The Tour de France guide with all the stage profiles on one page along with a summary of each stageat inrng.com/tour and from here to July available via the menu at the top of the page.Once the race rulebook is published there will be details on the points and mountains competitions, time cuts and more for easy reference during July.Route Summary54,450m of vertical gain in total, the third most mountainous route in the last 20 years (average is 50,400m) but a lot of this climbing is away from the set-piece mountain stages and reserved for battles stages in the mid-mountains. There are seven summit finishes but some are mild like Les Angles and Gavarnie. One solo time trial with 26km makes it the third lightest for TT distance in the last 20 years (average 50km). The sprinters get five clear chances, the same as last year but those with range have a shot at more wins.The start in Barcelona obliges an early visit to the Pyrenees and so these are more hors-duvre than main course. Indeed the route seems designed to leave the reveal of the winner for as late as possible with mid-mountain stages that look promising for frantic breakaway days, although even better if the big names want to try too.Theres no realistic course that could trouble Pogaar a blend of 21 sprints and time trials could thwart him but its not a realistic prospect and so even if we think we know the winner already, plenty of stages along the way offer amusement before the Alpe dHuez finale.Stage 1 Saturday 4 JulyA team time trial in Barcelona. Held in the evening, the time of each team is taken on their first rider across the line and all riders get credited with the time it takes them to complete the course. Its on big boulevards at first where strong riders can propel their teams before two climbs in Montjuc where team leaders will make their bids for the first yellow jersey.Stage 2 Sunday 5 JulyA spin up the Mediterranean coast then turning inland to add some climbing in the hills before a finishing circuit in Barcelona with the finish again in Montjuc. The finish line is in the same place as the first stage but the preceding climb is different, its steeper and was used when the Vuelta a Espaa finished here in 2023. If it helps imagine the Volta a Catalunya finish, just harder.Stage 3 Monday 6 JulyA mountain stage? It goes into the Pyrenees, there are 3,850m of vertical gain and the finish is just short of 1,800m above sea level so yes. The finish isnt savage but has some hairpins and should give us a glimpse of form. Stage 4 Tuesday 7 July2,700m of vertical gain and this looks like an ideal mid-mountain stage for the breakaway, especially if the yellow jersey after Barcelona and Les Angles wants to give it away to better reclaim it later. Its all on scenic roads of the Aude and Arige.Stage 5 Wednesday 8 JulyThe stage goes to Pau for the 77th time. Its not totally flat but this is a day for the sprinters.Stage 6 Thursday 9 JulyThe Tourmalet awaits after the classic route out of Pau via Lourdes to the Col dAspin. So far, so dj vu but the finish is novel with the climb to the village of Gavarnie. Its a spectacular location inside a national park which explains why the race hasnt been here before and if it works it opens up more routes thats exciting as same road goes on to the Col de Tentes at over 2,200m but next time as that would be too much for the first Thursday.Stage 7 Friday 10 JulyA sprint finish in Bordeaux. Well see if anyone attacks at all given the move is certain to be reeled in.Stage 8 Saturday 11 JulyA sprint stage, this time arguably more scenic as it follows the Dordogne valley to Bergerac.Stage 9 Sunday 12 JulyA day for the breakaway on hilly terrain with sapping rural roads that offer little rest. Its likely more teams have spent more time analysing this stage than the Alpe dHuez days as so many will want to go for the win on a day with plenty of uncategorised climbs. Expect a raucous first hour and more.Stage 10 Tuesday 14 JulyBastille day and its back to Le Lioran for the third time this decade after 2020 and 2024. Visitors to the ski station could be forgiven for thinking theres only one road there as the same roads are used again: the steep Pas de Peyrol and the Col de Pertus leading to the Font de Cre. Its no bad thing, a photofinish was needed to separate Tadej Pogaar and Jonas Vingegaard last time.Stage 11 Wednesday 15 JulyA flat stage to Nevers. When Paris-Nice came here in 2024 the team time trial found a steep hill to spice up the finish but this time its a day pledged to the sprinters.Stage 12 Thursday 16 JulyHillier than the previous stage, the sprinters will be desperate to take this as afterwards their opportunities vanish.Stage 13 Friday 17 JulyThe first two editions of the Tour de France did cross some small mountain passes and hills but in 1905 the Ballon dAlsace was the first big mountain tackled by the race. Today it takes 150km to reach it which is a problem for the eventual stage winner as theyll have to cope with pushing a big gear for hours before finding their climbing legs to make their winning move. Will the GC riders attack? Dont bet on it given the next stage.Stage 14 Saturday 18 JulyOnly 155km and 3,800m of vertical gain but this is a crucial stage. The race has crossed the Col du Haag many times but in passing along the ridge of the Grand Ballon. Now it takes a new route up, a forest track thats been paved to use as a cycle path and its steep and cycle-path wide in places, think an Alsatian version of the Col de Loze.Stage 15 Sunday 19 JulyWith luck we could have two races for the price of one as the breakaway goes clear to contest the stage win and the GC contenders battle it out. The stage opens in the Jura mountains and some gentle but persistent climbs. The new climb is Mont Salve, climbed via the direct route on the north-west flank and while the profile says its 4.7km at 11%, it climbs to the start making it 9km at 9% and the upper half has sustained sections at 15% so plenty will be dropped here. Theres still about a third of the stage left before the final climb to the Plateau de Solaison, 11km at 9% where Isaac del Toro just wrapped up the Aura Tour.Stage 16 Tuesday 21 JulyA time trial on the shores of Lake Geneva. The hilly climb out of Evian is gradual, it climbs at 3% most of the time on a regular road before a trickier descent. What looks flat for the final 8km is twisty in Thonon.Stage 17 Wednesday 22 JulyPlenty of jagged peaks and cliffs on the horizon but the route avoids the mountain roads. It still crosses the Massif des Bauges and climbs to the Col du Frne before dropping back to skirt the start town of Chambry and then take the Col de Couz before the route reaches the plains for Voiron which hosted the Vueltas French arrival last year. Sold as a sprint stage when presented last autumn, many will be tired now and this is a great day for a breakaway battle.Stage 18 Thursday 23 JulyA ski station summit finish that avoids the high passes, the Col de la Festinire comes after Monteynard and no surprises before the finish in Orcire-Merlette, 7km at 6.5%. It featured in the 2020 Tours first week and the low gradient saw teams ride up in train formation and anyone who struck out was mown down. Coming in the third week means it should be different and a breakaway should be clear for the stage win.Stage 19 Friday 24 JulyJust 130km. The Bayard and then Noyer climbs will sting early on as a move tries to go clear for the day. The Col dOrnon is a gentle climb before a spectacular descent to Le Bourg dOisans. Then come the 21 hairpins 23 if you actually count them to the finish line in Alpe dHuez, back after a four year hiatus. Its famous for being famous but with 13km at over 8% its a decisive climb.Stage 20 Saturday 26 JulyAfter the pelotons had a rough nights sleep at 1900m in Alpe dHuez here comes the Queen Stage with 5,600m of vertical gain. The Croix de Fer is a big start and then comes the mighty Galibier, the high point of the Tour. The plot twist is rather than the descent all the way to Le Bourg dOisans at the foot of Alpe dHuez, a right turn instead to tackle the Col de Sarenne which leads onto Alpe dHuez via a backroad. The Sarenne has been used before but as a descent and the climb is tougher than the stats suggest.Stage 21 Sunday 26 JulyIts back to Paris with the Rue Le Pic and Montmartre making an encore after the thrills they supplied the last time. The Paris match will be slightly different this time with a longer passage along the Champs-Elyses in between to lengthen the laps and give some riders more chance to chase in between the ascents of Montmartre.The Unmissable StagesDo you really want to miss anything? Every stage is live from start to finish and with most of the best riders present and in peak form theres an intensity and pressure only felt at the Tour.The easy advice is to say watch almost everything but on the sprint stages tune in for the finish; but if you did that last year youd have missed Jonas Rickaert and Mathieu van der Poels thrilling move.Stage 1 should look the part amid the landmarks of Barcelona and the team time trial is now a televisual event thanks to the rule timing riders individuallyStage 2 should offer lively sport in the finishStage 6 for the Tourmalet and Gavarnie finishStage 9 for the breakaway battle, the first hour could be more thrilling than the lastStage 14 for the Vosges mountains and the Haag summit finishStage 15 for the Plateau de Solaison finishStage 19 for the Alpe dHuez summit finishStage 20 and the Alpe dHuez encore, hopefully theres some suspense leftStage 21 for the Paris match in MontmartreThe post Tour de France Stage Guide first appeared on The Inner Ring.