Tour de France Returns to All-French Route for the First Time Since 2020

The 2025 Tour de France will take place solely in France for the first time since 2020. This 112th edition of the prestigious cycling event will encompass 21 stages, commencing in Lille on July 5 and concluding in Paris on July 27.

In recent years, the Tour has included international starts, with races in Andorra in 2021, Copenhagen in 2022, Bilbao in 2023, and Florence in 2024. The 2025 race will also mark the return of the iconic finish on the Champs-Elysees, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of its first finish at this historic location. This year, the Tour concluded outside of Paris for the first time due to the Olympics.

Race director Christian Prudhomme stated, “We decided to bring the Tour home; it was high time after all the foreign starts.” The Tour will cover a total distance of 3,320 kilometers (2,063 miles), including two time trials and six mountain-top finishes. The initial segment of the race will primarily traverse the plains.

Prudhomme noted the changes in the race dynamics, saying, “A week in the plains is not the joy ride it was in the old days. We have cut the sprint stages and laid traps everywhere.” He added, “I don't think Thierry Gouvenou, who mapped out the route, left a single climb [untouched] between Lille and Brittany.”

Defending champion Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates, who secured his third title this year, will face off against two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard in the 2025 race for the yellow jersey.

Additionally, the women's Tour de France will expand to include a ninth stage, running from July 26 to August 3. Poland's Katarzyna Niewiadoma emerged victorious in this year's third edition of the Tour de France Femmes.