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Vars, Izoard, Granon would be great, though I would not be surprised if they skip Vars in that case.
My dream Finestre stage is with Sestriere, Montgenevre and downhill finish in Briancon.
IMO 2018 showed the difference in how hard you need to make the race before Finestre.
I’d like that too, but I think a finish at Montgenèvre is more practical.
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Val d'Isere - Briancon would definitely be a fantastic design for the queen stage indeed (Iseran, Mont Cenis, Finestre, Sestriere,Montgenevre + uphill Briancon). Even more if they do the Giro finish in Briancon.
They also use that Briançon finish sometimes in the Dauphiné, e.g. in 2009. I seem to recall some discussion at the time about how the larger caravan etc. requirements made it off-limits to the Tour and so they had to use the main road route in like in 2007, but new changes have meant that the Tour is better able to service finishes in tighter areas so it may have changed and that finish be possible now.
The real problem with the Briançon finish is that they've completely overhauled the area in which they finished (Tour, Giro and Dauphiné alike), which means you now need to block the only through road completely to finish above the citadel.
Coming from Montgenèvre, they'd probably have to finish on the outskirts like in 2005.
Or
-Val d'Isere - Sestriere (Iseran, Mont-Cenis, Finestre, Sestriere)
-Pinerolo-Granon (Agnello, Izoard, Granon)
why do routes that include the Isearn only include half the climb?
Why not the entire Iseran?
Ok, if they start in Bourg saint Maurice personally I won't complain
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Because that happened most of the times before when the used the Iseran from this side
View: https://x.com/inrng/status/1794781688557621524
Visit to Italy should mean Colle delle Finestre.
Visit to Italy should mean Colle delle Finestre.
No way Pogacar returning to the Giro is a done deal yet...right?
I don't know, maybe they will pay him well to be there again.
I believe more in Finestre in the Tour since it was a rumour some time ago.
It's Beppe Conti ...
At best, it's an indication that RCS would offer him a bag once again.
I would guess Pogacar probably wants to do cobbles classics again at some point and that doesn't work well with Giro-Tour. And of course doing the Giro makes winning the Tour insanely hard if your main rival doesn't severely injure himself. Really thought this would be a one off.
If this is true then please god please, let them bring Vingegaard to the Giro too. This domination was alright as a one off. I don't ever want to see it again.
I don't think Vingegaard or Roglic will do the Giro next year, but i can see Remco evenepoel doing the Giro next year.
Then they should do 100km of flat TTing before hitting the alps so people can pretend there is a battle for pink going on.
I doubt they're an affordable combo package.
I don't really understand how it works with starting fees tbh, cause we only ever hear about it from the Giro and then criteriums. But Pogacar should be by far the most expensive to get, so they sort of buy an uncompetitive race this way?
I remember Froome getting a heap in 2018, but I don't remember Dumoulin being mentioned for a starting fee. And similarly I don't remember Roglic being mentioned in related to a starting fee in 2023.
All in all it leans into my suspicion that Giro/Tour isn't perceived to be as crazy/impossible as it was 15 years ago. That or Pogacar wants to farm the Vuelta in 2025.
As for the cobbles, the way Pogacar has talked about Roubaix makes me think he'll try that *** towards the end of his career rather than soon.
Hm, Giro-Vuelta, with the Vuelta probably being the best preparation for the WCRR? It doesn't seem completely nonsensical but damn do I hope this won't happen. GTs would suck so badly.
Interested to see the Finestre rumours resurface with this info from RAI. I heard previously rumours of Crans-Montana and Varese on the Tour de France, to be seen if these also resurface but, after all the foreign excursions in recent years, I don't really believe in it all that much. There is also the question of Alps or Pyrenees as the final major massif; if we end in the Alps in 2025 that will make it already 3 years in a row without a finish in the Pyrenees which is already quite rare and, additionally, the 2026 Grand Depart is from Barcelona. Since people on Le Gruppetto seem to be fairly confident in a week 2 visit to the Pyrenees and week 3 to the Alps in 2024 I suspect this means the 2026 route will see a format similar to 2024 with a small passage by the Pyrenees in the first week, the Alps in the middle of the race and then a return to the Pyrenees for the final mountain stages.
If we want to combine all the big rumours over the past few years that never transpired or remain to be seen then, along with some personal touches, I would predict a route something like this.
Week 1: East to West nothing surprising here I think this has been suspected for a while. One interesting detail, will ASO venture to try out the Ribinou after the success of the Troyes stage this year?
Week 2 and 3: Le Gruppetto seems to think a day of rest in Toulouse and Pyrenees immediately after the rest day, I see it being a compact 5 day week of racing as in 2014 and 2019. Super Bagnères is an obvious potential finish that has been rumoured for a long time, why not after Port de Balès which would make for a great sequence. After that you most likely head eastwards with the usual suspects like Saint-Girons, Foix etc. Maybe even Andorra though I see that more for 2026. Heck I would like to see a return to the Port de Pailhères / Ax 3 Domaines sequence. At any rate, probably a couple of stages in the Pyrenees then the usual transfer stages towards the alps, maybe a time trial thrown in somewhere depending on what the first week looks like. Ventoux is always an option. Since I have seen rumours that the penultimate stage will be in the Vosges again its very possible the race already reaches somewhere like Gap the day before rest, maybe even an arrival on Granon already before the rest day so we can separate the Granon and Finestre stages? After that transition to the north with a passage via Switzerland if you want to satisfy the Varese / Crans-Montana rumours. I could see this:
All in all assuming nothing crazy in between it would make for:
3 foreign arrivals (Sestriere/Varese/Crans-Montana) and departures
6 high mountain stages of which at least 4 summit arrivals (Super Bagnères, Foix, Granon, Sestriere, Crans-Montana, Vosges)
Probably something in the order of 6-8 potential HC climbs (Balès/Super Bagnères/Croix de Fer/Granon/Galibier/Izoard/Finestre/Simplon*/Crans-Montana*/Col du Haag*) where * is borderline.
It is pretty backloaded but that isn't necessarily a problem with the depart from Barcelona the next year to balance things out and at least we finally get a full week in the north again for what the first time since 2018?
If we want to combine all the big rumours over the past few years that never transpired or remain to be seen then, along with some personal touches, I would predict a route something like this.
Week 1: East to West nothing surprising here I think this has been suspected for a while. One interesting detail, will ASO venture to try out the Ribinou after the success of the Troyes stage this year?
Week 2 and 3: Le Gruppetto seems to think a day of rest in Toulouse and Pyrenees immediately after the rest day, I see it being a compact 5 day week of racing as in 2014 and 2019. Super Bagnères is an obvious potential finish that has been rumoured for a long time, why not after Port de Balès which would make for a great sequence. After that you most likely head eastwards with the usual suspects like Saint-Girons, Foix etc. Maybe even Andorra though I see that more for 2026. Heck I would like to see a return to the Port de Pailhères / Ax 3 Domaines sequence. At any rate, probably a couple of stages in the Pyrenees then the usual transfer stages towards the alps, maybe a time trial thrown in somewhere depending on what the first week looks like. Ventoux is always an option. Since I have seen rumours that the penultimate stage will be in the Vosges again its very possible the race already reaches somewhere like Gap the day before rest, maybe even an arrival on Granon already before the rest day so we can separate the Granon and Finestre stages? After that transition to the north with a passage via Switzerland if you want to satisfy the Varese / Crans-Montana rumours. I could see this:
11.) Toulouse area > Super Bagnères
12.) Toulouse area > Foix
13.) massif central transfer stage, Rodez seems ideal
14.) massif central transfer stage ending in a sprint in the Rhône Valley, Valence would seem ideal since it has hosted arrivals in 2015, 2018 and 2021. Additional bonus of the crosswind potential to catch out gc guys.
15.) Arrival at Granon lets just say from Grenoble, you can do it unipuerto style via just Lautaret or go all in for a queen stage taking Croix-de-Fer and Galibier north for close to 6000m of elevation gain. Normally wouldn't see ASO doing something like that but if they go light elsewhere in the mountains it is not implausible. Of course Serre chevalier could also just sponsor a finish like in 2017 which would still be an alright stage coming before a rest day.
Week 3: Alps split up by a flat stage through italy and then a finale in the vosges. Something like this:
16.) I would see a Briançon to Sestriere stage whose difficulty depends on the Granon stage. If the Granon is fairly light you could do Galibier north > Maurienne valley > Mont Cenis > Finestre > Sestriere. Otherwise start out of Briançon and immediately climb to Montgenèvre > Susa > Finestre > Sestriere for one of these ultra short (100km) mountain stages ASO likes to try out then and again. You can always go south to find the Izoard and then loop back around if you want to make it longer and harder.
17.) sprint stage probably a start in Turin and arrival in Varese?
18.) start from somewhere in the Lake Maggiore region and cross the Simplon pass before an arrival in Crans-Montana.
19.) depart from Aigle or similar, arrive in Besançon can be done within 170km or there abouts without too much climbing.
20.) Vosges stage featuring the Col du Haag which has been rumoured a lot in recent years.
21.) Paris.
12.) Toulouse area > Foix
13.) massif central transfer stage, Rodez seems ideal
14.) massif central transfer stage ending in a sprint in the Rhône Valley, Valence would seem ideal since it has hosted arrivals in 2015, 2018 and 2021. Additional bonus of the crosswind potential to catch out gc guys.
15.) Arrival at Granon lets just say from Grenoble, you can do it unipuerto style via just Lautaret or go all in for a queen stage taking Croix-de-Fer and Galibier north for close to 6000m of elevation gain. Normally wouldn't see ASO doing something like that but if they go light elsewhere in the mountains it is not implausible. Of course Serre chevalier could also just sponsor a finish like in 2017 which would still be an alright stage coming before a rest day.
Week 3: Alps split up by a flat stage through italy and then a finale in the vosges. Something like this:
16.) I would see a Briançon to Sestriere stage whose difficulty depends on the Granon stage. If the Granon is fairly light you could do Galibier north > Maurienne valley > Mont Cenis > Finestre > Sestriere. Otherwise start out of Briançon and immediately climb to Montgenèvre > Susa > Finestre > Sestriere for one of these ultra short (100km) mountain stages ASO likes to try out then and again. You can always go south to find the Izoard and then loop back around if you want to make it longer and harder.
17.) sprint stage probably a start in Turin and arrival in Varese?
18.) start from somewhere in the Lake Maggiore region and cross the Simplon pass before an arrival in Crans-Montana.
19.) depart from Aigle or similar, arrive in Besançon can be done within 170km or there abouts without too much climbing.
20.) Vosges stage featuring the Col du Haag which has been rumoured a lot in recent years.
21.) Paris.
3 foreign arrivals (Sestriere/Varese/Crans-Montana) and departures
6 high mountain stages of which at least 4 summit arrivals (Super Bagnères, Foix, Granon, Sestriere, Crans-Montana, Vosges)
Probably something in the order of 6-8 potential HC climbs (Balès/Super Bagnères/Croix de Fer/Granon/Galibier/Izoard/Finestre/Simplon*/Crans-Montana*/Col du Haag*) where * is borderline.
It is pretty backloaded but that isn't necessarily a problem with the depart from Barcelona the next year to balance things out and at least we finally get a full week in the north again for what the first time since 2018?
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The people in Normandy have been chomping at the bit to get the Tour back there, and in 2025 it seems to be happening. A first week of sprints, ITT and who knows maybe even a return of the TTT. As the competition between UAE & Visma is red hot at the moment, a TTT could be fun. A couple of ITTs I would guess to make sure Remco comes.
Then 2 weeks of Pyrenees and Alpes would give GC guys and climbers their chance.
Then 2 weeks of Pyrenees and Alpes would give GC guys and climbers their chance.
You guys are crazy...
This year's race isn't even fully over yet.
This year's race isn't even fully over yet.
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