2025 Tour de France starts in Northern France, ASO confirms, and could feature Paris-Roubaix cobbles

The 2025 Tour de France will start in the Hauts-de-France region, in the Northwestern tip of the nation. That has now been confirmed by the ASO after months of rumours suggesting that.

The 2024 edition will begin in Florence, Italy, and will be a route that predominantly focuses on the central but mostly southern regions of France. The finale will also be far from Paris due to the Olympic Games, so it is an edition where the organizers have put their focus into showcasing the best of the lower half of the country.

In 2025 it will be quite different, the Grand Depart will be on the opposite end of the country, in the Hauts-De-France. It is very likely at this point that this will happen in the city of Lille by the border with Belgium.

Due to Lille's proximity with Roubaix, many wonder if the famous cobbles of northern France could be present in the opening days of the race. Ouest France, to which the ASO confirmed the Grand Depart in the region, reports that there will be four stages in the area, eventually with the peloton going down the Western coast of the country through Normandie and Bretagne. On the 30th of November an announcement will be made on the matter, coincidentally in the city of Lille...