The French chances, the pugacar-vvelegaard duel, the passage through Montmartre … What you need to know about the 112nd edition of the Grande Boucle

The 112nd edition of the Tour de France begins on Saturday with the Grand Départ in Lille, and will end on July 27 in Apotheosis with in particular three passages by the Butte Montmartre.

The big start to return to France. After three editions started abroad (Copenhagen, Bilbao and Florence), Lille launches the Tour de France 2025, Saturday July 5. The Tour will end on the Champs-Elysées on July 27. Reigning winner, Tadej Pogacar (UAE), will try to be crowned for the fourth time, but will have to be wary of his competitors, including Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-lease a Bike) and Remco Evenepoel (Sudal Quick-Step).

Between the course, the favorites and the French in the running, Franceinfo: Sport sums up for you everything you need to know about this 112nd edition of the Grande Boucle.

POGACAR-VINGEGAARD, a remake of the duel of the past four years

On the one hand the Slovenian, triple winner of the Tour de France (2020, 2021, 2024). On the other, the Danish double winner of the Grande Boucle (2022, 2023). Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard will obviously be the favorites of this 112nd edition of the Tour de France, but they had a very different start to the season.

The dynamics are clearly favorable to “Pogi”, like the Critérium du Dauphiné three weeks ago, won with authority before his rival. The world champion has fulfilled all his goals with a start to the season turned towards the classics (Le Tour des Flanders, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, La Flèche Wallonne …), with the exception of Milan-San Remo (3rd) and Paris-Roubaix (2nd). Opposite, Vingegaard left Paris-Nice due to a concussion and has run very little in competition since mid-March (eight days of racing). He favored the courses at altitude and probably set a peak in shape for the second half of the Tour de France. Enough to win back his throne?

31min

If we believe the results of the Dauphiné, the two climbers are on another planet than the rest of the competition. Third in the hierarchy, Remco Evenepoel (Sudal Quick-Step) lost more than four minutes in eight days of racing on Tadej Pogacar, while Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) will try to upset his plans and why not those also of the two cadors.

But except incidents or improbable racing facts, over three weeks, the addition is likely to be even more full-bodied for the Belgian, especially since the UAE and Visma-Lease A Bike teams have the capacity to tyrannize the race.

A Tour de France in two parts

The high mountain is not for now. The Tour 2025 route is in the form of a gradation. The first week will alternate flat stages and those reserved for sneakers. If there will be a warm-up in mountainous terrain on the slopes of Mont-Dore during the 10th stage, the most important six stages will compete between the 12th and the 19th day of racing.

The jousts will start in the Pyrenees between Pau and Hautacam, where Jonas Vingegaard had folded Tadej Pogacar in 2022. The next day, a coastal time trial in the terrible climb of Peyragudes (8.1 km to 7%) will create differences between the favorites of the general classification. For the third day in a row, the peloton will then chain a difficult step towards Superbagnères including a passage at the top of the Tourmalet.

After two days of recovery (a flat stage and a day of rest), the runners will find another myth from the Tour de France, Mont Ventoux (15.7 km to 8.8%) For the 16th stage. A transitional stage will allow us to reach the Alps where two difficult days await them. The 18th, Thursday, July 24, will be the queen stage of this edition. The peloton will indeed swallow three non -category passes: the glans, the madeleine then the terrible pass of the Loze which had suffered Tadej Pogacar in 2023. If they still have force, the favorites will still have an opportunity to fight, the next day, between Albertville and La Plagne (five ascents listed in 131 km).

A final suspense step that will go through the Montmartre hill

Like an air of Olympic games in Paris. The Tour de France has agreed to operate a small revolution. A year after offset the arrival in Nice, the usual parade on the Champs-Elysées was modified since The committed runners will have to set up the Butte Montmartre three times. This demanding circuit should exhaust sprinters and transform the slow procession to Paris into a memorable step.

“A year after the success and the chills of the crowd on the Paris 2024 Olympic race, the peloton will return to the capital on a course passing by the Butte Montmartre“, had delighted Aso in a press release. On August 3 and 4, 2024, the two online races of the Olympic Games had met with great popular success in the narrow streets of Montmartre. The two French Valentin Madouas and Christophe Laporte had shone, winning money and bronze respectively.

A myriad of French runners will chase the steps

Few French runners will aim for the general classification this year. Romain Bardet (on the podium in 2016 and 2022) has just retired and David Gaudu (4th in 2022) gave up taking the start for lack of sensations. The only tricolor to have already reached the Top 5 on the Tour in the starting list is Julian Alaphilippe (5th in 2019), which will especially aim for a stage victory. Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ) and Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B & B Hotels) could ambition a top 10. The last named is out of an impressive Tour de Switzerland, completed in 2nd place.

Among the climbers, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) appears to be one of the best chances of mountain victory. The one who will celebrate his 22th birthday on July 11 has won a success in three leading events this season: Paris-Nice, Le Tour de Romandie and the Critérium du Dauphiné. He has not been appointed leader of his team and will therefore be discharged from the responsibility of carrying out a good general classification. “”On the tour, I go for the steps, not for the general “he assumed at the end of the Dauphiné.

The first week will give pride of place. On this ground, Julian Alaphilippe, Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) or the Louis-Barré revelation (Intermarché-Wanty) have a chance to shine. Regarding massive sprints, Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B & B Hotels), Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) and Emilien Jeannière (Totalenergies) will form the best chances.

23 teams and 184 runners at the start

For the first time, 23 teams will populate the peloton. At the request of the organizers of the Grands Tours, an additional invitation was allocated to the Proteam teams (the second world level), which will be five to be at the start of the Grande Loop. Lotto and Israel-Prime Tech were automatically qualified as two best teams in the Proteam level. Behind, the Tour invited Totalenergies, Uno-X Mobility and Tudor, the Swiss team from Julian Alaphilippe, novice on the event.

23 teams, or 184 runners, will therefore take the start of the Grande Boucle. An addition that will allow “Densify and defend the second world level, which has great projects. It was crucial for ushad declared Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour, has The team. The cycling pyramid must continue to exist, you have to defend projects wherever they come from and allow everyone to access the highest level. “