Tour de France 2025 Favourites stage 4: For punchers with fast descent

foto: Cor VosPuncheurs are spoilt in the Tour’s early stages. Stage 4 is a relentless up-and-down affair in the final 50 kilometres, hopping from one climb to the next. The last one is a proper wall – 800 metres at 10.6% – before the race plunges downhill for 4 kilometres and finishes with a sting in the tail. (Slideshow route/profile)

The race really comes down to the final 50 kilometres, as the earlier part of the route is fairly straightforward. Over flat to gently rolling roads, the riders traverse northern France, moving from the Hauts-de-France region into Normandy.

The fireworks are set off on Norman soil. With just under 50 kilometres to go, the Côte de Jacques Anquetil opens the action with 3.5 kilometres at 3.6%. The Côte de Belbeuf follows 20 kilometres later – 1.3 kilometres at 9.1% – but it really comes down to the final three climbs, packed tightly into the last 15 kilometres.

The riders face a punchy sequence of ups and downs: the Côte de Bonsecours (900 metres at 7.2%), the Côte de la Grand’Mare (1.8 kilometres at 5%), and the Rampe Saint-Hillaire (800 metres at 10.6%). A 4-kilometre descent then takes them to the flamme rouge, where the road kicks up for 500 metres at 5% before flattening out towards the finish line.

In short, explosive climbing and skilful descending will be crucial and fast legs might just provide the cherry on top.

Favourites 4th stage 2025 Tour de France

*** Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel
** Primoz Roglic, Tadej Pogacar, Thibau Nys, Romain Grégoire
* Remco Evenepoel, Kévin Vauquelin, Alex Aranburu, Julian Alaphilippe

Another interesting read: route 4th stage 2025 Tour de France.