No cycling race in the world is bigger or more famous than the Tour de France. It’s an iconic annual race that sees riders challenge themselves over thousands of kilometres, and with a series of gruelling, testing mountain climbs, it’s arguably the toughest challenge going on two wheels.
The Tour de France is one of three Grand Tour races, and these are the equivalent of golf or tennis majors. The Grand Tour races – the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta a España and the Tour de France – all present their unique challenges in a multi-stage format that pushes the riders to their physical and mental limits.
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The Tour De France 2025 – a special year!
This year’s race is the 112th edition of the Tour de France, and it is one of the most-watched sporting events on the planet, with billions of viewers tuning in to the live action and daily recaps.
This year, the race begins in France for the first time since 2021, with Stage 1 setting off from Lille on 5th July. The 2021 edition had been scheduled to start in Denmark, but the plan was scrapped, and it was moved back to France.
The last five Tour de France Grand Départs
- 2020 – Nice, France
- 2021 – Brest, France
- 2022 – Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2023 – Bilbao, Spain
- 2024 – Florence, Italy
The Tour de France 2025 will conclude with its final stage heading down the iconic Champs-Élysées on 27th July. The race takes in 21 stages across the three weeks of racing, and they are:
- Seven flat stages
- Six hilly stages
- Six mountain stages (five with mountain finishes)
- Two time trials
- Two rest days
The mountains
The brutal mountain stages are one of the greatest spectacles of the Tour de France. This year, the riders will face a total vertical gain of 52,500m, with the Col de la Loze being the highest point of the entire race at 2,304m.
Stage 10: Ennezat > Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy (165.3km)
A trip through the rugged terrain of the Massif Central, which features seven category 2 climbs, with the final one hitting a 12% gradient.
Stage 12: Auch > Hautacam (180.6km)
Stage 12 hits the Pyrenees, which has a brutal finish as most of the climbing in the stage happens in the final 60km, leading to a summit finish.
Stage 14: Pau > Luchon-Superbagnères (182.6km)
There are three iconic climbs in Stage 14: Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde. Overall, the riders will complete 5,000 metres of elevation.
Stage 16: Montpellier > Mont Ventoux (171.5km)
The stunning Mont Ventoux makes a rare appearance this year. This is a great stage as most of it is on the flat, before reaching the base of the monstrous and unforgiving Ventoux climb.
Stage 18: Vif > Courchevel Col de la Loze (171.5km)
This is the queen stage of the race, the one with the most elevation gain, finishing at the top of Col de la Loze. There are three tough climbs on the stage with a punishing finish.
Stage 19: Albertville > La Plagne (129.9km)
It’s straight back into the mountains for Stage 19, a shorter leg, but extremely tough, and it plays out something like a rollercoaster. There are five classified climbs in the 129.9km leg and a total of 4,500 metres of climbing.
The riders
The 2025 Tour de France will have 184 participating riders, spread across 23 teams. The teams are typically set up with one principal rider who the rest of the team supports to get the victory.
This is where tactics come into play, because the Domestiques (other teammates) do a lot of the grunt work, such as shielding their main rider to reduce drag, setting the pace, creating splits in the field and chasing down breakaways.
The classifications
There are different classifications in the Tour de France, but the most prestigious one is the General Classification, which determines the overall winner of the race by adding the times from every stage together.
Time bonuses are earned by the first three finishers on each stage (first – 10 seconds, second – six seconds, third – four seconds), but this chess match of a system means that a rider can win the Tour de France without winning a stage, as long as they perform consistently across all the stages.
The current General Classification leader wears the highly coveted yellow jersey, and among the other main classifications in the Tour de France, there are the following:
| Classification | What it is | Jersey colour |
| Points Classification | A points system for sprint stages | Green jersey |
| Mountains Classification | The best climber in the race, as determined by points | Polka dot jersey |
| Young Rider Classification | The top rider under the age of 26 in the General Classification | White jersey |
Favourites in the world’s most famous cycle race
Despite more than 100 riders lining up at the start, there are only a few names that are really on the radar when it comes to the outright winner.
Tadej Pogačar
Pogačar is a three-time winner of the Tour de France and something of a modern cycling legend. The Slovenian has had a measured build-up to the 2025 Tour de France, putting a lot of focus on one-day races, but he then jumped into the Critérium du Dauphiné and won the overall classification for that.
Jonas Vingegaard
Denmark’s Vingegaard has had some great battles against Pogačar and is the reason why the latter has not been more dominant in the race, taking the Tour de France title in 2022 and 2023. Vingegaard has the backing of an excellent team and looks very evenly matched with Pogacar.
Remco Evenepoel
Belgium’s Evenepoel is one of the best contenders behind the big two, but his last major success was in the Vuelta a España back in 2022. Since then, he has watched Vingegaard power to two Tour de France wins, and Pogačar to three, while he has been in the shadows.
Primož Roglič
Roglič has a good track record, winning the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España four times. The Slovenian is now 35 years old, however, and would become the oldest post-war Tour winner if he were to pull off a surprise.
How will Ben Healy fair this year?
There will be one Irish rider in the field, Ben Healy, who rides for EF Education–EasyPost. At the 2023 Giro d’Italia, Healy made a name for himself by winning a stage on his debut grand tour ride.
Being an attack-minded climber who thrives on long, enduring, gritty days in the saddle, Healy launched audacious bids for wins on Stage 9 and Stage 14 of last year’s Tour de France, but was ultimately reeled in on both occasions.
Could he get that Tour de France stage win breakthrough this year? With his team in good form and impressive attacking strategies in this year’s Critérium du Dauphiné, he may be in with a chance.
Our expert prediction
Given the experience and brilliance of Pogačar and Vingegaard, it will be a surprise if the winner of the General Classification isn’t one of them. They are head and shoulders above the rest of the crowd.
It could all come down to team support. Vingegard’s team is much more cohesive, tactically better balanced, and should have superiority in the mountains. The Dane could reel in his third Tour de France title.
Among the dark horses, keep an eye on the progress of João Almeida and Florian Lipowitz, who could have some moments in the sun. Keep up to date with all the latest Tour de France 2025 odds with Tonybet, with coverage of the General Classification race and all the individual stages.
