The 2025 Tour de France kicks off this Saturday in Lille, marking a return to French soil for the Grand Depart after recent starts abroad. The 21-stage race will cover flat sprints, grueling mountain ascents, and two pivotal time trials before the winner is crowned on the Champs-Élysées July 27.
Stage 1, a 115-mile flat route around Lille, is primed for sprinters. Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay could become the first Black African rider to wear the yellow jersey if he wins. The first week mixes flat and hilly stages, culminating July 9 with a 20-mile individual time trial in Caen, the earliest such test of strength in decades.
The second week features the first mountain stages, including a Bastille Day summit finish atop Puy De Sancy. The high-altitude showdowns continue with Stage 12’s climb to Hautacam and Stage 13’s rare mountain time trial ending at Peyragudes, a dramatic runway featured in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies.”
Week three will likely decide the general classification. Riders face the legendary slopes of Mont Ventoux on July 22, a stage notorious for breaking contenders, and the Tour’s toughest day, Stage 18, with nearly 18,000 feet of climbing over three beyond-category ascents. The final mountain showdown comes in La Plagne on July 25.
The 50th anniversary finish on the Champs-Élysées has an added twist: riders will tackle Montmartre’s cobblestones three times, echoing last year’s Olympic course.
Top favorites include defending champion Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, and time trial specialists Remco Evenepoel and Filippo Ganna, all of whom are expected to test each other early in Caen.
Source: NBC