Tour de France Tour de France 2025: Stage-by-stage analysis

[Hugo Koblet]

You're a hero, Devil's Elbow. Far and away the best route preview anywhere on the internet, and it's not even close.

​

 

[DJO]

@Devil's Elbow​

Fantastic op. Thank you so much.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Insane amount of work you put in this. Exceptional.
The high mountain stages have a pretty classical touch to them. Not really anything to complain besides the lack of one reallylong one.
On the other Hand the Route is way too backloaded and the TTs are a piss poor joke. I ll rate it 5/10.

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Thank you, @Devil's Elbow, for the amazing and detailed stage-by-stage analysis! Very much appreciated.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I keep getting server errors when trying to edit my post (paging @Armchair Cyclist, @Cookster15 and maybe also @SHaines and @CParsons), so that ends my plans of tidying up a couple of the posts (I also saw that I added the map and profile twice for the queen stage, for example). Oh well.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I keep getting server errors when trying to edit my post (paging @Armchair Cyclist, @Cookster15 and maybe also @SHaines and @CParsons), so that ends my plans of tidying up a couple of the posts (I also saw that I added the map and profile twice for the queen stage, for example). Oh well.

Sorry: I have neither technical expertise nor any additional tools to help you out there.

But excellent thread.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Sorry: I have neither technical expertise nor any additional tools to help you out there.

But excellent thread.

I figured you didn't, mainly tagged you because you are much closer to the people who might.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I have PMed them to say that your service to the forum here means that the issue deserves expedited attention.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

I have PMed them to say that your service to the forum here means that the issue deserves expedited attention.

It is also an issue I've encountered multiple times.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

It is also an issue I've encountered multiple times.

Yeah, but have your posts earned expedited resolution of the matter?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Yeah, but have your posts earned expedited resolution of the matter?

Not at all. but in a better world it wouldn't be happening for anyone who at times makes posts with many pictures in them.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Thanks @Devil's Elbow for the analysis. After checking some profiles again I think we can have 4 mini-GC battles over the next 5 road stages (tomorrow's could potentially be the best). Maybe this will compensate a bit for this heavily backloaded race.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Thanks @Devil's Elbow. CyclingNews is the best forum in the world due to guys like you, who create these amazing threads with such good content. It will be a pleasure to follow every stage after your analysis.
Cheers mate!

 

[CParsons]

I keep getting server errors when trying to edit my post (paging @Armchair Cyclist, @Cookster15 and maybe also @SHaines and @CParsons), so that ends my plans of tidying up a couple of the posts (I also saw that I added the map and profile twice for the queen stage, for example). Oh well.

What server errors are you encountering? I'm guessing they are stemming from the length of your posts and the amount of images you are inputting since there are character and image limits.

 

[Netserk]

What server errors are you encountering? I'm guessing they are stemming from the length of your posts and the amount of images you are inputting since there are character and image limits.

In my experience, it's usually caused by a few specific images, not the total amount.

 

[CParsons]

In my experience, it's usually caused by a few specific images, not the total amount.

That makes sense because of how some of the images are being linked. As an example, the Climbfinder links shouldn't really be linked here eg: https://image.climbfinder.com/mont-des-cats.png?v=1644589780, they should be downloaded and hosted elsewhere, somewhere like Imgur or another image hosting service. A lot of sites don't want you Hotlinking to their content for a wide array of reasons and it does cause issues on both ends.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls of all ages, welcome to the latest instalment of the thread that I spend way more time on than any same person would. We have the backloading habit of the Giro, the MTF obsession of the Vuelta and the love for good hilly stages of the Tour of Luxembourg, yet there can be no mistaking this race for any other.
After all, what other race is so consistent at doing some things very well while doing more things pretty badly?

But of course, the route has never mattered as little, as it pales in comparison to the current cast. Returning for their sixth and fifth seasons respectively, we have our two main characters, living proof that Hollywood refuses to kill off anyone who was a smash hit with the fanbase at some point and an equally good example of said refusal increasingly dividing the show’s fanbase. And in that other classic screenwriter trap, the stakes must always be raised with every season, meaning that both protagonists now permanently carry Infinity Gauntlets that can make the rest of the peloton immediately disappear whenever snapped. The result is that the show relies on the clashes between both main characters more heavily with each season. Last season, the board of directors reportedly intervened to make sure the main character with the bigger fanbase got the upper hand, leading to fan complaints about repetitiveness and predictability. The questions on everyone’s mind: will the show repeat the same mistakes this season, and just how many seasons with these main characters are they going to squeeze out before the great climax that they’ve spent years building up to? Judging by the point allocations for the minor classifications, I fear the answer to the former…

Day	Stage	Start	Finish	Distance	Elevation gain	Points to winner	Starts at	ETA
Sat 5	1	Lille	Lille	184.9k	1150m	50	13:40	17:36 – 17:56
Sun 6	2	Lauwin-Planque	Boulogne-sur-Mer	209.1k	2550m	50	12:35	17:20 – 17:49
Mon 7	3	Valenciennes	Dunkerque	178.3k	800m	50	13:25	17:18 – 17:40
Tue 8	4	Amiens	Rouen	174.2k	2050m	50	13:35	17:22 – 17:44
Wed 9	5	Caen	Caen	33.0k (ITT)	200m	20	13:10	17:42
Thu 10	6	Bayeux	Vire Normandie	201.5k	3550m	30	12:45	17:14 – 17:40
Fri 11	7	Saint-Malo	Mûr-de-Bretagne	197.0k	2450m	50	12:25	16:39 – 17:04
Sat 12	8	Saint-Méen-le-Grand	Laval	171.4k	1700m	50	13:35	17:04 – 17:24
Sun 13	9	Chinon	Châteauroux	174.1k	1400m	50	13:05	17:07 – 17:28
Mon 14	10	Ennezat	Le Mont-Dore	165.3k	4450m	20	13:25	17:25 – 17:53
Tue 15	R1
Wed 16	11	Toulouse	Toulouse	156.8k	1750m	50	13:45	17:05 – 17:24
Thu 17	12	Auch	Hautacam	180.6k	3850m	20	13:25	17:32 – 17:58
Fri 18	13	Loudenvielle	Peyragudes	10.9k (ITT)	650m	20	13:10	17:31
Sat 19	14	Pau	Luchon-Superbagnères	182.6k	4950m	20	12:15	17:07 – 17:44
Sun 20	15	Muret	Carcassonne	169.3k	2400m	50	13:30	17:08 – 17:29
Mon 21	R2
Tue 22	16	Montpellier	Mont Ventoux	171.5k	2950m	20	12:40	16:44 – 17:12
Wed 23	17	Bollène	Valence	160.4k	1650m	50	13:50	17:10 – 17:29
Thu 24	18	Vif	Courchevel Col de la Loze	171.5k	5450m	20	12:20	17:12 – 17:50
Fri 25	19	Albertville	La Plagne	129.9k	4550m	20	13:40	17:18 – 17:46
Sat 26	20	Nantua	Pontarlier	184.2k	2900m	30	12:15	16:12 – 16:35
Sun 27	21	Mantes-la-Ville	Paris	132.3k	1100m	50	16:25	19:26 – 19:45

(climb profile credit: altimetrias.net, Climbfinder, Cyclingcols, Gregarios de Lujo, Jean-Marie Podvin, RoCoBike, and myself)

Such a perfect write up.

 

[stefank]

Great. Thank you very much.

 

[SHAD0W93]

You’re the best and the dedication to these are very appreciated @Devil's Elbow

 

[Red Rick]

So having taken a look it's actually beyond pathetic that the intermediate sprint is before any climbing on every single mountain stage, to the point that they put the intermediate sprint like 10km into a stage.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

So having taken a look it's actually beyond pathetic that the intermediate sprint is before any climbing on every single mountain stage, to the point that they put the intermediate sprint like 10km into a stage.

Probably because they don‘t want Pogačar to win the jersey.

 

[Froome]

I think stage 10 is one of the best designed stages ever, and there will be big gaps.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I think stage 10 is one of the best designed stages ever, and there will be big gaps.

Action only in the last 3 km. The climbs in the second part of the stage are too shallow. Stage 11 from last year was much better than this.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

I've complained a lot about how much backloaded this race is but I like that we will have another two mini-battles on hills (stage 6 & 7). Four hilly stages in the first week (well balanced in terms of difficulty: top GC guys as well as MVP can contest for victory) is a big plus and it partially compensates for long waiting for big mountains.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I've complained a lot about how much backloaded this race is but I like that we will have another two mini-battles on hills (stage 6 & 7). Four hilly stages in the first week (well balanced in terms of difficulty: top GC guys as well as MVP can contest for victory) is a big plus and it partially compensates for long waiting for big mountains.

But our biggest goal as cycling fans is to see the Big4 uninjured before the mountains. I don't think this route helps on that.