Tour de France 2025 route rumours and announcements

[Rob5091]

Segaert skipped because he's leaving Lotto?

Everyone could be leaving Lotto!

 

[E_F_]

Will be a fun first 11 stages, so it'll feel all the more anti-climactic when everything is completely settled after stages 12, 13, and 14.

 

[houtdffan]

Can we PLEASE either send Gouvenou to the Hague or fire him into the Sun.

Take a look of this gem of a quote

The mastermind behind the Tour de France route: ‘We have to find a little subterfuge’

Thierry Gouvenou used to get paid to ride the Tour de France in the 1990s — now his job is to decide which roads the modern race visits

www.nytimes.com

“And I think we still have too many time-trial kilometres,” he laughs. “You can’t feel the race. You see the riders sitting on their bikes and we have the impression of a robot, not a cyclist. Personally, it bothers me to see how technology has taken over the sensation of the shapes.

This dumb dweeb thinks we still have too many time trials

He also says if the tour ever were to visit a place like the USA it would FINISH there, not start

If Prudhomme will not hire a race director, perhaps it's time the Amary family looks to replace their general director of cycling

 

[E_F_]

Can we PLEASE either send Gouvenou to the Hague or fire him into the Sun.

Take a look of this gem of a quote

The mastermind behind the Tour de France route: ‘We have to find a little subterfuge’

Thierry Gouvenou used to get paid to ride the Tour de France in the 1990s — now his job is to decide which roads the modern race visits

www.nytimes.com

“And I think we still have too many time-trial kilometres,” he laughs. “You can’t feel the race. You see the riders sitting on their bikes and we have the impression of a robot, not a cyclist. Personally, it bothers me to see how technology has taken over the sensation of the shapes.

This dumb dweeb thinks we still have too many time trials

He also says if the tour ever were to visit a place like the USA it would FINISH there, not start

If Prudhomme will not hire a race director, perhaps it's time the Amary family looks to replace their general director of cycling

Yeah, if only the TT this year had been 100 km long... Remco would have had a maximum of 30 seconds on Pog before Hautacam... And Vinge would have been completely out of it...

 

[houtdffan]

Yeah, if only the TT this year had been 100 km long... Remco would have had a maximum of 30 seconds on Pog before Hautacam... And Vinge would have been completely out of it...

Nobody said anything about pog…

 

[YellowSocks]

We're going to be in France to see some of the Tour. Question: How early should we get to the route to find a place to park? When do they close the road? We want to be roadside for Stage 7. And then mingle in the town of Chinon at the start for Stage 8. Thanks!!

Note: I can't really find a good subforum here to ask this question.

@Armchair Cyclist @Cookster15 Is there a thread for people attending some stages to tell about their day on the Tour's roadside? I would love to read them. Or should it be in this thread?
Sorry for the newbie question and sorry if this thread already exists, I didn't make a full research as I actually only have my smartphone with me and I am busy battling with furious mosquitos.

 

[E_F_]

Nobody said anything about pog…

I was just pointing out the fact that TTs don't serve quite the same purpose they once did, since the best climbers are also among the best TTists. So they just lock the race up even more than it already is. Realistically Gouvenou is probably right about TTs therefore.

 

[houtdffan]

I was just pointing out the fact that TTs don't serve quite the same purpose they once did, since the best climbers are also among the best TTists. So they just lock the race up even more than it already is. Realistically Gouvenou is probably right about TTs therefore.

the thing is, it would have had a huge impact this year. Vingo would have lost ~3 minutes had this been a proper 50-55km ITT. Pressure would have been on him to attack hard to even achieve second, especially had there been another long ITT. Would have been fun seeing Vingo forced to do an all or nothing attack on the Tourmalet

Pog did the TT of his life. Give him full credit. Watching a climber defend well in a TT against the best in the world is awesome to see

But, I wonder if Pog would have come in 1-2km heavier had he had 100 km+ of flat ITT? That would affect his climbing. We'd be back to seeing the tradeoffs that we used to see

 

[Cookster15]

@Armchair Cyclist @Cookster15 Is there a thread for people attending some stages to tell about their day on the Tour's roadside? I would love to read them. Or should it be in this thread?
Sorry for the newbie question and sorry if this thread already exists, I didn't make a full research as I actually only have my smartphone with me and I am busy battling with furious mosquitos.

Good question. I think we would welcome you sharing your experiences but perhaps not in the Professional Road Racing forum? I would recommend starting a thread in the Enthusiast forum. @Armchair Cyclist , let us know if you have a different thought?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Good question. I think we would welcome you sharing your experiences but perhaps not in the Professional Road Racing forum? I would recommend starting a thread in the Enthusiast forum. @Armchair Cyclist , let us know if you have a different thought?

I think the Enthusiast sub forum is more about our own cycling experiences. I would think the PRR section is fine for this. Making it a thread specific to your own day out, @YellowSocks , would die on the vine quite quickly (not saying it is uninteresting, but not much to be added by others), so why not honour the Marx Brothers with a thread called "A Day at the Races", to which anyone can add their anecdotes (and also accommodate the occasional "What's the best place to watch on the Bumpyuphillstraaat if I get off the train at Bakovbeyondburg?" query)

 

[YellowSocks]

I think the Enthusiast sub forum is more about our own cycling experiences. I would think the PRR section is fine for this. Making it a thread specific to your own day out, @YellowSocks , would die on the vine quite quickly (not saying it is uninteresting, but not much to be added by others), so why not honour the Marx Brothers with a thread called "A Day at the Races", to which anyone can add their anecdotes (and also accommodate the occasional "What's the best place to watch on the Bumpyuphillstraaat if I get off the train at Bakovbeyondburg?" query)

Thank you for your answers. I will only attend the last stage so it is too soon for me to open it.

@RobertCrawley should have been on the roads yesterday and today, I hope he'll come back and tell us (in a brand new thread full of anecdotes).

(Also hope he didn't order the andouillette without knowing what kind of stuff it is and wasn't chased by a cow when crossing its field).

 

[Rockestar_33]

Can we PLEASE either send Gouvenou to the Hague or fire him into the Sun.

Take a look of this gem of a quote

The mastermind behind the Tour de France route: ‘We have to find a little subterfuge’

Thierry Gouvenou used to get paid to ride the Tour de France in the 1990s — now his job is to decide which roads the modern race visits

www.nytimes.com

“And I think we still have too many time-trial kilometres,” he laughs. “You can’t feel the race. You see the riders sitting on their bikes and we have the impression of a robot, not a cyclist. Personally, it bothers me to see how technology has taken over the sensation of the shapes.

This dumb dweeb thinks we still have too many time trials

He also says if the tour ever were to visit a place like the USA it would FINISH there, not start

If Prudhomme will not hire a race director, perhaps it's time the Amary family looks to replace their general director of cycling

33 km and 13 km are about right. Maybe the second one up to 20 but anyone that wants a 50+ km ITT are crazy.

 

[houtdffan]

33 km and 13 km are about right. Maybe the second one up to 20 but anyone that wants a 50+ km ITT are crazy.

why? it's called cycling. 50km ITTS have been part of the sport for decades

how long have you followed this sport for?

 

[E_F_]

why? it's called cycling. 50km ITTS have been part of the sport for decades

how long have you followed this sport for?

These aren't arguments... A 200 year old might have wanted a Tour without teams, with steel bikes, fixed gears, and no support, but I'm not sure it wouldbe better. How and why would longer ITTs improve the race?

 

[Izzyeviel]

why? it's called cycling. 50km ITTS have been part of the sport for decades

how long have you followed this sport for?

Back in my day we had 50km+ of TTT.... don't recall many people complaining then. (admittedly, the internet didn't exist back then...)

 

[Rockestar_33]

why? it's called cycling. 50km ITTS have been part of the sport for decades

how long have you followed this sport for?

About 15 years. I also have to mostly watch highlights and replays since the races in Europe finish around 1 am here.

50+ ITT's are a thing of the past. Give me long mountain stages instead.

 

[houtdffan]

About 15 years. I also have to mostly watch highlights and replays since the races in Europe finish around 1 am here.

50+ ITT's are a thing of the past. Give me long mountain stages instead.

ok, you started in an era when long ITTs were in decline

we need both long ITTs and long, hard mountain stages. 2 things that hardly exist these days

 

[Kaptain Kool]

You can't have long ITTs in an era of paid subscription streaming platforms.
Maybe someone can create a breakaway Time Trial League. I'm sure it will do well.