The 2025 Tour de France will start in Lille on Saturday, 5 July – without any South African riders in the peloton.
Despite this year’s race, the 112th of all time, having one more than the 22 usual eight-rider teams, no riders from Mzansi were selected to start.
Head-to-head fight
In recent years Louis Meintjes has been a stalwart for the Intermarché-Wanty UCI team, but their line-up in 2025 is built around Eritrean sprinter Biniam Girmay.
This year’s race will cover 3 338km over 21 stages and finish on Sunday, 27 July on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
The route features two individual time trials, five summit finishes (Hautacam, Superbagnères, Ventoux, Col de la Loze, La Plagne) and the promise of a titanic duel between defending champion Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard.
Tour de France 2025 route and stages
Stage 1 – Saturday, July 5: Lille – Lille 184.9km
Stage 2 – Sunday, July 6: Lauwin-Planque – Boulogne-sur-Mer 209.1km
Stage 3 – Monday, July 7: Valenciennes – Dunkirk 178.3km
Stage 4 – Tuesday, July 8: Amiens – Rouen 174.2km
Stage 5 – Wednesday, July 9: Caen – Caen 33km (ITT)
Stage 6 – Thursday, July 10: Bayeux – Vire Normandie 201.5km
Stage 7 – Friday, July 11: Saint-Malo – Mur-de-Bretagne 197km
Stage 8 – Saturday, July 12: Saint-Meen-Le-Grand – Laval 171.4km
Stage 9 – Sunday, July 13: Chinon – Chateauroux 174.1km
Stage 10 – Monday, July 14: Ennezat – Le Mont Dore 165.3km
Tuesday, July 15 – Rest day
Stage 11 – Wednesday, July 16: Toulouse – Toulouse 156.8km
Stage 12 – Thursday, July 17: Auch – Hautacam 180.6km
Stage 13 – Friday, July 18: Loudenvielle – Peyragudes 10.9km (ITT)
Stage 14 – Saturday, July 19: Pau – Luchon Superbagneres 182.6km
Stage 15 – Sunday July 20: Muret – Carcassonne 169.3km
Monday, July 21 – Rest day
Stage 16 – Tuesday, July 22: Montpellier – Mont Ventoux 171.5km
Stage 17 – Wednesday, July 23: Bollene – Valence 160.4km
Stage 18 – Thursday, July 24: Vif – Courchevel 171.5km
Stage 19 – Friday, July 25: Albertville – La Plagne 129.9km
Stage 20 – Saturday, July 26: Nantua – Pontarlier 184.2km
Stage 21 – Sunday, July 27: Mantes-La-Ville – Paris 132.3km
Is the Tour de France the best three weeks of sport in the year?
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