Two weeks ago, ASO, organizer of the event, formalized the start of the 2025 Tour de France in the North, on July 5. This Thursday, more details were revealed during a press conference held in Lille, since these are the first three stages which are now known. All in the North, until the departure from Amiens on the morning of the 4th stage, with routes predicted to be tricky, especially in the event of wind.
As announced, Lille will therefore be the city which will launch the 112th edition of the Tour, and for the third time in its history after 1960 and 1994. It will also be the finish of the first stage, 185 kilometers long passing through Lens, Béthune and Hazebrouck, and a priori designed for the victory of a sprinter. The coast of Cassel (1.9 km at 3.5%) and Mont Noir (1.3 km at 6.4%) are too far from the finish to make the fastest men jump, who will also have the opportunity to wear the yellow jersey in case of success, at the foot of the citadel and at the end of a wide straight line of one kilometer, perfectly flat. Be wary though, the wind could come in.
The next day, it will rather be the punchers at the party, on a long (209 km) and tiring route between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer. Between the hills of Artois and Boulonnais, the last fifty kilometers will concentrate the difficulties, with three listed hills, that of Haut Pichot (1 km at 10%), that of Saint-Étienne-au-Mont (900 m at 11 %) and that of Outreau (800 m at 8.8%), in addition to a one kilometer uphill finish. Here too, the winner will have a good chance of recovering the yellow jersey, and the candidates for the final general classification will have to be vigilant.
Wind or no wind? Once again, this question will determine the scenario of the third stage which will end in the port city of Dunkirk. The first part, leaving from Valenciennes, will cross the mining basin and will not present any great difficulty, but it is the last 35 kilometers, after the paved coast of Cassel (2.3 km to 3.8), the only trace of the cobblestones on this Grand Départ in the North, which could find themselves open to the wind, across the vast Flandrian expanses. Without this, it is a grouped peloton which would have to compete for victory in the sprint.
On the fourth day, July 8, the Tour de France will leave Hauts-de-France, starting from Amiens. To go where ? The organizers said no more, reserving suspense for the presentation of the course in 2024.
