Brainchild of Gaston Bénac (Senior sports editor at Paris-Soir), the Criterium National de la Route, born in 1932, was from the outset considered to be the unofficial spring French National Championship. The pick of the crop in French cycling found itself put to the test on a course typical of cycling in the Paris area - setting off in the windy plains of southern Ile-de-France, pedalling north through the Vallée de Chevreuse, up to the finishing line in the Parc des Princes. This most popular of races, run along a demanding route, asserted its uniqueness from the start, with a list of prestigious winners. Over the years, the race’s name itself - National Criterium - led organizers (at first L’Equipe, then the Société du Tour de France) to think about widening participationand holding the race in other parts of France.

The Spring Championship thus changed locale, seeking new horizons throughout France. Meanwhile it settled on its present-day omnium format, a triptych favouring all-round riders. During the dark years of World War II (from 1941 to 1943) two distinct races were run each year, one in occupied France, one in unoccupied France. Starting in 1979, foreign riders were admitted and it thus became the Critérium International in 1980.

Starting with Leon Le Calvez in 1932 up to the German Jens Voigt in 1999, cycling greats have shaped the race’s legend for nearly seven decades: Leducq, R. Lapébie, Le Grevès, C. Danguillaume, L. Bobet, Hassenforder, Darrigade, J. Groussard, J.P. Danguillaume, Thévenet, Hinault, Fignon, Kelly, Indurain, Roche, J.F. Bernard, L. Jalabert, as well as Englishman Chris Boardman and American Bobby Julich are among the winners. Like any major cycling race, the Criterium has its shining stars: with five victories apiece, Emile Idée and Raymond Poulidor hold the record for victories, the former having shone in the forties while the latter piled up his victories (as well as a few second-place finishes) between 1964 and 1972. The Criterium National was one of the highlights of the Anquetil-Poulidor rivalry. During a six-year stretch going from 1963 to 1968, victory changed hands between them every year, with the other finishing second. In the end Poulidor was to succeed, edging Anquetil 5 victories to 4. An epic rivalry which laid the ground for the Criterium’s prestige.