The Tour de France peloton in 2024

How long is the Tour de France?

The Tour de France has changed dramatically since the first edition in 1903. We examine how the length and speed of the Tour de France has evolved with time


The Tour de France is the world's biggest bike race and the leading event in the men's professional cycling calendar. Riders strive their whole careers to win stages, or even to just start and finish the race.

The 2025 Tour de France route follows a standard formula of 21 stages, with a mixture of flat, hilly, and mountainous days. The difference in this edition though is that the Tour begins in Italy with three stages before moving back to France at the end of stage four

How far is the 2025 Tour de France in kilometres and miles?

This 112th edition of the Tour de France covers a total distance of 3,337km, or 2,074 miles. This year's route is shorter than last year’s, which totalled 3,498km. The first three editions of the race totalled less than 3000km but were spread across just six gruelling stages. Following that, the Tour tended to be much longer, covering distances in excess of 5000km in the 1920s and regularly exceeding 4000km right up until the 1980s, when distances began to be reduced. 

Tour de France 2023

Now the race has found a happy medium – incorporating a variety of distances over the course of the three weeks that make for exciting and unpredictable racing, but remain within the capabilities of the modern peloton. The challenges that face the riders throughout the 21 stages of a Grand Tour come in myriad shapes and sizes. 

Compared to the 2024 edition, this year's route is more traditional with a French Grand Départ, a number of stages in the north of the country then visits to the Pyrenees and the Alps, before a final stage on the famous Champs-Élysées circuit in Paris.

Tour de France distance in recent editions

  • Tour de France 2025: 3,337 kilometres / 2,074 miles
  • Tour de France 2024: 3,492 kilometres / 2,170 miles
  • Tour de France 2023: 3,405 kilometres / 2,116 miles
  • Tour de France 2022: 3,328 kilometres / 2,068 miles
  • Tour de France 2021: 3,414 kilometres / 2,122 miles
  • Tour de France 2020: 3,484 kilometres / 2,165 miles
  • Tour de France 2019: 3,366 kilometres / 2,091 miles
  • Tour de France 2018: 3,351 kilometres / 2,082 miles
  • Tour de France 2017: 3,540 kilometres / 2,200 miles
  • Tour de France 2016: 3,529 kilometres / 2,193 miles
  • Tour de France 2015: 3,360 kilometres / 2,088 miles
  • Tour de France 2014: 3,661 kilometres / 2,275 miles
  • Tour de France 2013: 3,404 kilometres / 2,115 miles

    READ MORE

    Josh Kench was the Giro d'Italia's unlikeliest finisher: 'It’s been a rollercoaster'

    Josh Kench was the Giro d'Italia's unlikeliest finisher: 'It’s been a rollercoaster'

    Unwanted by any European team, New Zealander Josh Kench found himself racing in China for two seasons. Through a valuable connection he was given a...

    Read more
    'He has everything to be a Grand Tour winner': Lidl-Trek sound note of optimism over Juan Ayuso's return

    'He has everything to be a Grand Tour winner': Lidl-Trek sound note of optimism over Juan Ayuso's return

    Juan Ayuso will be one of the favourites when one-week stage racing returns at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. Beyond that he'll be targeting a Tour de...

    Read more
    ‘I’ve worked really hard to get to this point again’: Anna van der Breggen strikes back

    ‘I’ve worked really hard to get to this point again’: Anna van der Breggen strikes back

    On a brutal  time trial stage of the Giro d'Italia Women, the SD Worx-Protime rider stunned her rivals by claiming a lead of over a...

    Read more
    "I don't find it hard to suffer": Antonia Niedermaier's accidental climb to the top

    "I don't find it hard to suffer": Antonia Niedermaier's accidental climb to the top

    With under-23 world titles and Giro d'Italia Women stage victories, Antonia Niedermaier's career in professional cycling has been a whirlwind success story. The former ski...

    Read more
    Visma-Lease a Bike's urgent need for a new title sponsor reflects cycling's uncomfortable financial reality

    Visma-Lease a Bike's urgent need for a new title sponsor reflects cycling's uncomfortable financial reality

    Success can't guarantee you longevity, it seems. Visma-Lease a Bike's search for a new title sponsor is less a reflection on the team's value, and...

    Read more
    Learning Curves: In conversation with Cat Ferguson and Liane Lippert

    Learning Curves: In conversation with Cat Ferguson and Liane Lippert

    20-year-old talent Cat Ferguson is teammates with the vastly experienced Liane Lippert, a veteran of the pro peleton at a mere 28. The two compare...

    Read more

    READ RIDE REPEAT

    JOIN ROULEUR TODAY

    Get closer to the sport than ever before.

    Enjoy a digital subscription to Rouleur for just £4 per month and get access to our award-winning magazines.

    SUBSCRIBE