Products You May Like
| Dates: 1 July – 24 July |
| Coverage: Live text commentary on each stage on the BBC Sport website and app |
The 109th edition of the Tour de France gets under way in Copenhagen on Friday and finishes in Paris on Sunday, 24 July.
The riders will tackle two individual time trials and six mountain stages on trips to the Alps and Pyrenees during the 3,353km race.
BBC Sport looks at each stage of the gruelling three-week event, analysing where it could be won and lost and which riders are likely to prosper.
This page will be updated throughout the Tour with the winner and a brief report following each stage.
Friday, 1 July – stage one: Copenhagen – Copenhagen, 13.2km
A rare Friday start to the Tour de France has been included to accommodate a transfer day from Denmark back to France after the first three stages.
A flat and technical route should favour the specialists and see some of the general classification candidates attempt to limit early losses.
Riders to watch: Filippo Ganna, Kasper Asgreen, Wout van Aert
Saturday, 2 July – stage two: Roskilde – Nyborg, 202.2km
Except for three modest climbs in the first half of the stage the run into Nyborg is relatively flat.
However, the crossing the Storebaeltsbroen in the final 25km could make for an intriguing finale.
The Great Belt Bridge is 18km long, rises at shallow gradients and is exposed to the elements allowing for the possibility of echelons to be formed and a potential GC contender to be caught out.
Riders to watch: Fabio Jakobsen, Caleb Ewan, Van Aert
Sunday, 3 July – stage three: Vejle – Sonderborg, 202.2km
Three tame climbs break up another sprinter-friendly route which should culminate with the lead-out trains battling for position before the Tour’s fast men launch themselves towards the finish in Sonderborg.
Riders to watch: Jasper Philipsen, Dylan Groenewegen, Jakobsen, Ewan
Tuesday, 5 July – stage four: Dunkirk – Calais, 171.5km
The first stage on French soil sees the riders travel along the north west coast of the country.
Six category four climbs should be easy enough for the peloton to negotiate, but the constant wind and rolling terrain coupled with a final climb up the Cote du Cap Blanc-Nez is likely to favour the puncheurs.
Riders to watch: Van Aert, Matthews, Van der Poel
Wednesday, 6 July – stage five: Lille Metropole – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, 157km
This may not prove to be the Hell of the North served up on the Paris-Roubaix, which sees riders caked in mud and grit, but 11 stretches of cobbles totalling almost 20km of the final 80km will place the peloton under stress.
In 2014, the cobbles saw defending champion Chris Froome crash out of contention in rainy conditions as Vincenzo Nibali effectively took control of the race on his way to victory in Paris.
Riders to watch: Van Aert, Van der Poel, Tom Pidcock, Geraint Thomas
Thursday, 7 July – stage six: Binche – Longwy, 220km
The longest stage of the race and one that comes with a seemingly endless succession of hills before the sting in the tail in the last 6km.
A sharp 800m climb that ramps up to 12% on the Cote de Pulventeux is immediately followed by the longer drag up Cote des Religieuses.
It would be no surprise to see the likes of Van der Poel, Pidcock and Van Aert go toe-to-toe in the finale, but equally the breakaway specialists will fancy their chances of staying clear of the peloton.
Riders to watch: Marc Hirschi, Matej Mohoric, Magnus Cort, Peter Sagan, Van der Poel
Friday, 8 July – stage seven: Tomblaine – La Super Planche des Belles Filles, 176.5km
The first summit finish sees the race return to La Planche des Belles Filles a decade after it first appeared on the Tour.
On that occasion Froome took the honours, finishing two seconds ahead of his then Team Sky leader Bradley Wiggins.
In 2019 Geraint Thomas took time out of his rivals, while Pogacar will also have fond memories of the finish after dramatically securing the 2020 Tour in the Vosges Mountains.
While the first half of the stage is pretty flat, the climax, a 7km climb that includes a gravel section and an energy-sapping ramp at 24%, will see riders attempt to lay down a marker in the GC battle.
Riders to watch: Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar, Adam Yates, Giulio Ciccone
Saturday, 9 July – stage eight: Dole – Lausanne, 186.3km,
The eighth stage of the race begins in France and ends in Switzerland with a punchy climb reminiscent of Mur-de-Bretagne, where Mathieu van der Poel took the stage and the yellow jersey early in last year’s race.
Dutch riders have won the past two finishes in Lausanne and Van der Poel will be aiming to ensure a repeat.
Riders to watch: Van der Poel, Van Aert, Dylan Teuns
Sunday, 10 July – stage nine: Aigle – Chatel Les Portes du Soleil, 192.9km
The flat opening of the stage carries the peloton along Lake Geneva before their route takes an upward trajectory.
While two category one climbs arrive in the final 70km, the gradients involved are unlikely to ignite the GC race. Instead, a breakaway group will probably have formed and be given leeway to contest the stage victory.
Riders to watch: Benoit Cosnefroy, Froome, Daryl Impey, Tim Wellens, Asgreen
Tuesday, 12 July – stage 10: Morzine Les Portes du Soleil – Megeve 148.1km
After a second rest day, a stage in the Alps that skirts the biggest climbs is on the agenda.
It is potentially another situation for the stage hunters to exploit as the GC contenders save their energy and prepare their mountain legs for the two brutal stages that follow.
Riders to watch: Mohoric, Ion Izagirre, Lennard Kamna, Michael Woods
Wednesday, 13 July – stage 11: Albertville – Col du Granon Serre Chevalier, 151.7km
None of the contenders for the yellow jersey can afford to concede too much time here. The climbing is tightly packed, starting with the Montvernier hairpins, then continuing with the crossing of the Telegraphe and Galibier passes.
The lengthy Col du Galibier is the high point of the race at an altitude of 2,642m, while the Granon is the highest stage finish this century. If one of the main GC riders wins well here they will automatically be installed as a healthy favourite to wear yellow in Paris.
Riders to watch: Pogacar, Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Dani Martinez
Thursday, 14 July – stage 12: Briancon – Alpe d’Huez, 165.1km
With a deliberate nod to the past the 31st Tour stage to Alpe d’Huez is almost an exact replica of stage 18 from the 1986 race, which saw five-time Tour champion Bernard Hinault triumph.
The ascent of the Galibier returns, followed by the climb of the Col de la Croix de Fer, before the famous 21 hairpins leading up to the Isere resort are tackled for the first time since 2018, when Geraint Thomas rode superbly to victory.
France will be rooting for a home rider to win on Bastille Day for the first time since Warren Barguil in 2017.
Riders to watch: Romain Bardet, Thibaut Pinot, David Gaudu, Woods, Jakob Fuglsang
Friday, 15 July – stage 13: Le Bourg d’Oisans – Saint-Etienne, 192.6km
This transitional stage could end up being one of those days when fractures emerge in the peloton as it travels at full gas from the Alps to the magnificent views of the Massif Central.
The pure sprinters in the peloton will struggle to keep up, while those seeking to form a breakaway may have to bide their time given the descent in the early part of the stage will make it difficult for a gap to stick.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Saturday, 16 July – stage 14: Saint-Etienne – Mende, 192.5km
Another lumpy stage that contains five categorised climbs from start to finish, and could once again favour the breakaway specialists.
The steep climb to the airport in Mende has provided some explosive finishes to Tour stages in recent years, particularly when Steve Cummings broke clear to deliver a first stage win for an African team, MTN-Qhubeka, on Mandela Day in 2015.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Sunday, 17 July – stage 15: Rodez – Carcassonne, 202.5km
The 15th stage may not be entirely flat, but the sprinters will eye this as one of a limited number of opportunities to showcase their talents.
Last year’s bunch sprint at the base of the Pyrenees saw Mark Cavendish ride into Tour de France history when he won a record-equalling 34th stage to draw level with Belgian great Eddy Merckx.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Tuesday, 19 July – stage 16: Carcassonne – Foix,178.5km
The third and decisive week of the Tour opens with a transition stage to the foothills of the Pyrenees.
On each of the four occasions a stage has ended in Foix the breakaway has held sway, and that is something likely to be repeated.
If they are still in the race at this point, the profile of the stage should offer plenty of encouragement to Mohoric and Hirschi.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Wednesday, 20 July – stage 17: Saint-Gaudens – Peyragudes,129.7km
A short but demanding mountain stage which crams four categorised climbs into the final 76km.
The tough assignment is made all the more difficult with the summit finish at the Altiport 007 in Peyragudes.
Faced with 8km of climbing at an average gradient of almost 8%, the riders will also be conscious of a uphill kicker in the final 500m that rises to 13% at the line.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Thursday, 21 July – stage 18: Lourdes – Hautacam,143.2km
The last high-altitude test of the race brings the legendary Col d’Aubisque into view before the Col de Spandelles and the iconic finish at Hautacam.
Luc Leblanc famously held off Miguel Indurain on the ascent to the ski resort in 1994, and this could prove to be fascinating battle between the main GC riders, where the less capable time trialists will need to make bold moves.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Friday, 22 July – stage 19: Castelnau-Magnoac – Cahors,188.3km
With the Pyrenees fading into the background, and some weary bodies readying themselves for the time trial in the penultimate stage, the race moves east in the direction of Cahors.
This will represent a chance for the sprinters left in the race to show what they have left in reserve, particularly on the false-flat finish into the line.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Saturday, 23 July – stage 20: Lacapelle-Marival – Rocamadour, 40.7km
The final day of serious competition in the GC comes with the race of truth on the longest individual time-trial course at a Tour since 2014.
Could the undulating terrain on the route to Rocamadour deliver a final act of drama? Or will this simply end up as duel between Van Aert and Ganna?
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.
Sunday, 24 July – stage 21: Paris La Defense Arena – Paris Champs-Elysees, 115.6km
The Tour concludes with its traditional processional final stage.
Expect to see the overall winner and his team-mates sip champagne and leisurely ride towards Paris before eight frenetic laps on the Champs-Elysees circuit and chaotic sprint finish.
Riders to watch: This will be updated during the Tour.