By ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Tour de France will have a more traditional look next year.
After a rare finish outside Paris this past July, cycling’s biggest race is getting back to basics for the 2025 route that was unveiled Tuesday, Oct. 29. A mostly flat first week is followed by a lot of climbing in the last 10 stages that will pave the way for another duel between defending champion Tadej Pogacar and his best rival Jonas Vingegaard.
“Jonas Vingegaard couldn’t be here today, but I imagine he’ll be pleased with the route,” said Grischa Niermann, the head of racing for Vingegaard’s Team Visma-Lease a Bike. “But the same likely goes for riders like Tadej Pogacar, Primoz Roglic, and Remco Evenepoel.”
Following three consecutive starts from abroad, the 2025 Tour will be 100% French as riders won’t make any excursions beyond France’s borders.
The race starts from the city of Lille on July 5 and stays in cycling-mad northern France for three stages. The peloton will then head south, via Brittany and the Massif Central.
Riders will tackle a second individual time trial in the Pyrenees mountains, and the final week of the race will feature three mountain-top finishes at the Mont Ventoux, the Col de la Loze — the highest point of the race at 2,304 meters — and the ski resort of La Plagne in the Alps.
Last year’s final stage was held outside Paris for the first time since 1905 because of a clash with the Olympics, moving instead to Nice.
Because of security and logistical reasons, the French capital did not have its traditional Tour finish on the Champs-Elysees. The world famous avenue is back on the program and will host the final stage for the 50th time at the conclusion of the 3,320-kilometer (2,063-mile) odyssey.
Organizers said the “the milestone of turning 50 serves as a central theme,” as the 2025 edition also marks the 50th anniversary of the polka-dot jersey for best climber and the best young rider classification.
The women’s race will start on July 26 from the Brittany town of Vannes. Featuring nine stages for a total of 1,165 kilometers (724 miles), the fourth edition of the race will go through the Massif Central and finishes in the Alps as the peloton will climb blockbuster mountains such as the Col de Joux-Plane and the Col de la Madeleine.
Among the highlights of the men’s route are a trio of Pyrenean stages including the race against the clock to Peyragudes on Stage 13 and a return to Luchon-Superbagnères.
The climbing of the Mont Ventoux, the punishing ascent on which British rider Tom Simpson died in 1967, promises to test tired legs during Stage 16. Ventoux is a huge moonscape of rock in Provence with little shade or grass. French philosopher Roland Barthes called it “a god of evil.”
The Alps will then likely decide the winner.
