The 2025 Tour de France route and stages were officially unveiled by race director Christian Prudhomme in Paris. The race will be exclusively held in France for the first time since the 2020 Covid edition. The 21 stages will include two time-trials, a final week in the Alps, and a return to the Champs-Elysees finale. The Grand Depart will be in Lille, with fans expected to flood over the nearby Belgian border.
The 2025 edition of the Tour will have eight stages in the North and West of France, with the race concluding with eight laps on the cobbles of the Champs-Elysees in Paris. The first yellow jersey will be decided on a 185km race around Lille, with a fierce struggle expected for the overall race leader. Cross-border Belgian fans can support favorites like double Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel.
The race will visit sites of the D-Day landings around Dunkirk and Boulogne, with a time-trial around Caen to pay homage to the fallen. The first week of the race is said to be tough, with traps set everywhere. The Tour will also make a rare incursion into Brittany, visiting the gothic city of Saint Malo, and ending on the Mur-de-Bretagne climb.
Wine lovers will see stages in Chinon and the Rhone Valley, but traditional wine regions like Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Champagne are absent from the map. The Tour tradition of being won and lost in the Alps is upheld, with a stacked schedule of mountain stages in the third week. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar will face tough competition, especially in the heat and on multiple mountain stages.
Overall, the 2025 Tour de France promises to be an exciting edition with a challenging route and unforgettable moments for fans and riders alike. The return to France after a series of foreign starts adds to the anticipation of what is sure to be a thrilling three-week cycling extravaganza.
