As befits cycling’s biggest race, we’ve covered the 2018 Tour de France route announcement extensively, from the five key stages to the cobblestones to our roundtable about how we see this race unfolding. So let’s boil down the news to the fundamentals. Here are some of the 2018 Tour’s key stats, as well as select route and climb profiles from the presentation.
Overall route
3,329 kilometers in total, the shortest Tour since 2002
65km: Shortest road stage (stage 17)
231km: Longest road stage (stage 7)
The 21 stages
8 flat
5 hilly
6 mountain stages
3 summit finishes (La Rosière, Alpe d’Huez, Saint-Lary-Soulan col de Portet)
1 individual time trial
1 team time trial
15 kilometers in Spain — otherwise the route is entirely on French soil.
Stage 9’s cobblestones
21.7km of pavé in stage 9
15 sectors of cobblestones
500m: Shortest cobble sector
2.7km: Longest cobble sector
Key climbing stages
Stage 6
Stage 6 finishes on the steep, short Mur de Bretagne climb.
Stage 10
Stage 10 is this Tour’s first foray into the Alps.
Stage 10
Stage 10 finishes on the Col de la Colombiere.
Stage 11
Stage 11 is a mountainous day and one of the Tour’s three summit finishes.
Stage 11
Stage 11 finishes on La Rosiere
Stage 12
Stage 12 features a summit finish on Alpe d’Huez.
Stage 12
Alpe d’Huez is perhaps the Tour’s most famous climb.
Stage 16
Stage 16 brings the Tour into the Pyrenees.
Stage 16
Stage 16 finishes with a short climb up the Portillon and a precipitous descent to Bagneres-de-Luchon.
Stage 17
Stage 17 is exceptionally short at 64km with more than 3,000 meters of climbing.
Stage 17
Col de Portet is a steep, long climb with a high altitude finish.
Stage 19
The Tour’s final day of climbing is a monster, with trips over the Col d’Aspin, Tourmalet, Soulor, and Aubisque.
Stage 19
Col d’Aubisque, when climbed from this direction, includes the Soulor.
