The 2025 Tour de France is set to return to its roots, featuring an entirely French route for the first time in five years.
The 112th edition of the Grand Tour will kick off in Lille on July 5 and conclude in Paris on July 27, marking a much-anticipated homecoming for the prestigious cycling event.
Race director Christian Prudhomme announced the route, emphasizing the importance of bringing the Tour back to France after several international starts.
“We decided to bring the Tour home; it was high time after all the foreign starts,” Prudhomme stated, referring to the Tour’s recent ventures through Andorra in 2021 and its Grand Depart locations in Copenhagen (2022), Bilbao (2023), and Florence (2024).
This year’s race will feature 21 stages covering a total distance of 3,320 kilometers (2,063 miles). Cyclists can expect a challenging course, which will include two time trials and six mountain-top finishes.
The initial segments will primarily traverse the plains of northern France, a departure from the classic sprint stages of previous editions.
“A week in the plains is not the joy ride it was in the old days. We have cut the sprint stages and laid traps everywhere,” Prudhomme remarked, highlighting the strategic complexities introduced in the new route.
Thierry Gouvenou, responsible for mapping out the course, has left no climb untouched between Lille and Brittany, promising an exhilarating challenge for competitors.
One of the most exciting aspects of the 2025 Tour will be the return of the Champs-Élysées finale, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its first finish there.
The Tour had its first-ever finish outside Paris in 2024, owing to the ongoing Olympics in the French capital, making the 2025 finale a highly anticipated event for both cyclists and fans alike.
UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogacar, who claimed his third title this year, will be one of the standout competitors in 2025.
He recently secured a remarkable Tour de France-Giro d’Italia double and is expected to face stiff competition from two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard as both cyclists vie for the coveted yellow jersey.
In tandem with the men’s race, the women’s Tour de France Femmes has also expanded, adding a ninth stage to the event. Scheduled to run from July 26 to August 3, 2025, the women’s Tour continues to gain prominence in the cycling world.
Poland’s Katarzyna Niewiadoma, who triumphed in the third edition of the Tour de France Femmes this year, will likely defend her title against a field of fierce competitors.
The 2025 Tour de France promises to reignite the excitement of cycling fans across the nation, celebrating the rich history of the event while challenging the world’s top cyclists with a dynamic and rigorous route.
As the race approaches, anticipation builds for what is sure to be a thrilling display of endurance, strategy, and sporting excellence.
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