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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Saffron Otter

Will Tour de France 2021 go through England?: Full route and stages

The Tour de France returns this month for its 108th year.

The biggest cycling event is taking place on Saturday, June 26 from Brest, Britanny, with the race finishing in Paris three weeks later on July 18.

It's been scheduled a little earlier this year so that it didn't clash with cycling events in the Tokyo Olympics that are set to start in late July.

Organisers of the Grand Tour say the route, which spans 3,383 km over 21 stages, is 'ground-breaking', with a double serving of climbing.

But will riders travel through England this year?

Unfortunately not. Here's the full route across France and stages for this year's Tour de France:

READ MORE: Flexible train season tickets go on sale for part-time commuters

Full route

Racers will have to be on high alert from the get-go with two climbs up the Mûr-de-Bretagne, which will be tackled from a different side in the stage 2 finale.

Ten days later, they will have to put on another show of strength on the slopes of the Mont Ventoux.

The Giant of Provence, which is making its first double appearance in a stage, will be tackled from two different sides before plunging down to Malaucène.

The Tour de France route 2021 (Tour de France)

In between these two key dates, the riders will have already faced new challenges, including four stages in the four departments that make up Brittany —from Brest to Fougères— riddled with hazards such as coastal winds and the hills of the Armorican Massif.

The Signal d'Uchon, a recently discovered climb in the Morvan, will decide the stage to Le Creusot in its first appearance in the race. The return of the first-week individual time trial will provide an early indication of the pecking order, which the climbers will do their best to shake up in the two gruelling Alpine stages finishing in LeGrand Bornand and in Tignes, just before the first rest day.

After that, the Pyrenees will dispel any remaining doubts in five action-packed duels in the high mountains, combining the brand-new, spectacular Col de Saint-Louis on the road to Quillan with classics like the Peyresourde – Val Louron-Azet – Col du Portet and Tourmalet – LuzArdiden sequences.

Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar wearing the overall leader yellow jersey, left, rides through the courtyard of the Louvre Museum during the 122 kilometers (75.8 miles) final stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Mantes-la-Jolie and Paris, Sunday Sept. 20, 2020 in Paris (AP)

Competitors will have to grab every second they can if they are to fend off the toughest power riders in the 31 km run through the vineyards of Saint-Émilion on the eve of the finish on the Champs-Élysées.

While the destiny of the Yellow Jersey will probably be decided in south-western France, the fight for the green jersey will take place all over the country, with no fewer than seven stages likely to fall to the sprinters as long as their teammates can keep any breakaways on a tight leash. Stage hunters will also get numerous opportunities to thwart the peloton.

Stages

The Tour de France takes place over 23 days - with two of those days as rest days.

  • Stage 1, June 26: Brest - Landerneau
  • Stage 2, June 27: Perros-Guirec - Mûr-de-Bretagne Guerlédan
  • Stage 3, June 28: Lorient - Pontivy
  • Stage 4, June 29: Redon - Fougères
  • Stage 5, June 30: Changé - Laval
  • Stage 6, July 1: Tours - Châteauroux
  • Stage 7, July 2: Vierzon - Le Creusot (249.1km, hilly)
  • Stage 8, July 3 Oyonnax - Le Gran-Bornand (150.8km, mountains)
  • Stage 9, July 4: Cluses - Tignes (144.9km, mountains)
  • July 5: First rest day
  • Stage 10, July 6: Albertville - Valence
  • Stage 11, July 7: Sorgues - Malaucène
  • Stage 12, July 8: Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Nîmes
  • Stage 13, July 9: Nîmes - Carcassonne
  • Stage 14, July 10: Carcassonne - Quillan
  • Stage 15, July 11: Céret - Andorra la Vella
  • July 12: Second rest day
  • Stage 16, July 13: Pas de la Case - Saint-Gaudens
  • Stage 17, July 14: Muret - Saint-Lary-Soulan Col du Portet
  • Stage 18, July 15: Pau - Luz-Ardiden
  • Stage 19, July 16: Mourenx - Libourne
  • Stage 20, July 17: Libourne – Saint-Émilion
  • Stage 21, July 18: Chatou - Paris Champs-Élysées

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