:00 CET
(9:15am-10:00am U.S. Eastern)

17 Teams for the 2010 Criterium International

Caisse d’Epargne (GCE)
Euskaltel - Euskadi (EUS)
BMC Racing Team (BMC)
Garmin-Transitions (GRM)
Team HTC-Columbia (THR)
Team Radio Shack (RSH)
Team Sky (SKY)
AG2R La Mondiale (ALM)
Bbox Bouygues Telecom (BBO)
Cofidis, le Crédit en ligne (COF)
Française des Jeux (FDJ)
Saur-Sojasun (SAU)
Bretagne-Schuller (BSC)
Roubaix Lille Métropole (RLM)
Astana (AST)
Skil-Shimano (SKS)
Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team (VAC)

Stage Profiles

Stage 1 (Saturday)

Stage 2 (Sunday morning)

Stage 3 (Sunday afternoon)