Cycling. In the English Channel on July 10, 2025, the hardest detour in France!

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In 2025, there is no question of reserving your mobile home in Vendée or on the Côte d'Azur from the beginning of July! The Tour de France, the largest annual sporting event in the world, is making its long-awaited return to Normandy and therefore requires you to wait a little before going jerk dancing or participating in the Miss Camping competition.

If there is one date to remember, the one where no invitation to a barbecue will be admissible, it is definitely that of Thursday July 10. On that day, nine years after the Grand Départ of Mont-Saint-Michel, the Some will finally have the opportunity to see a Yellow Jersey riding on its roads again.

Elevation gain of 3,500 m

For this we can say thanks to Thierry Gouvenou. If he traced this 6th stage between two communes of his native Calvados, Bayeux and his stronghold of turnthe architect of the course demonstrated elegance and altruism including Orne and Manche in his itinerary.

Beyond the simple fact of wanting to please everyone, he found a real visual interest as well as a sporting one. This step will in fact develop a positive altitude difference of 3,500 m. The magnificent toboggan roads of the South Channel taken in the final part of the stage will indeed serve as a perfect springboard before the final explanation announced in the land of andouille.

Afterwards with a concentration of difficulties like Mont Pinçon, the highest point of Calvados or the coast of the Rançonniere, emblem of Suisse Normande, it is in the department of Manche that things will indeed go wrong, notably with the terrible Côte de la Petite Chapelle in Mortain (1 km at 8.2%) with its passage to 15%, and especially the endless coast of Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie, classified in 3rd category during the Tour in 2011.

“The most difficult flat stage in history”

“It is very probably the most difficult flat stage in the history of the Tour de France,” summarizes Thierry Gouvenou, who does not hesitate to compare his work to “a little Liège-Bastogne-Liège”with “permanent difficulty and a lot of elevation. »

No offense to those who were thinking of taking their nap which traditionally accompanies the stages of the first week, often monotonous, without relief and promised to sprinters, the spectacle will be total in Normandy.

Besides, there will be no question of a sofa since you will be on the side of the road! On the hills, to see them pass more slowly, or at Chéréncé-le-Rousselto see them pass twice (the good plan!), the strategic places to put your folding chair and your cooler are numerous and will soon be the subject of more in-depth research in many Manche households.

Perhaps you will go scouting in the spring, like Anthony Delaplace, the Manche professional, who plans to reconnoitre the stage in its entirety at the beginning of May.

In the meantime, we will count the days that separate us from July 10, 2025, a day when the Normans, after such a long wait, will show the whole world their love for the Tour. The rugged course and the fervor of the public are the promises of a grandiose day.

The towns crossed

Here is the list, in order of passage, of the (historical) Manche communes crossed by the route of the 6th stage of the Tour de France 2025: Ger, Barenton, Romagny, Mortain, Le Neufbourg, Saint-Barthélémy, Bellefontaine, Chérencé- le-Roussel, Le Mesnil-Adelée, Juvigny-le-Tertre, Le Mesnil-Gilbert, Saint-Pois and Saint-Michel-de-Montjoie.

What does Anthony Delaplace think?

It would be a beautiful symbol. In 2011, for his first participation in the TourAnthony Delaplace had the chance to ride a few kilometers in the Channel during the stage linking Dinan to Lisieux.

In 2025, for his probable last professional season and potentially his 10th and final Tour, the Cosquevillais could complete the Grande Boucle by once again making a small foray into his native department. A prospect that enchants him.

What does this Normandy stage inspire you?

It can be a real project! I know the roads very well. I have often trained in Suisse Normande and in the South Channel and these are areas where we find the greatest difficulties in Normandy. The stage is long, the final hill is super hard…

What will be the strategic points in your eyes?

There are clearly identified hills such as Mont Pinçon, but not everything will be listed. In fact, it will be hard all the time, the riders will always be in contact. These kinds of difficult stages, with the tension at the start of the Tour, can do damage. Nervously, it will be harder than a mountain stage.

Will the favorites be able to discover each other?

We are not in the high mountains either. It could explode a bit in the finale, some leaders could get trapped, but there won't be any big gaps between the big favorites either. I simply think that such a step will give valuable information on the fitness levels of each person.

We imagine that you hope to be at the start…

Yes, I expressed the desire to do the Tour again. After being away in 2024, I really hope to return. Beyond the symbolic aspect of a 10th participation, I am extremely motivated by the fact that the Tour is coming to Normandy. This may be my last year among the pros, I'm highly motivated… The team knows that I want to be there and that I can bring to the team as a teammate, especially with Kévin (Vauquelin) who completed this stage between Bayeux, at home, and Vire. It can perfectly suit his qualities. I would like to be at his side to support him.

Are you hopeful of being selected?

The team won't do me any favors because I'm Norman! It's up to me to show that I have the level. There are young people in the team who want to earn their place. But, in fact, this competition stimulates me. It makes me want to show that the old is still there!

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