One among biking’s best-loved ascents, the daunting Mont Ventoux, may effectively be again on the Tour de France route in 2025 after a four-year absence, with a summit end rumoured for the ‘Big of Provence’ for the primary time within the race since 2016.
In keeping with regional newspaper La Marseillaise, a summit end on the Ventoux is “anticipated” in 2025. The media outlet additionally cites native département president Dominique Santoni as saying that “there was a really robust chance that the Tour de France comes right here subsequent yr,” though Santoni didn’t say precisely the place he means by ‘right here’.
The Ventoux final appeared within the Tour de France again in 2021, when a spectacular double ascent culminated in Wout van Aert claiming a solo victory within the close by city of Malaucène.
The 2021 Tour de France Ventoux stage was additionally the place the Jonas Vingegaard-Tadej Pogačar rivalry first reached a excessive level, as Vingegaard briefly dropped the Slovenian close to the summit of the monster climb.
Pogačar went on to win total, however Visma-Lease a Bike later mentioned his difficulties that day on the Ventoux grew to become the place to begin for his or her improvement of a technique to defeat the UAE Crew Emirates racer within the 2022 Tour and once more in 2023.
Moderately than ‘simply’ crossing the highest of the Ventoux like in 2021, the Tour de France final had a summit end on the mountain in its 2016 version, when a wind-blighted ascent compelled the organisers to finish the stage on the Chalet-Reynard restaurant, roughly three quarters of the best way up the climb.
Victory that day went to the not too long ago retired breakaway specialist Thomas de Gendt (Lotto-Dstny), however it’s primarily remembered for Chris Froome’s determined run up the final a part of the climb after he got here off worse in a crash involving an in-race TV motorcycle.
As was solely to be anticipated given its title, the Ventoux shaped the principle attraction of the CIC-Mont Ventoux Denivélé, the now-suspended one-day race, each in 2022 and 2023. Nevertheless, it has not shaped a part of the Tour.
Ought to the ‘Big of Provence’ lastly characteristic on the 2025 Tour de France route, there are rumours it might tackled someday within the second week. Subsequent yr’s Tour has a confirmed Grand Depart in Lille in northern France on July 5.
Different, unconfirmed rumours Tweeted by biking author ammattipyöräily, recommend {that a} return to La Plagne within the Alps, final visited in 1995 by the Tour de France, can also be doable a decade on within the race.
La Plagne was the place Miguel Indurain all however sealed the deal on his fifth Tour de France win as he shed all his rivals with a remorseless pursuit of fellow contender Alex Zülle.
Eight years earlier, the ski station within the jap a part of the Alps was the place Stephen Roche staged one in all biking’s most well-known comebacks in a duel towards Pedro Delgado, previous to happening to win the Tour outright.
2021 Tour de France: Jonas Vingegaard places Tadej Pogačar into difficulties on the Mont Ventoux (Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
A go to to Brittany?
In the intervening time, nothing has been officialised concerning the 2025 Tour de France route barring the opening three days within the Nord-Pas-de-Calais northerly area, a stage 4 begin in Amiens and – after this yr’s end in Good – a closing run-in to Paris on July 29.
The 2025 Tour begins on Saturday July 5 in Lille with a sprinters stage, then instantly switches to a a lot hillier format for a protracted trek to the northern coast on Sunday July 6, ending in Boulogne-sur-Mer. Stage 3 – on Monday July 7 – needs to be one other bunch dash, ending in close by Dunkirk. The Tour lastly leaves the area by way of a begin within the westerly metropolis of Amiens on Tuesday July 8.
In keeping with velowire the web site which specialises in predicting the route of the upcoming Tour de France in as a lot element as doable, the route will seemingly proceed to move west by Normandy and Brittany. The latter can be partly in homage to a different five-times Tour de France winner and Brittany’s most well-known racer: Bernard Hinault, whose fortieth and closing Tour victory happened in 1985.
Levels in central France may then comply with, with the primary week ‘prolonged’ to July 14 and a end on the Mont Dore close to Clermont-Ferrand on stage 10. A switch south to Toulouse on the primary relaxation day on the Tuesday of week 2 may precede a minimum of a few days within the Pyrenees, probably that includes a mountain time trial and previous to the speculated ascent of the Ventoux.
Week 3 then takes the Tour into the Alps, about which little or no is but recognized, Velowire speculates this might be because of the densely packed biking calendar this yr, delaying organisers’ capability to finalize their plans. The web site additionally suggests {that a} world drop within the variety of dash levels in comparison with 2023 may effectively be on the playing cards as effectively.
🇫🇷 2025 Tour de France (5/7-27/7) rumours | #TDF2025Rumours circling round that this would possibly truly be taking place. Subsequent summer season it will likely be 30 years since Miguel Indurain’s ‘driving them off the wheel 1 by 1’ -show on ⛰️🏁 La Plagne, 1995 Tour de France.pic.twitter.com/htanB3O7JHSeptember 23, 2024
