Alexander Kristoff is likely to have a successor as the last sprinter who powered to the first yellow jersey. The Norwegian took the win in Nice, 2020, and the 1st stage of the 2025 Tour de France offers a golden opportunity for the fast men. The opening stage includes less than 1,000 metres of climbing, with the last hill, Mont Noir, situated around 45 kilometres from the finish in Lille.
The 2nd stage looks enticing for the punchy riders in the peloton. The route is mostly rolling, but there are two sharp climbs inside the last 10 kilometres: the first is 900 metres at 10.8%, and the second 800 metres at 7.9%. The final kilometre serves up a gradient of nearly 5%.
With just 648 metres of elevation, stage 3 is the flattest of the first three. The only obstacle is hardly worth mentioning: 2.3-kilometre at 4.5%, and it’s located far from the finish line.
Stage 4 is undulating race with a finale for punchers, as the last 30 kilometres are crammed with short climbs. Stage 5 will be a flat time trial starting and finishing in Caen, and stage 6 will be a hilly race attrition right through the heart of Normandie before stage 7 sets off from Saint Malo and finishes at the Mûr de Bretagne. This marks a return of the punchy finish climb after Mathieu van der Poel’s brave raid for yellow in 2021.
Stage 8 travels from Saint-Méen-le-Grand to Laval, after which stage 9 runs from Chinon to Châteauroux – both are perfect for sprinters. The ‘first week’ concludes on Monday, 14 July, the French national holiday, with a race from Montluçon to Le Mont-Dore in the Auvergne, home to glorious volcano landscapes. Stage 10 takes in al elevation gain of over 4,300 metres.
Week 2
The riders can ease back into racing after the first rest day, as stage 11 is likely to see a sprint finish in Toulouse. The peloton then tackles the Pyrenees for three days in a row. The action in the high mountains opens with stage 12, a race with an easy going opening, but a finale featuring the Col du Soulor, Col des Bordères, and uphill finish in ski resort Hautacam. The 13th stage will be an ITT for climbers to Altiport 007 in Peyragudes, a brutal test of 8 kilometres at 7.8% with the final kilometre ramping up at 13%.
Stage 14 carries on in the same vein, as it includes an elevation gain of nearly 5,000 metres and a mountain top finish in Superbagnères, in the mountains above Bagnères-de-Luchon. The 15th stage then goes on a lumpy route to the fortified city of Carcassonne, which was the venue of sprint finishes on the last two occassions (Jasper Philipsen, 2022; Mark Cavendish, 2021).
Week 3
Following the second rest day, the Tour heads for the Vaucluse – more precise, a mountain top finish at the most renowned peak of the department, the Mont Ventoux. This way, stage 16 serves as a foretaste of the Alps, that will be on the menu after stage 17, which will be a race to Valence. Stage 18 will include the Col du Glandon and the Col de Madeleine before finishing at the Col de la Loze, where Tadej Pogacar cracked in 2023. I’m gone, I’m dead.
Stage 19 serves up four intermediate climbs before a mountain top finish in La Plagne. Since the last two stages are relatively easy, the winner of the 2025 Tour de France is expected to be known at the 17.1-kilometre ascent with an average gradient of 7.6%.
Stage 20 travels on rolling roads from Nantua to Pontarlier, with the Tour wrapping up in stage 21, on Sunday, 27 July, on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
Tour de France 2025: routes, profiles, videos
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