PREVIEW INFO WITH ONE DAY TO GO

October 11 ^th 2025 - 17:29

• The 119th edition of Paris-Tours will be held on Sunday, starting in Chartres for the tenth time, with the peloton set to cover a total distance of 211.6 km (vs. 213.8 km in 2024) and with a brand-new trophy waiting for the winner. This final showdown of the year amongst the sprinters and classics specialists will see them battle over nine climbs and nine vineyard tracks, in the final third of the parcours. The finale has been modified to bring the finish line closer to the last challenges of the route and the victory will be decided on Boulevard Beranger, close to Tours City Hall.
• A number of world class sprinters and classics specialists are on the start list, with several big guns of the peloton looking to add the autumn classic to their impressive lists of palmares. Sprinters Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) and Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) will hope for a bunch finish, whilst the 2024 runner-up Mathias Vacek (Lidl - Trek) is also ready to challenge for the win.
• The local fans along the route will be hoping their French heroes can set the race alight again as they have in previous editions. Christophe Laporte (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) will aim to repeat his victory from last year, whilst his compatriots Valentin Madouas (Groupama - FDJ), Dorian Godon (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) and Anthony Turgis (Team TotalEnergies) could all be protagonists. Meanwhile it will be a special day for double winner of the event Arnaud Demare (2021 and 2022), who rides in the final race of a decorated professional career.

DUSTY BEFORE THE NEW FINISH

For the eighth consecutive year, Paris-Tours will take on the famous vineyard paths as it approaches the Indre-et-Loire prefecture. There will be nine vineyard sectors, one fewer than last year - the Valmer sector was removed due to bridge construction - giving a total length of 10 km of vineyard paths on this 211.6 km course. But the "big change," as race director Cedric Coutouly points out, comes at the finale. Gone is Avenue de Grammont, in comes Boulevard Béranger. "For people watching on TV it won't change much and the finish is still at the Hôtel de Ville, because this boulevard runs perpendicular to Avenue de Grammont. It's another beautiful final straight through the heart of the city, 800 metres long." But this will bring the final difficulties closer to the finish since as we will have two less kilometres through Tours." Thus, the summit of the last of the nine climbs, that of Rochecorbon, is now only 8.7 km from the finish. With the most recent rain coming just over a week ago, "the paths will be dry," states Coutouly: "There will be dust, which means less soft ground and possibly more punctures than last year. The pace will undoubtedly be very fast because we have a northwest wind forecast. It will be light, gusting from 15 to 35 km/h. Vendôme [km 93.8] remains a strategic point where there could be a few echelons. Once we enter the last 70 km, it is the series of nine vineyard paths and nine climbs."

HOME STRETCH FOR DEMARE: "IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO FINISH HERE"

A few days after announcing his retirement, Arnaud Demare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) will end his career on the streets of Tours this Sunday. "Obviously, I feel a little strange," the three-time former French champion told us Friday evening. "It's the end of something, the end of a beautiful story. It was important for me to finish at Paris-Tours. I am a very emotional person, it will be hard for me to hold back. A few months ago, the team asked me to go to China (Tour of Guangxi), but I already had my mind set on stopping. I said ‘no, don't take me to China, I want to finish at Paris-Tours.’ It was a symbolic race for me even before winning it. I wasn't necessarily a fan of the new layout at the start. But I learned to love it and I won it twice in the end (2021, 2022). It's a great race. I had to finish here." After a season without a win, the 34-year-old from Picardy does not expect to add a 98th victory to his list of achievements, which also includes two stages in the Tour de France, eight in the Giro, and a monument, in Milan-San Remo. "I'm not in great shape. I got sick after the Tour Poitou-Charentes. I don't know what I had, it's taking time to come back, even if I've been feeling a little better for a week. But to say that I'll be one of the favourites... I'm a little frustrated that my energy isn't up to what I've experienced. So I'm going to enjoy it differently. I have my loved ones coming, my parents, my wife, my daughter, my sister and her little family. But I'm going to give it my all. I spoke with Adrien Petit after he arrived in Binche. I thought he was really good compared to the last races he'd done. He told me: ‘I was liberated, I had strength!’ I hope to have the sensations he experienced in his last race! But I don't want to end up in the dumps for 15th place. For me, that won't have any value." Demare’s main aim is to enjoy his send-off and take the time to greet his supporters one last time.

LAPORTE: "GETTING CLOSER TO NORMAL"

Christophe Laporte (Visma|Lease a Bike) was only able to start his season on August 17th due to a virus. But the defending champion seems to be returning to form: "I'm happy to be here, motivated. My feeling has been coming back quite a bit over the past few weeks, so I'm happy to be able to compete in Paris-Tours with my legs feeling pretty good." His third-place finish on Tuesday at Binche-Chimay-Binche is, "a sign that he's getting closer to normal" he says. “But it was coming back well before then too, except that I was working for the team. It was the first opportunity I had for myself." His team is coming into the race with multiple cards, and the tag of strong favourite, with sprinters Matthew Brennan and Olav Kooij - 23 wins between them this season - as well as former Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders winner Dylan van Baarle. "Olav will stay a little bit behind in anticipation of a sprint finish," anticipates the 32-year-old Frenchman. "Matthew and I will be there to create movement, race, follow the moves. My victory last year is a very good memory, a nice line on my palmares. It's a race that I enjoy. It would be great if I can win a race between now and the end of the year (he is next due to compete in the Tour of Holland). If that's on Sunday, even better."

VACEK: “I WANT AT LEAST THE SAME RESULT AS LAST YEAR”

The Czech national road race and time trial champion Mathias Vacek (Lidl – Trek) finished in second place in the 2024 edition, just beaten to the line by Laporte after a valiant effort. He comes into Paris-Tour ready to raise his game again, saying, “The form is pretty good. I'm a bit tired already after a long season, but still motivated because I know it's a good race that can suit me really well. I want to do at least the same result as last year!” On maintaining the competitive edge after several months of elite level racing throughout 2025 Vacek asserts, “It's a bit challenging mentally and physically to compete against the strongest guys now because I had a long season already and quite a hard one. But I'm used to it, to compete at the highest level and that's where I belong.” With a strong Lidl – Trek line-up alongside him including Soren Kragh Andersen, Jasper Stuyven and rising star Albert Withen Philipsen, Vacek is ready for battle. “There are fast guys here, strong guys also in the hilly sections, so it will be hard to compete against them, but I know we have also a strong team, with me, Albert Philipsen and Jasper Stuyven, who are really strong guys and I think we can have a good race with them.”

FRENCH CHAMPION GODON WANTS TO "GET A HEAD START"

French national champion Dorian Godon (Décathlon AG2R La Mondiale) is hoping to cap off the best season of his career with a seventh victory this Sunday, the day after his triumph in the Tour de Vendée. He would then be the first rider wearing the French champion’s jersey to win the classic. "It goes without saying, it gives you wings, wearing it gives you motivation. I already had a lot of fun on the bike in my career, but that pleasure is tenfold now. I enjoy racing in France even more. The hardest part is winning in the jersey for the first time (which he did on two stages of the Tour Poitou-Charentes in August). I'm already happy to have been able to honour the jersey by winning a few times in front of the French crowd. It bodes well for this weekend." The Girona resident is still in good form. On Monday, he won the Coppa Bernocchi in a sprint. "I'll be leading with Paul (Lapeira). There's also Jordan Labrosse who likes the gravel paths. We're in good shape, the team is in good shape. There's no reason for things to go badly. After that, you have to be successful. It's a race where you always have to move forward, try to get a head start. I'm not necessarily going to wait for the sprint. I hope to be more successful than in previous years (154th in 2017, 41st in 2022, 60th in 2023). But I didn't have the same role in the past. This year, I've done a lot of gravel, but I'm still pretty comfortable. It's going to be really interesting."

L'HÔTE READY TO DEFEND U23 TITLE

Defending Paris-Tours U23 titleholder Antoine L'Hôte, 20, could become the first double winner in Sunday's U23 race, which will cover 176.5 km - starting in Bonneval and ending on the same finale as the pros, with the finish scheduled one hour earlier. This will be L'Hôte’s last race with the continental Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale team before joining the World Tour peloton. "The form is there, I'm coming off a good Tour of Lombardy U23 (third)," says the northern French rider, who finished third in August in a stage of the Tour of Denmark won by Mads Pedersen. "If I have the same legs, there will be plenty to do. I think I'm stronger than last year, but it's hard to compare and you can never be safe from a bad day, especially in a race where mechanical issues play such a role. My victory last year is a crazy memory. Given the conditions (muddy), I think it was the best Paris-Tours to win! I'm not going to focus on a particular opponent on Sunday. I think that would be a mistake in a race like this. But Lidl-Trek are one of the big teams. I also think that Victor Loulergue (Bourg-en-Bresse Ain Cyclisme) and Maxime Decomble (Groupama-FDJ), even if it's not necessarily his profile, will be very strong."