Key points:
 The beginning to the 112th edition of the Tour de France has been presented at a press conference in Lille, the administrative centre of the Nord department. In 2025, the Grand Départ will focus on the qualities of the entire Hauts-de-France region, the Nord department and the European metropolis of Lille.

 The date of 5th July has been set for the first stage, whose route will form a loop around Lille. Next, the Pas-de-Calais department will have pride of place as the pack crosses it from east to west between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer. After that, the pack will then set off from Valenciennes, which makes its return to the route of the Tour after a 34-year absence. Dunkirk, which hosted the Grand Départ in 2001 as well as a stage start on the Tour in 2022 will be welcoming the finish of the third stage. Lastly, the start in Amiens will be the last opportunity to thank the inhabitants of the Hauts-de-France region for their welcome, before the Tour heads off to new horizons.

Northern France will be welcoming new giants. A far cry from the imposing puppets we are used to seeing at carnivals, fairs, special street markets or on Paris-Roubaix, these 176 ones will be of human size and riding bikes, ready to do battle through the plains, valleys and mountains of France. Northern France knows all about cycling giants: 2 winners (Maurice Garin, an adopted northerner, in 1903, and Henri Cornet in 1904); 7 Yellow Jersey wearers (Jean Alavoine in 1922, Amédée Fournier in 1939, José Catieau in 1973, Martial Gayant in 1987, Cédric Vasseur in 1997, Laurent Desbiens in 1998 and Christophe Moreau in 2001); plus a legend in Jean Stablinski, with more 100 professional victories including 5 stages on the Tour de France between 1957 and 1967, a world championship title (1962) and four French championship titles (1960, 1962, 1963 and 1964).

For the 5th time, the Tour de France will set off from this cycling-mad region, the cradle of Paris-Roubaix. In 2001, for the most recent Grand Départ, from Dunkirk, Christophe Moreau grabbed the Yellow Jersey on completion of the prologue. This time, on a regular stage, the battle for the first Yellow Jersey of the race will be fought at high speed and the victor will have to be on top form to triumph in the land of the giants.

The European metropolis of Lille, the first site to host this Grand Départ, will also be the site for the edition’s first finish. On a stage that will form a loop around Lille, the wind will be a decisive factor: on roads open to the elements, the riders will have to be on their guard to avoid getting caught out. The fight for the best climber’s jersey should act as a curtain raiser for the battle for the Yellow Jersey: the slopes of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Mont Cassel (via its cobbled side) and the Mont Noir, forty kilometres from the finishing line, will be in the sights of the first breakaways of the edition. The sprinters will probably battle it out for victory at the end of a one kilometre-long straight, at the foot of the citadel.

The following day, the peloton will leave the Nord department to cross through the Pas-de-Calais for a very tough finale on the Côte d’Opale before the fight for stage victory in Boulogne-sur-Mer. The end of this second stage, which is tailor made for punchers, will be no easy task for the previous day’s winner if he is a pure sprinter. In addition to the upwardly inclined final straight, the slopes at Saint-Etienne-au-Mont and Outreau, located less than ten kilometres from the finishing line, mean it is very likely the pack’s tough guys will be battling for the stage win.

The race will return to the Nord department on 7th July for the last stage that will take place entirely within the confines of the Hauts-de-France region. Between Valenciennes and Dunkirk, watchfulness and tension in the peloton should be the order of the day. The start from Valenciennes and the first part of the stage do not hold any particular difficulty in store, unlike the finish, as the race nears Dunkirk, which could prove to be extremely tricky. Following the intermediate sprint at Isbergues, well-known to cycling aficionados, the route due north to the Côte de Cassel slope and then the finish of the stage promise to be spectacular if the wind invites itself to the party. On Tuesday 8th July, in Amiens, the historical capital of Picardy, it will be time for the Tour to leave the Hauts-de-France region for an as yet unknown destination…

The first four stages of the Tour de France 2025 :

. Saturday, July 5th, Stage 1: Lille Métropole > Lille Métropole, 185 km
. Sunday, July 6th stage 2: Lauwin-Planque > Boulogne-sur-Mer, 209 km
. Monday, July 7th, stage 3: Valenciennes > Dunkerque, 172 km
. Tuesday, July 8th, stage 4: Amiens > ?

© A.S.O.

Key points:
 The details of the Tour de France 2024, which will be held from 29 June to 21 July, were revealed by Christian Prudhomme in front of almost 4,000 spectators at the Palais des Congrès in Paris. As its title suggests, the 111th edition will feature a series of firsts, starting with the Grand Départ, which for the first time will be held in Italy, in Florence, then head to Emilia-Romagna for the finish of stage one in Rimini.

 The quest for the Yellow Jersey will continue as soon as the race enters France, with a stage that will take the peloton to the Col du Galibier on stage four, then on the white paths around Troyes, in a time trial in Burgundy over the Massif Central at Le Lioran, the Pyrenees at the Plateau de Beille on 14 July; and again in the Southern Alps, where they will have to beat an altitude record at the Cime de la Bonnette.

 The race for the overall victory may not be settled after the battle of the summits and could even come to an end on the final stage, which for the first time will finish somewhere other than Paris, precisely between Monaco and Nice for a 34-kilometre time trial. A litmus test that will resolve all questions.

 At the Place Masséna, just a stone’s throw from the Promenade des Anglais, the winner will be presented with a trophy in a new format featuring the Yellow Jersey to be shared with his teammates!

An Italian-style start has never been seen before in the Tour de France. The riders expected in Florence can already guess the tone of the opening stage, with the road to Rimini allowing them to pay tribute to the memory of Gino Bartali and a cumulative climb of 3,600 metres… the mountains before the mountains. The stay in the country of the late Toto Cutugno lends itself to early clashes between the favourites, as does the entry into France, almost immediately followed by an ascent of the Col du Galibier before the finish in Valloire. A difficult excursion to 2,642 metres above sea level on day four of the race: the peloton has never climbed so high so early. While the contenders for the green jersey will have a fine opportunity to show their mettle in the second half of the week in Saint-Vulbas (stage 5) and Dijon (stage 6), all eyes will be on the contenders for yellow in the heart of the Burgundy vineyards for a clash of „grand cru“ rouleurs between Nuits-Saint-Georges and Gevrey-Chambertin (stage 7). Both groups will be called upon to battle through the dust and small stones around Troyes for the first introduction of several white roads (32.2km in total) on the Tour route (stage 9).

The festival of summits will continue at modest altitudes but on fearsome slopes because to reach Le Lioran victorious (stage 11), it will be necessary to excel on the climbs to Puy Mary Pas de Peyrol via the Col de Néronne, then on the road to the Col de Pertus. The best climbers will be called upon again, three days later and a step above, for two finishes on the peaks of the Pyrenees: at the end of a dynamic stage at Saint-Lary-Soulan Pla d’Adet (stage 14), then the next day for a 198 km marathon with 4,850m of D+ finishing at the Plateau de Beille (stage 15).

The southern option will be explored for the Tour 2024’s second visit to the Alps, with a new climb starting at Superdévoluy, the finish of stage 17. Next on the programme will be a climbing section likely to shake up the hierarchy from top to bottom on a day when the riders will climb above 2,000 metres three times. With the first return to the Cime de la Bonnette (2,802 metres) since 2008, the altitude record will be equalled on the highest tarmac road in France. The finish of stage 19 will be at Isola 2000, but nothing will be settled yet as the stage for a major rematch will be set over the 133 km between Nice and the Col de la Couillole, with the Col de Turini and the Col de la Colmiane to be climbed in between (stage 20). Depending on the distribution of roles on the morning of 21 July, the first final finish of the Tour organised far from Paris could well give rise to a doubly historic epilogue, as the Yellow Jersey has not changed shoulders on the final day since 1989 and Greg LeMond’s eight-second victory over Laurent Fignon. The battle of the last chance will take place between Monaco and Nice in a 34-kilometre showdown.