The Tour de France 2025

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The 2025 Tour de France stage by stage

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Le Tour 2025 - A GUIDE TO THE ROUTE

 
The 2025 Tour de France is 100% French... at least, as far as the route is concerned.  As for the winners and the stage winners, that will be a lot more international.
    This is a Tour that is likely to attract plenty of visitors from the UK and Belgium, with its first week within easy reach of the Belgian border and the Channel ports, even for cyclists.  The first three days all take place in what was until 2016 the "Nord - Pas de Calais" region – a region that is mostly flat apart from the occasional hill, such as the hill at Cassel (taken in on stage 1) and the rolling countrysiude to the south of Boulogne on stage 2.
    Since  northern France has no mountains, stages 4 to 9 have no serious climbs, as riders wend their way through Normandy, Brittany and the Loire valley. Stage 4 on Tuesday 8th July takes riders between two of France's historic cathedral cities, Amiens and Rouen, via the rolling hills of eastern Normandy. At Caen, stage 5, the modern capital of Normandy, riders undergo the first time trials. The following day, stage 6,  takes them from the very pretty little town of Bayeux, famous for its tapestry, to Vire.
    Stage 7 on Friday 11th July is the only day the Tour spends fully in Brittany, as riders race from the historic port city of Saint Malo to Mur de Bretagne, in the middle of the region.  On Saturday 12th July, for stage 8, riders head back east from Saint Meen, skirting to the north of Rennes, the capital of Britanny, then on to the historic small town of Vitré, with its imposing castle and ramparts. The stage finishes in Laval, a small city on the river Mayenne
    The whole tour then moves 100 km for the next day's start of stage 9 from the historic small town of Chinon, once the stronghold of the Plantagenet kings of England, including Richard the Lionheart and King John. Leaving the vineyards of the Loire valley, riders make their way across the rolling countryside and farmlands of the centre of France as far as the small town of Chateauroux... from where there's another big jump as far as Ennezat, in the Auvergne. Stage 10 brings with it the first serious climbs as the route meanders among the volcanic peaks of the Chaîne des Puys to the west of Clermont Ferrand, for a finish at the mountain resort of Le Mont Dore, at the foot of the Puy de Sancy, the highest point in central France.

From Le Mont Dore, there's a 300 kilometer jump across the Massif Central as far as Toulouse, and the first rest day. The Tour actually stays two days in Toulouse, as stage 11 is a 154 km circuit around this city, capital of the Occitania region of southwest France.  
    Stages 12 to 14 take in the Pyrenees, with a departure from Auch, in the Gers, and a ride across the gentle hills of Gascony before entering the Mountains. for 50 km of ups and downs, with a stage finish at 1500 metres at Hautacam. The following day sees the second time trials of the 2025 Tour, with riders battling it over a short route in the High Pyrenees, almost all of it uphill, from Loudenvielle to Peyragudes. The third Pyrenean day, stage 14, is a classic, starting in Pau , taking in the Col du Tourmalet and two other passes, before and finishing with a classic climb to the ski-resort ofSuperbagnères, at 1500m..   
    Stage 15, on Sunday 20th July, is less arduous, with riders heading east from  Muret, just south of Toulouse, to Revel. Things get harder after that, with the rest of the day's stage winding through the forests of the Black Mountain, la Montagne Noire, before dropping down for the day's finish in Carcassonne.
    After the second rest day, in Montpellier, stage 16 sees riders depart from St Gély du Fesc, just north of the city, for a journey through the garrigue (dry Mediterranean hinterland) before crossing the Rhone at  Roquemaure, passing through the famous vineyards of Chateauneuf du Pape, then through the orchards and vineyards of the Vaucluse and on to another classic Tour de France finish, the climb to the summit of the iconic Mont Ventoux at 1859 metres.
    Stage 17, on Wed. 23rd July,  takes riders from the Rhone valley town of Bollène north through the lavendar fields and vineyards of the Drome Provençal, past picturesque small towns such as  Suze la Rousse, Grignan and Bourdeaux, for a finish back near the Rhone at Valence.
    Stages 18 and 19 are the only two days spent in the Alps. Starting from Vif in the Isère department, the route takes riders through the Vercors, an area of Alpine foothills, and into the Alps with two good climbs, the first to the Col  du Glandon at 1924 metres, the second to the Col de la Madeleine at 2000 metres, befor a final steep climb for a finish at 2304 metres at the Col de la Loze in the ski area of Courchevel. Stage 19 follows a similar pattern, with riders starting off from Albertville, in the valley, for a finish at 2052 metres in the ski resort of La Plagne, via three other passes of over 1600 metres and Bourg Saint Maurice.
    Stage 20 will be new for most riders. Starting from the small town of Oyonnax in the Ain department, it goes northwest through the high Jura, dropping down into deep valleys, through the pipe-making capital of France, Saint Claude, and on through the forests and uplands of the Franche-Comté area, famous for it cheese le Comté, finishing at Pontarlier, just a few kilometres from the Swiss border.
    After that, it's back north for the final day's traditional ride around Paris, for the traditional finish on the Champs Elysées.



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