Lille very likely to host Grand Départ of 2025 Tour de France with possible return of cobbles
Cycling
After we'll witness third consecutive Grand Départs outside of France in a row next year with the Tour de France set to take off in Firenze in 2024, the word is that the start of the Grande Boucle will return to its roots with a deprature from the Hauts-de-France region in 2025.
Velowire did some investigation and traced down the rumours have been in full stream in local press since last week. The Ouest France newspaper was the first to break the news on Thursday afternoon. In the evening, France Bleu Nord confirmed the news. A little later, La Voix du Nord also picked up on this information, stating that it had received confirmation from several high-ranking MEL (Métropole Européenne de Lille) sources.
The local paper mentions three or four stages, starting from Lille, and imagines a return of the cobbles (last seen in the Tour de France 2022, on the stage between Lille and Arenberg), before indicating that the peloton could also head for the Avesnois, and Picardy. Lille has hosted the Grand Départ of the Tour de France twice before, in 1960 and in 1994.
At this stage, Lille, Béthune, Saint-Quentin and Calais are the most likely starting and finishing points for the opening stages of the Tour de France 2025 in the Hauts-de-France region. At the end of November, the Grand Départ of the Tour de France 2025 should be officially announced.
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
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