Mountains, crosswinds, cobbles, and time trials: none of the challenges of the 2025 Tour de France route, revealed in Paris on Tuesday, are likely to hinder the seemingly invincible Tadej Pogacar, who dominated almost every significant race in 2024. Next summer, the Slovenian – once a playful prodigy but now a relentless competitor – will return to the Tour’s Grand Départ, with the race commencing in Lille on 5 July and concluding on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July, after a one-year hiatus due to the Paris Olympics.

Five summit finishes, a mountain time trial, and a return to Mont Ventoux will not faze Pogacar, whose recent dominance has even left Tour director Christian Prudhomme in awe. The three-time champion will be the clear favorite on a route filled with sprint opportunities, uphill finishes, and iconic summits. Starting from Lille, the race will traverse the north-east corner of France before heading west towards Brittany. After a finish on the Mûr-de-Bretagne, the peloton will move towards the first mountain finish, on Bastille Day, at the Puy de Sancy.

Three summit finishes in the Pyrenees, including a time trial to Peyragudes altiport, precede the ascent of the Ventoux, a stage known for past dramas, including a fierce battle between Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard in 2021. From the “Giant of Provence”, the peloton will head towards the Savoie region and two more summit finishes, at the Col de la Loze and La Plagne. As last summer, the stage is set for another climbing duel between the two rivals.

While Pogacar aims for a fourth win, this Tour seems to offer little beyond stage-hunting for the struggling Ineos Grenadiers. Similar to Jim Ratcliffe’s other franchises, the cycling team is still searching for direction and leadership, despite recent managerial changes. Tom Pidcock’s public discontent has added to the uncertainty about his future, while the dependable Geraint Thomas will be in the final year of his career.

The Tour de France Femmes begins in Brittany on 26 July. The nine-stage race includes over 17,000m of climbing, as it navigates a progressively hilly course across the country to the French Alps. Culminating with three mountain stages and a summit finish on the 2,000m Col de la Madeleine, the final day’s route, to Châtel Portes du Soleil, takes the women’s peloton over the Col de Joux Plane, one of France’s most grueling climbs.

Demi Vollering lost this year’s Tour Femmes to rival climber Kasia Niewadoma by a mere four seconds but has since moved to the French team FDJ-Suez. She has signed what is believed to be one of the most lucrative contracts in women’s cycling history, and Vollering is likely to start the race as the favorite. Niewadoma’s four-second overall win on Alpe d’Huez in August was one of the most exhilarating finales in the long history of stage racing, but Vollering’s challenge was marred by misfortune and internal disputes. She is unlikely to face the same issues next year.

Source link:   https://www.theguardian.com