The Tour de France 2025 is an annual men’s cycling stage race created in 1903 by Henri Desgrange. It is organized each July by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and is the most prestigious of the three Grand Tours (alongside the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España). This year is the 112e Tour de France.

The Tour de France 2025: the world’s most prestigious cycling race

it is considered the most prestigious of the three and the world’s biggest cycling races. Traditionally, the race takes place mainly in July. Although the route changes every year, the race format remains the same, with at least two time trials, passage through the Pyrenees and Alps mountain ranges and a finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris. Modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 stages and 2 rest days, spread over a period of 23 days and covering almost 3,500 kilometers.

The Tour de France is followed by some 10 to 12 million spectators on site, and more than 2 billion worldwide, in 190 counctries.

Race Route “of the Tour de France”

The race takes place on the roads of France. However, the starting town is sometimes in a country neighboring France (5 starts in Belgium, 6 in the Netherlands, 4 in Germany, 3 in the UK and even 1 in Denmark, plus a few other countries). Each stage is between 30 and 250 km between the start town and the arrival town of the day.

Of course, vehicular traffic is banned two hours before the riders pass. They are preceded by the “Tour caravan”, consisting of vehicles in the colors of the brands sponsoring the race, with loudspeakers and entertainers. For safety reasons, even the organizers’ vehicles are kept at a distance from the riders.

For spectators, attending the Tour de France 2025 is free of charge. The riders’ passage time is often short (less than an hour), but you have to arrive early to be allowed to reach the location you want to watch the riders. After the passage of the runners the traffic jams last for a few more hours for the spectators to return home. Nevertheless, it’s a popular, good-natured and exceptional festival.

The Tour de France 2025 route can also be followed live on TV, from the start of each stage, which is usually around 10 or 11 am. It’s a lot less tiring, and more informative, because the report covers the whole race simultaneously. What’s more, the TV photographers arrange to show the landscapes through which the riders pass, especially in the mountain stages.

The Grande Boucle, as the Tour de France 2025 is sometimes called, won by Jonas Vingegaard in 2023 and punctuated by his duel with Tadej Pogacar, recorded its best average afternoon audience on France 2 since 2011, with 4.2 million viewers (+130,000 compared to 2022), for 44.1% audience share (PDA), according to Médiamétrie Television figures.

The Tour de France 2025 route

The Grand Départ of the 112th Tour de France will this time be held in Lille, France. This will be the third time the northern metropolis has hosted the Tour’s Grand Départ (after 1960 and 1994). As usual, the finish will be in Paris, on the Champs-Elysées, at the end of 21 stages, 2 day rests and 3320 km.

The route is not continuous, but interrupted by transfers between arrival (at the end of the day) and departure (the next morning) towns.

The stages of the Tour de France 2025: saturday July 5 to Sunday July 27

The stages are divided into 7 flat, 6 hilly, 6 mountain with five high altitude finishes at Hautacam, Luchon-Superbagnères, Mont Ventoux, Courchevel Col de la Loze and La Plagne Tarentaise, and 2 time trials.

The total vertical drop for the Tour de France 2025 will be 52,500 m. The Col de la Loze (2,304 m) will be the highest point of the Tour 2025. For the first time, the climb will take place on its eastern side, on the Courchevel side.

Stages	Date	Departure – Arrival	Distance	Type of stage
Stage 1	Sat. July 5, 2025	Lille Métropole – Lille Métropole	185 km	Flat
Stage 2	Sun. July 6, 2025	Lauwin-Planque – Boulogne-sur-Mer	212 km	Hilly
Stage 3	Mon. July 7, 2025	Valenciennes – Dunkerque	178 km	Flat
Stage 4	Tue. July 8, 2025	Amiens Métropole – Rouen	173 km	Hilly
Stage 5	Wed. July 9, 2025	Caen – Caen	33 km	Time trial
Stage 6	Thur. July 10, 2025	Bayeux – Vire Normandie	201 km	Hilly
Stage 7	Fri. July 11, 2025	Saint-Malo – Mûr-de-Bretagne Guerlédan	194 km	Hilly
Stage 8	Sat. July 12, 2025	Saint-Méen-le-Grand – Laval Espace Mayenne	174 km	Flat
Stage 9	Sun. July 13, 2025	Chinon – Châteauroux	170 km	Flat
Stage 10	Mon. July 14, 2025	Ennezat – Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy	163 km	Mountain
Rest day	Tue. July 15, 2025
Stage 11	Wed. July 16, 2025	Toulouse – Toulouse	154 km	Flat
Stage 12	Thu. July 17, 2025	Auch – Hautacam	181 km	Mountain
Stage 13	Fri. July 18, 2025	Loudenvielle – Peyragudes	11 km	Time Trial
Stage 14	Sat. July 19, 2025	Pau – Luchon-Superbagnères	183 km	Mountain
Stage 15	Sun. July 20, 2025	Muret – Carcassonne	165 km	Plat
Rest day	Mon. July 21, 2025
Stage 16	Tue. July 22, 2025	Montpellier – Mont Ventoux	172 km	Mountain
Stage 17	Wed. July 23, 2025	Bollène – Valence	161 km	Plat
Stage 18	Thu. July 24, 2025	Vif – Courchevel Col de la Loze	171 km	Mountain
Stage 19	Fri. July 25, 2025	Albertville – La Plagne	130 km	Mountain
Stage 20	Sat. July 26, 2025	Nantua – Pontarlier	185 km	Hilly
Stage 21	dim. July 27, 2025	Mantes-la-Ville – Paris Champs-Élysées	120 km	Flat

The racing cyclists of the Tour de France 2025

There will be 184 of them, divided into 23 teams, lining up on the starting line on Saturday July 5 in Lille Métropole (City of Lille). All of them are professionals of various nationalities, often European but not always. Among the riders we find Australians, New Zealanders, Americans, South Africans and a few others.

Each team consists of 8 cyclists. The leader is the one who is supposed to be the best, with the other riders helping him to prevail over the other competitors. Most teams are international, both in terms of funding and the nationality of the riders or managers.

The 23 teams are the 18 UCI WorldTeam association, plus 5 UCI ProTeam guest teams.

WorldTeams
Arkéa-B&B Hôtels
Cofidis
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
Groupama-FDJ
Alpecin-Deceuninck
Bahrain Victorious
EF Education-EasyPost
INEOS Grenadiers
Intermarché-Wanty
Lidl-Trek
Movistar
Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe
Soudal-Quick Step
Team PicNic PostNL
Team Jayco AlUla
Team Visma-Lease a Bike
UAE Team Emirates
XDS Astana Team

ProTeams
TotalEnergies
Israel-Premier Tech
Lotto
Tudor Pro Cycling
Uno-X Mobility

These teams belong to large national or international groups, governments or private individuals. The structure of their funding is often unclear.

The 4 colors of the Tour de France jerseys

Depending on their performances during the stages of the Tour, the best riders “in their speciality” will wear a different coloured jersey to that of their team – a jersey they will lose on the next stage if they don’t confirm their superiority.

The yellow jersey is worn by the fastest rider on all stages from the start.. Whoever wears this jersey at the final finish on the Champs-Elysées is the winner of the Tour de France.

The green jersey is worn by the rider with the most points in the points classification, usually to the best sprinter.

The white jersey with red polka dots is the jersey of the best climber (a cyclist at ease on uphill climbs).

Finally, the white jersey is worn by the rider under 25 years of age with the highest overall ranking.

Note bonuses that will be awarded at the finish of each stage to rank the ridders : 10, 6 and 4 seconds respectively going to the first three classified riders. And this is no mean feat when the time gap between the front runners is often just a few minutes at the end of 21 days of racing.

How much do Tour de France 2025 riders earn?

Remuneration depends on the final results (at the end of the race), but also on success during the stages.

In 2024, while the overall winner in the yellow jersey will earn 500,000 euros, second place will be rewarded with 200,000 euros and third place will receive 100,000 euros. The remaining 173 riders will earn between 70,000 and 1,000 euros, depending on their position in the rankings.

Prix pour les classement finaux – Tour 2024

These amounts are distributed at the end of the race on the Champs-Elysées in Paris.

	Overall race ranking	Points-based ranking	Mountain ranking	Youth ranking	Per team	Most combative rider
1.	500.000 €	25.000 €	25.000 €	20.000 €	50.000 €	20.000 €
2.	200.000 €	15.000 €	15.000 €	15.000 €	30.000 €
3.	100.000€	10.000 €	10.000 €	10.000 €	20.000 €
4.	70.000 €	4.000 €	4.000 €	5.000 €	12.000 €
5.	50.000 €	3.500 €	3.500 €		8.000 €
6.	23.000 €	3.000 €	3.000 €
7.	11.500 €	2.500 €	2.500 €
8.	7.600 €	2.000 €	2.000 €
9.	4.500 €
10.	3.800

Price per stage

Each stage of the Tour de France has its own set of winners: the first ten cyclists to cross the finish line, the winner of the intermediate sprint, the most combative and the fastest team.

	Winner of the stage / individual time	Intermediary sprint(s) on the route	Most combative rider	Team
1.	11.000 €	1.500 €	2.000 €	2.800 €
2.	5.500 €	1.000 €
3.	2.800 €	500 €
4.	1.500 €
5.	830 €
6.	780 €
7.	730 €
8.	670 €
9.	650 €
10.	600 €

Remuneration according to the jersey worn

Depending on the jersey worn, a rider may also receive an additional bonus. This is the case for the yellow jersey, which receives a €500 bonus for each stage won in this jersey. A day in the green (points classification), polka-dot (best climber) or white (best young rider) jerseys pays the same amount, i.e. €300 per day.

There are also special awards for climbers who reach the intermediate summits in first, second and third place depending on the difficulty of the mountain stage.

	Mountain “out of category”	Mountain 1st category	Mountain 2nd category	Mountain 3rd category	Mountain 4th category
1.	800 €	650 €	500 €	300 €	200 €
2.	450 €	400 €	250 €
3.	300 €	150 €

An other source of income for the leaders

The better known the rider is, and the more races he has won – especially the Tour de France – the more he will be asked to “host” regional or local races as a “guest star”. Of course, he’ll be paid for his appearance in a local race all along the year.

In addition, the best-known riders will advertise for the sports brands that employ or sponsor them.

Although it’s difficult to make a precise calculation, the best and best-known riders – such as those who finish in the top 5 of the Tour de France – have annual incomes of between €3 and €5 million – or even more.

Top Contenders of the Tour de France 2025

• Tadej Pogačar (Slovenia): Reigning champ, world champion, strong in both hills and breaks lequipe.fr+8sykkel.fr+8en.wikipedia.org+8
• Jonas Vingegaard (Denmark): Two-time Tour winner aiming for a hat-trick, high-mountain specialist letour.fr+12sykkel.fr+12thetimes.co.uk+12
• Remco Evenepoel (Belgium): Elevated time trialer bridging gaps in mountains sykkel.fr
• Primož Roglič (Slovenia): Experienced Grand Tour contender, aiming for strong overall position sykkel.fr
• Felix Gall (Austria): Talented climber aiming for a mountain-top placement

History of the Tour de France

Another interesting aspect of the Tour de France is the stories that unfolded during 112 of the competition. The 1st Tour de France was held in 1903. It has been pushing man and machine to their limits since that date. But a lot has changed since the Tour de France’s early days: from an essentially national attraction, the Tour has become the world’s biggest annual sporting event, attracting billions of fans worldwide. On the road, too, things have changed since 1903: they’re safer, more supervised and a little less extreme.

The 1st Tour de France to save a newspaper in decline

The first Tour de France was organized in 1903 by Henri Desgrange et Géo Lefèvre, with the aim of selling a large quantity of their newspaper “L’Auto“. The event was sponsored by the L’Auto, which hoped that a new endurance race around the country would attract public attention and boost its dwindling sales. The newspaper was right: the race is a success, and tens of thousands of people gather in Paris every year to watch the final stage on the Champs-Elysées, as is the case today.

The 1st Tours de France: for unconscious supermen

In 1903, the Tour de France’s six colossal stages covered a total of 2,428 kilometers.

• Some races took place at night on rough, unmaintained roads.
• Riders rode individually, without the help of a team.
• The first winner of the Tour de France, Maurice Garin, who was a chimney sweep, walked away with 3,000 francs, about 12,000 euros today.
• His margin of victory was almost three hours – the largest ever.
• Their bicycles were also single and fixed pignon as they had no brakes – which made also climbing particularly difficult
• A green armband identifies the overall leader. The famous yellow jersey was not introduced until 1919.
• à six reprises de 1919 à 1924, l’étape la plus longue a été de 482 km des Sables-d’Olonne à Bayonne 

An unsuitable diet

Alcohol consumption was an essential element for many racers, even during the race. For example, the winner of the 1903 Tour de France, Maurice Garin, was a connoisseur of wine and cigarettes, and liked to stop off at bars along the way to refuel. In 1935, almost the entire peloton stopped for a drink with the locals!

Of course, intense physical exercise requires cyclists to take in plenty of carbohydrates and calories, but in those days there was little concern for nutritional values. The winner of the 1904 Tour de France, Henri Cornet, favored a diet that included plenty of hot chocolate, tea, champagne and rice pudding.

It is clearly different of today’s professionals diet. With the cycling season running from February to October, teams meticulously plan everything to ensure that their riders are at their best at the right time.

Diets are carefully managed, while training programs include gym and yoga sessions, massages and stretching, as well as many hours in the saddle. During the Tour, depending on the difficulty of the stages, riders can consume up to 7,000 calories a day – three times more than the average man burns in a day.

The followers of the Tour de France

With limited travel possibilities, the first days of the Tour are mainly followed by locals. The French fans who travel to watch the race proudly support their hometown stars. In 1904, several hundred fans tried to help Antoine Fauré by throwing nails and glass on the road and attacking his rivals, with one rider being knocked unconscious. Race officials eventually had to fire pistols into the air to bring the situation under control.

Today, fans come from all over the world to see the world’s best cyclists. In recognition of the race’s great popularity, the Tour even regularly starts outside France. Its opening stage, or Grand Départ, has taken place in Italy, England, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.

While fans are generally more respectful these days. However, they can still get a little too close to the action. Overexcited spectators have unfortunately caused many accidents, particularly on narrow mountain roads. It’s impossible to place barriers on hundreds of kilometers of road every day, but the Tour now uses them to protect the riders from photo-snapping fans on the home straight of each stage.

Technology has also changed conditions for runners

French cyclist Maurice Garin, the first winner of the Tour de France, rode a bicycle very different from those used today (and without a helmet). With a steel frame and wooden rims, it weighed a whopping 18 kilograms – more than twice as much as today’s machines. And the bikes weren’t just heavy, they were also single-speed, which made climbing particularly difficult. To make matters even more difficult, cyclists raced alone, without a team car or spare bike. They had to carry spare tires and tubes wrapped around their shoulders in case of the inevitable punctures.

This year, riders will tackle the various stages of the Tour de France on state-of-the-art carbon-fiber bikes weighing around 7 kilograms. Helmets are now compulsory.

The Tour de France: anecdotes from the heroic era

Maurice Garin didn’t steal his victory in 1903, but others were caught getting off the train with their bicycles at the finish of the first stage from Paris to Lyon (467 km). They had the bad idea of taking the same train as the race marshals!

The following year, on the second stage of the Col de la République between Lyon and Marseille, the riders were ambushed by supporters of the St. Etienne rider Alfred Faure. Stone-throwing, beatings, tricks and finally gunshots to scare off the assailants: the Tour faltered, and Desgranges even decided that this would be the second and last edition! Only to change his mind two months later…

On July 21 of the same year, with a 3.30 a.m. start, the riders on the stage Luchon – Bayonne of 326 kilometers (!!!) had to go through the passes that have since made Tour history: Peyresourde (1569 meters), Aspin (1489 meters), Tourmalet (2115 meters) and Aubisque (1909 meters).

At the time, bicycles had just been fitted with brakes, but we still rode in fixed gear. So no dead time! And history will recall that Lapize, on foot beside his bike, at the summit of the Tourmalet but on the brink of the abyss, inveighed the organizers with the now mythical line: “You’re murderers. Yes, assassins!”

In 1905, racers ran on nails! Ouch! An attack on the spirit of the sport, thousands of nails were thrown onto the road between Meaux and Châlons-sur-Marne! Drunk with rage, Desgranges once again decided to stop the Tour… In 2012, between Limoux and Foix, the Grande Boucle was to experience another studded passage. History goes round and round!

Eugène Christophe, known as the “Old Gaul”, first wearer of the Yellow Jersey in 1919, who – at the head of the Bayonne – Luchon stage (326km) of the 1913 Tour – broke his fork on the descent of the Tourmalet. A locksmith in his youth in Malakoff, the convict didn’t give up and found a way to reforge it in Sainte-Marie de Campan after a 10km walk carrying his 15kg frame on his shoulder! In those days, all assistance was forbidden…

The Tour de France since WW2: anecdotes and deaths

On the road, we remember Jean Robic, known as “Biquet”, a pocket-sized climber from French Brittany, very light for the climbs but too light for the descents. Jean-Paul Brouchon recounts how, in the 1953 Tour, Biquet picked up a water bottle at the top of the Tourmalet and rode an “open-top” descent. Later in the stage, a spectator retrieved the can. It was filled with 9 kg of lead!

In 1950, the racers race along the Mediterranean between Toulon and Menton in sweltering heat. Sixty-two racers, led by the facetious Jean Robic, plunged a head with their woollen jerseys into the bay of Ste Maxime!

By contrast, in 1978, Michel Pollentier’s exit was a no-holds-barred affair! Winning a 240km stage at Alpe d’Huez, the Belgian, who had been the best climber up to that point, pulled off a double coup and took the Yellow Jersey. He’ll soon be laughing yellow… Obliged to go to the doping control and certain of testing positive, he chose to take someone else’s urine with him in a bulb which he hid under his shoulder. The crude deception was soon discovered and a scandal ensued at altitude. A bad joke by the Belgian, who was expelled from the race!

Another tribute to Pascal Simon, who in 1983 achieved the feat of lasting 7 days in yellow with a fractured shoulder blade. On the evening of his fall, in hospital in Auch, Simon declared: “If I give up, it won’t be in my hotel room. It’ll be on the bike…”.

The red lantern is the last place in the general classification. It’s a reference to the red lights that mark the rear of a vehicle. This “trophy” was once sought after, as it enabled the “winner” to obtain better bonuses in the post-Tour criteriums.

We also remember the Argentières sprint, the panicked screams of reporter Patrick Chêne, and the broken face of Laurent Jalabert, catapulted to the ground at 70 km/h. He had just collided with a policeman. He had just collided with a policeman who had stepped forward to do a spectator a favor and take a photo.

There have also been deaths on the Tour de France, such as that of Tom Simpson in 1967 on the slopes of the Ventoux. A tragic event seen live on television. Heatwave, no air on this mountain in Provence. Simpson wobbled and was helped back on to the saddle. He falls again and collapses. Attempts are made to revive him, but he slips to his death… I don’t care about the controls,” he says. I only care about the doctors who give me the injections. And Roger Pingeon, winner of the Tour in that tragic year, added in L’Équipe in 2002: “Tom had a tendency to overdo it, often finishing in a strange state.”

On July 18, 1984, Olympic champion Fabio Casartelli was already on his way to the Olympics: a long pool of blood ran from his head, and he was curled up in a fetal position. Dead on the Tour.

The Armstrong case

In 1987, at the age of 16, Armstrong began competing as a triathlete. In 1992, he became a professional cyclist with the Motorola team. Returning to cycling in 1998 after a life-threatening bout with cancer, he was a member of the US Postal/Discovery team from 1998 to 2005, during which time he won all seven of his Tour de France titles, as well as a bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Armstrong has been the subject of doping allegations since winning the Tour de France in 1999, and his exploits have left his rivals far behind, even in the mountains. In 2012, an investigation by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) concluded that Armstrong had used performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, and named him as the leader of “the most sophisticated, professional and effective program the sport has ever seen”. As a result, the International Cycling Union (UCI) stripped him of all his results from August 1998 onwards, including his seven Tour de France victories. He is also banned for life from all sports that follow the World Anti-Doping Code. The UCI validated USADA’s findings and decided that these seven victories would not be attributed to other riders. Armstrong chose not to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In January 2013, Armstrong confessed to doping during his cycling career, particularly during the Tours de France he won.

Those who left their mark on the Tour de France – The eternal runner-up: Raymond Poulidor

Four riders have won the Tour de France 5 times

• Jacques Anquetil (French) in 1957 and from 1961 to 1964,
• Eddy Merckx (Belgian) from 1969 to 1972 and in 1974,
• Bernard Hinault (French) in 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 and 1985,
• Miguel Indurain (Spanish) from 1991 to 1995 – But he is the only one to have won in 5 consecutive years.

Another record is that of Raymond Poulidor (known as Poupou): he finished 3 times second in the Tour de France (1964, 1965, 1974) and 3rd 5 times (1962, 1966, 1972, 1969, 1976). He was also known as the eternal runner-up.

Dutch champion Joop Zoetemelk came second 6 times in the Tour de France (1970, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1979 and 1982) and won it just once in 1980.