After three straight foreign starts, the Tour de France will open its 2025 edition with a Grand Départ on home soil, beginning in Lille Métropole on 5th July. The return to Hauts-de-France marks the fifth time the region has hosted the Tour’s opening, and organisers are leaning heavily into the local identity – cobbled climbs, gusting coastal winds and industrial heritage.
Tour director Christian Prudhomme called the region a “northern powerhouse”, a nod to its deep connection with cycling’s history. This is the birthplace of Paris-Roubaix and home to legends like Jean Stablinski and Charles Crupelandt. Lille, Roubaix and Dunkerque have all seen the Tour begin here before – this time, they’re all part of the opening week.
What to expect from the first four stages of 2025 Tour de France
The opening four stages set a feisty tone. There’s terrain for sprinters, puncheurs and opportunists – and plenty to make GC contenders nervous.
Stage 1: Lille Métropole – Lille Métropole (185km)
A lumpy loop around the city, including the cobbled climbs of Mont Cassel and Mont Noir. It finishes flat near the citadel, so a sprint is likely, but early splits and KOM battles could shape the first jersey awards.
Stage 2: Lauwin-Planque – Boulogne-sur-Mer (209km)
A coastal puncheur’s day with sharp ramps and the potential for early attacks to stick. The uphill finish will suit the likes of Thibau Nys or Tom Pidcock if they hit it right.
Stage 3: Valenciennes – Dunkerque (172km)
Flat on paper, but exposed and open to the wind. Mont Cassel features again. A bunch sprint seems likely unless the echelons rip things up late on.
Stage 4: Amiens Métropole – Rouen (173km)
A longer, transitional day with the potential for a breakaway to survive. It’s a nod to the region’s quieter backroads – and a chance to highlight Picardy’s links to Tour history.
Why Hauts-de-France matters
This region’s roads have defined the Tour for over a century, not just as stage hosts, but through the people it’s produced.
Jean Stablinski brought the Trouée d’Arenberg to the attention of the Paris-Roubaix organisers, won the Vuelta, and still lends his name to the velodrome in Roubaix. Charles Crupelandt led the Tour after winning both the 1910 and 1912 opening stages, and now lends his name to the final cobbled sector in Paris-Roubaix.
Recent generations brought Christophe Moreau and Laurent Desbiens, both yellow jersey wearers. Cofidis boss Cédric Vasseur won a Tour stage from here, and Jean-Marie Leblanc, the man who ran the race from 1989 to 2006, is a northern native too.
The 2025 edition will mark 37 Tour stages in the region since 1906, and Lille’s 19th time as a host city. The region’s cultural and economic shift – from coal and textiles to green energy and cycling infrastructure – fits perfectly with the Tour’s broader ambitions.
What about the 2025 Tour de France finish?
Paris remains the finish line, but the organisers are swapping out the usual Champs-Élysées finale for a hillier showdown incorporating Montmartre. Inspired by last year’s Olympic route, it’s a move designed to liven up the final day, potentially giving a breakaway or punchy climber a last chance at glory, rather than a bunch sprint.
In short, the Tour is starting at home again – but it’s not sticking to the old script.
