The unveiling of the 2025 Tour de France route in Paris on Tuesday revealed the typical perils including mountains, cobbles, time trials, and crosswinds. However, none of these challenges seem likely to stop Tadej Pogacar, the Slovenian cycling sensation who, after winning nearly all significant races in 2024, doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
The prodigious turned terminator cyclist plans to return in high spirits to the Grand Départ of the Tour next summer. The race, starting in Lille on July 5th, will wrap up with its traditional climax on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on July 27th, after having been interrupted for a year due to the Paris Olympics.
Neither the five mountain finishes, the mountain time trial, nor the formidable Mont Ventoux, should faze Pogacar. His unparalleled performance this year left even Christian Prudhomme, the Tour’s director, dumbfounded. A route spotted with chances for sprint, bold uphill finishes, and landmark peaks, seems to have Pogacar as the distinct favourite.
From Lille, the race will traverse the northeast of France before heading west to Brittany. After crossing the finish line on the Mûr-de-Bretagne, the cycling pack will navigate towards the first mountain end on Bastille Day, at the Puy de Sancy.
Before the peloton scales Mont Ventoux – a historical stage in past Tours which witnessed Pogacar’s fierce contest with Jonas Vingegaard in 2021, three peak finishes in the Pyrenees, featuring a time trial to Peyragudes altiport, are anticipated.
Subsequent to this “sleeping giant of France”, the peloton changes direction to Savoie for an additional two lofty ends, at the Col de la Loze and La Plagne. As with the previous summer, it appears another showdown between the two rivals is on the horizon.
The Women’s Tour de France is set to kick off in Brittany on July 26th, with its nine-stages incorporating an ascent of over 17,000m as it twists and turns its way across the national terrain, ending in the French Alps.
Concluding with three challenging mountain circuits and an apex end at the 2,000m Col de la Madeleine, the final day’s journey to Châtel Portes du Soleil leads the women’s cycling group across the formidable Col de Joux Plane, a notable steep incline in France.
Demi Vollering narrowly missed out on victory in this year’s Tour Femmes, losing to her competitor, Kasia Niewadoma, but has since successfully transitioned to the French team FDJ-Suez. Her contract is regarded as one of the most financially rewarding agreements ever seen in women’s cycling, which positions Vollering potentially as the race’s frontrunner.
Niewadoma’s triumphant win by a mere four seconds on Alpe d’Huez in August marked one of the most exciting conclusions in the extensive chronicle of stage racing. However, Vollering’s race was marred by misfortune and internal discord. Nevertheless, she is not expected to confront the same issues in the coming year.