It's the greatest show on earth, far more than just a bike race, and the title that every rider would do anything to have on their palmarès. The Tour de France is simply incomparable in the world of cycling.
Le Tour is an integral part of French cultural heritage, with millions lining the roadside to catch a glimpse of the action, and even more watching on across the world as the peloton tackles 21 challenging stages across French terrain over the course of three weeks.
This summer, Tadej Pogačar returns to the race as favourite, bidding to become only the sixth man to win four yellow jerseys. However, the likes of two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard and last year's third-place finisher Remco Evenepoel will both be keen to spoil the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man's party.
There's also the unknown quantity of Primož Roglič, too, who departed the Giro d'Italia early after several crashes - will he prove a threat when the mountains come into view?
The 2025 route covers 3,320km with 51,550 metres of overall elevation, making it shorter and less vertically taxing than last year's race, but by no means will it make it any easier.
Beginning on Friday, July 5, with a Grand Départ in and around Lille for the first three stages, the 112th edition includes two individual time trials and six mountain stages set to test those vying for the yellow jersey.
This year's race will also feature an inaugural inclusion of Montmartre during the final Champs-Élysées stage on Sunday, July 27, following its success in the Paris Olympics road races last summer. Will this offer a GC contender or stage hunter one last chance at glory, or will the sprinters still prove supreme on the final day?
Covering the race on the ground for a 31st consecutive year, Cyclingnews will be offering unrivalled reporting and around-the-clock updates throughout the race. The Tour both demands and deserves nothing less.
Cyclingnews at the Tour de France
Just like the key contenders mentioned above, Cyclingnews' presence at the race will be clear to see with six of the team on the ground in France. They'll be supported by the rest of the CN team in Europe, North America and Australia to ensure our readers receive all the latest news and reaction as it happens.
With decades of experience between them, the team following the race on the ground will share behind-the-scenes insights of the race, report on the key storylines as they unfold, and capture reactions after each and every stage en route to Paris.
Stephen Farrand, James Moultrie, Matilda Price, and Alasdair Fotheringham will follow the race day by day across the three weeks. Meanwhile, Engagement Editor Pete Trifunovic will be on the ground at the Grand Départ in Lille to soak up the atmosphere for our social channels, while Senior Tech Writer Will Jones will have an eagle eye on all the latest tech on show - released and unreleased - for our much-anticipated tech galleries.
Alongside all of the content coming in from our team at the race, we'll provide analysis and opinion pieces around all the key moments of the Grand Tour, as well as in-depth stage previews, detailed team and contenders guides, stunning premium race galleries, and exclusive longread features too.
We're not done there, though, either, with former pro Philippa York and other expert columnists weighing in on the key talking points of the race with weekly columns to help you understand the tactics and dynamics behind the battles for the yellow jersey and minor classifications.
You can enjoy unlimited, complete access to all of our journalism and content from the Tour de France and beyond by subscribing to Cyclingnews.
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A subscription to Cyclingnews allows you to read every word and see every photograph we publish. Your subscription also helps support our journalism, and especially our presence at races across the season, when we bring you the big stories and inside news that nobody else has.
Visit our Tour de France hub page for more information on this year’s race, and please join Cyclingnews for the greatest race in the 2025 cycling season.
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