The 2025 Tour de France will start on July 5 from Lille. ASO, organizer of the Grande Boucle, unveiled this Thursday from the capital of Flanders the outlines of this Grand Départ which promises to be festive in this region which loves cycling. We already knew that the Lille Metropolis had been selected for the first three stages of this Tour in a year and a half, we now know the route.
The first stage will leave and arrive from Lille, for a 185 km loop via Mont Cassel and Mont Noir, Lens, Béthune and Armentières. “This is the first time since 2019 that a sprinter will be able to take the yellow jersey,” said Christian Prudhomme, boss of the Tour.
The second stage, between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer, over 209 km, “is designed for punchers”, with 2,500 m of altitude difference, and the coasts of Saint-Étienne au Mont and Outreau, plus the climb final in Boulogne. “The favorites of the Tour will be shoulder to shoulder from the first weekend”, hopes Christian Prudhomme, who is also thinking of the flooded areas of Pas-de-Calais where this stage will take place, and “which need comfort after last very painful weeks “.
No paved areas
The 3rd stage, on July 7, will link Valenciennes to Dunkirk over 172 km, with the Côte de Cassel again on the menu, and a passage to Bergues, the town of “Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis”. Please note that no paved sector is planned for these stages in the famous Paris-Roubaix region.
The 4th stage, the next day, will start from Amiens (Somme). The rest of the route will be revealed in October 2024.
“After three major departures abroad (Copenhagen 2022, Bilbao 2023 and Florence 2024), we had to return to a land which has a sense of cycling, and a sense of celebration,” insists Christian Prudhomme, boss of the Tour. We couldn’t return to a place that doesn’t viscerally love cycling and the Tour de France. Lille, the North, Hauts-de-France, these are not a city, a department and a region like the others. We also know that we have teams here who know how to organize major events. »
Lille has in fact hosted the Rugby World Cup and, next year, the Olympics (basketball and handball finals).
