A sprinter is likely to take the first yellow jersey of the 2025 Tour de France, but the Grand Depart stages in the Nord de France region surprisingly do not visit the famous Paris-Roubaix cobbles.
Race organisers ASO revealed details of the opening three stages at a presentation in Lille, opting for an opening road stage around the city, followed by a ride to the coast for a finish in Boulogne-sur-Mer and then a stage from Valenciennes to Dunkerque, where crosswinds could be a factor. Much to the relief of many riders, the cobbles of northern France and Paris-Roubaix will be reserved for the April one-day Classic.
Stage two Boulogne-sur-Mer ends with a punchy summit finish where Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) won in 2012, while stage 3 from Valenciennes to Dunkerque include the Cote de Cassel climb with 30km to go.
There is no return of the opening prologue that featured the last time the Tour began in Lille in 1994, with a victory for Tour rookie and TT specialist Chris Boardman ahead of defending champion Miguel Indurain.
A fourth stage starting in Amiens will take the Tour de France peloton out of the Nord de France region and onto an as-yet unknown destination further south or west. The full route of the 2025 Tour de France will be revealed in October.
Thursday’s lengthy route presentation in Lille, an area with a rich cycling tradition, featured rousing speeches by multiple local dignitaries who have funded the Grand Depart, race director Christian Prudhomme, and a video message of support and welcome from his predecessor in the post, Jean-Marie Leblanc, who lives in the region and has strong nordiste roots.
Thursday's presentation revealed that the stage 1 finish in Lille concludes on a kilometre-long straightaway to the foot of the city’s citadel, offering the sprinters a shot at taking the yellow for the first time since Mike Teunissen won in Brussels in the 2019 race.
Stage 2 from Lauwin Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer is a very different kettle of fish, though: the notably long distance - 209 kilometres - coupled with 2,500 metres of vertical climbing, including several short hills in the finale will likely make for a much more difficult day. “It’s not just the puncheurs who’ll be up there at the finish, for the first time in the race, we should see all of the GC favourites on the front,” Prudhomme predicted.
Stage 3 from Valenciennes to Dunkerque will see the overall contenders trying to stay out of trouble for a second straight day.
The flat, exposed roads and high likelihood of coastal cross-winds potentially create a classic first-week scenario of a day where it would not be possible to win the Tour, but there would be a very good chance of losing it.
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 > ?
