Route for Tour de France 2025 opening stages announced

The route for the first three stages of the 2025 Tour de France has been announced, as the famous race begins from Lille in its 112th edition.

Earlier this month the Tour had shared the region for the ‘Grand Depart’, but now come specific details on the route the riders will take in the summer of 2025.

The starting point for the fourth stage – Amiens – has also been revealed.

The announcement was made at a press conference in Lille, the administrative centre of the Nord department.

It will be the first time that the Tour begins in the north of France since 2001.

The 2022 race set off in Copenhagen, the 2023 event in Bilbao, while next year’s Tour will depart from Florence, Italy.

The hotly-anticipated Grand Depart is followed by the pack crossing from east to west between Lauwin-Planque and Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Stage 3 sees the riders depart from Valenciennes, which returns to the route of the Tour following a 34-year absence.

Dunkirk will welcome the finish of the third stage while Stage 4 begins in Amiens, although the finish destination is yet to be named.

It will be the first big sporting event to take place in France after the 2024 Olympic Games.

The Olympics resulted in the final stage of the Tour de France moving outside Paris for the first time, as logistical complications mean the Champs-Elysees will be blocked off a few days before the Games begin on July 26.

Denmark’s Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) is the reigning Tour de France champion after clinching his second consecutive title last summer.

• Stage 1: Lille – Lille (185km, flat)
• Stage 2: Lauwin-Planque – Boulogne-Sur-Mer (209km, hilly)
• Stage 3: Valenciennes – Dunkerque (172km, flat)
• Stage 4: Amiens – TBC