The ASO has presented the opening stages of the 2025 Tour de France at a press conference on Thursday afternoon. As previously announced, the Tour will start on July 5, 2025, in Lille, Northern France, followed by three more stages in the Hauts-de-France region.
For the province in the northern part of France, it is the fifth time that it gets to kick off the big cycling celebration. After three Grand Départs in foreign countries, the 112th edition is once again starting in France. Last summer, the Tour started in the Spanish city of Bilbao, and the year before that, it was the Danish capital Copenhagen's turn. It was previously announced that the Italian city of Florence will host the start of next year's Tour. Due to the Olympic Games in Paris, La Grande Boucle will not finish in the French capital but in Nice.
Stage 1 Tour de France 2025: Lille - Lille (185 km)
In the presence of race director Christian Prudhomme, the presentation naturally started off with the first stage. It both starts and finishes in Lille and is one for the sprinters. Despite three fourth-category climbs, including the Côte de Notre-Dame-de-Lorette (1 kilometer, 7.6 percent), the Kasselberg (1.9 kilometers, 3.5 percent) and the Mont Noir (1.3 kilometers, 6.4 percent), this first stage of 185 kilometers poses little difficulty, so a mass sprint will most likely determine the first yellow jersey.
Stage 2 Tour de France 2025: Lauwin-Planque - Boulogne-sur-Mer (209 km)
The second stage, covering 209 kilometers, is more challenging and, with four climbs, better suited for punchy riders. The final twenty kilometers, featuring the Côte du Haut Pichot (1 kilometer, 10 percent), the Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont (900 meters, 11 percent) and the Côte d'Outreau (800 meters, 8.8 percent), are constantly up and down and should allow the punchers to drop the pure sprinters. The stage starts in Lauwin-Planque and finishes in the town of Boulogne-Sur-Mer.
Stage 3 Tour de France 2025: Valenciennes - Dunkirk (172 km)
The third stage starts in Valenciennes and once again includes the Kasselberg climb, but like in stage one, it is expected to end in a mass sprint since the climb is the only obstacle of the day. After 173 kilometers, we finish once again in the streets of Dunkirk.
Stage 4 Tour de France 2025: Amiens to...
The fourth stage also starts in a major city in Northern France: Amiens. Dylan Groenewegen has fond memories of the city. Seven years ago, he won in the streets of Amiens, beating riders such as André Greipel and Fernando Gaviria. The obstacles to be overcome and the location of the finish line at the end of the stage are not yet known.
After this presentation, cycling enthusiasts may be left wanting more, as initially there were rumors of various sections on cobblestones and one in Flanders, Belgium, but none of that is happening in the first three stages.
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