You’ve seen the glitzy presentations and the 3D flyovers of the French countryside, but looking at the Tour de France 2025 stage profiles up close reveals a much nastier story. Honestly, it’s a bit of a monster. Christian Prudhomme and the ASO didn't just design a bike race; they built a 3,320-kilometer pressure cooker that stays entirely within French borders for the first time in ages. No foreign starts, no easy transfers across the Alps. Just pure, unadulterated French suffering.
We are talking about 51,550 meters of vertical gain. That is roughly like climbing Mount Everest six times in three weeks.
The 112th edition kicks off on July 5th in Lille, and if you think the first week is just for the sprinters to flex, you haven't looked at the profiles. By the time the peloton hits the Pyrenees and the "Giant of Provence," half the field will be dreaming of their post-race vacation.
The First Week: Sprinters vs. The "Mur"
Most people assume the first week is a boring slog of flat roads. They're wrong. While Stage 1 is a classic 185km loop around Lille that basically screams "bunch sprint," things get weird fast.
Stage 2 (Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer) is the longest day of the race at 209km. It’s lumpy. It’s technical. It features the Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont, which hits a ridiculous 15% gradient. This isn't a day for the pure speedsters; it’s a day for guys like Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert to smash the legs off the climbers.
Then you have Stage 5 in Caen. A 33km individual time trial. This is where the GC (General Classification) gaps first become real. It’s dead flat, which sounds nice until you realize Remco Evenepoel will be pushing 55km/h and putting minutes into the lighter climbers.
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The real highlight of the first week? Stage 7. We’re going back to the Mûr-de-Bretagne. They climb it twice. It’s a 2km wall that averages nearly 7%, but it’s the double-ascent format that historically cracks the riders who didn't bring their "A" game to Brittany.
The Massif Central Bastille Day Chaos
If there is one date you need to circle, it’s July 14th. Bastille Day.
Stage 10 (Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy) is basically a saw blade. There are no "Hors Catégorie" (HC) monsters here, but the profile shows seven categorized climbs packed into 163km. It’s relentless. There is barely a meter of flat road. Total elevation? Over 4,400 meters.
History tells us that these mid-mountain stages in the Massif Central are where the big teams lose control. A breakaway of 20 riders could easily go ten minutes clear while the favorites play poker behind them.
The Pyrenean Triple Threat
After the first rest day in Toulouse, the race turns into a vertical nightmare. We’re talking about three days that will define the 2025 podium.
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- Stage 12 (Auch to Hautacam): 181km ending with the 13.6km ascent to Hautacam. Average gradient? 7.8%. This is the climb where Jonas Vingegaard broke Tadej Pogačar in 2022. It’s a literal furnace if the weather holds.
- Stage 13 (Loudenvielle to Peyragudes): This is a 10.9km mountain time trial. It’s short, it’s steep, and it finishes on the Altiport runway—the one from the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies. It’s pure pain.
- Stage 14 (Pau to Luchon-Superbagnères): 183km and 5,000 meters of climbing. It features the Tourmalet, the Aspin, and the Peyresourde before a summit finish at Superbagnères. This is a "marathon" profile we haven't seen in decades.
Ventoux and the Alpine "Queen Stage"
Just when the riders think the worst is over, the "Giant of Provence" appears. Stage 16 takes the peloton from Montpellier to the top of Mont Ventoux.
It’s been years since we had a full summit finish on the bald mountain. The wind at the top is legendary, and the lack of vegetation means there is nowhere to hide from the sun. If you blow up on the lower slopes through the forest, you are losing five minutes. Easily.
But the real "Queen Stage" is Stage 18. Vif to Courchevel.
The profile is terrifying:
- Col du Glandon (HC)
- Col de la Madeleine (HC)
- Col de la Loze (HC)
The finish is at the Altiport in Courchevel after descending the Loze. The Col de la Loze is arguably the hardest climb in France right now, peaking at over 2,300 meters with ramps of 24%. This is where Pogačar famously said, "I'm gone, I'm dead," back in 2023.
The Final Reckoning at La Plagne
The final mountain showdown happens on Stage 19. It’s a shorter stage (130km) starting in Albertville and finishing at La Plagne.
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Shorter stages usually mean higher intensity. The peloton will have to climb the Col du Pré and the Cormet de Roselend before the 19km final drag to the ski resort. By this point, the gaps in the Tour de France 2025 stage profiles will be measured in minutes, not seconds.
If someone is going to pull off a "Landis-style" long-range raid, this is the day. The descent off the Roselend is technical, and a brave descender could create a gap before the final climb even starts.
How to Watch and What to Look For
If you're planning your viewing schedule, focus on the transitions. Everyone watches the summit finishes, but the real damage often happens on the technical descents or the "transition" stages like Stage 20 to Pontarlier.
Keep an eye on the wind reports for the early stages in Normandy and Brittany. Echelons can ruin a GC contender's race before they even see a mountain. Also, watch the time limits. On the Stage 18 Queen Stage, the "autobus" (the group of sprinters trying to finish within the time limit) will be fighting for their lives to stay in the race for the final sprint in Paris.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Check the weather: High winds in the first week (Stages 2-4) usually mean chaos.
- Download the official App: The ASO updates live "time gaps" which are more accurate than the TV graphics.
- Study the descent of the Loze: Stage 18 isn't just about the climb; the narrow, twitchy descent into Courchevel is where a race can be won or lost.
- Watch the Stage 13 start times: In a mountain TT, the gaps between the top 10 riders will tell you exactly who has recovered from the Hautacam effort.