2025 Tour de France Stage 20 Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of Stage 20 of the 2025 Tour de France! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
Course Preview
The penultimate stage of the Tour de France includes an elevation gain of nearly 2,900 metres, most of which is conquered in the first part of the race. Running from Nantua to Pontarlie, the route totals 185 kilometres.
The Tour caravan has visited Nantua before. The little village between Lyon and Geneva hosted the start of a stage back in 2017. That race ventured into the high mountains, with Rigoberto Uran seizing victory in Chambéry. This time, the route winds over the hills of the Jura towards Pontarlier.
The longest climb of the day is also the first one. After 11.8 kilometres of ascending at 4.2%, the Col de la Croix de la Serra is crested at kilometre 25. The riders dive down to Saint-Claude, only to encounter the next obstacle. The Côte de Valin rises over 5.6 kilometres at an average gradient of 4.4%. There’s no descent, as the route continues as a false flat before intensifying again on the Côte de Chateau-de-Pres: 4.4-kilometre at 4.3%.
For tens of kilometres, the parcours descends, although there are some minor uphills as well. After almost 100 kilometres the riders reach Champagnole, where Søren Kragh Andersen won the penultimate stage of the 2019 Tour de France. A flat section and a descent then precede the Côte de Chateau-de-Pres with its 3.7 kilometres at 8.8%. Would have made for an interesting finish, but no, the riders have to continue for over 60 kilometres on flat to rolling terrain.
The CĂ´te de Longeville stands out in the last part of the race. The 3.4-kilometre climb at 5.5% is crested with 23 kilometres left to race. The remainder features some gentle uphills after that, before the final 7 kilometres are as flat as a curling rink.
The stage winner succeeds Erik Dekker, who triumphed in Pontarlier in 2001. Earlier winners include Jørgen Vagn Pedersen (1985), Willy Teirlinck (1972), Pierre Magne (1928), and Adelin Benoît (1927).
Get our full coverage of the Tour de France and every race we cover with our mobile app! The apps have over 100 additional exclusive features, including our award-winning Time Machine feature that lets you pause/rewind/replay the entire app to sync with delayed race video, integrated Fantasy Cycling, push notifications, an integrated news feed, live GPS tracking, world-class commentary, and our animated interactive maps and profiles.
