Tour de France 2021 route revealed: Double-ascent of Mont Ventoux, two time trials, and Andorra visit for 108th edition

The 2021 Tour de France route has been unveiled.

Riders will tackle Mont Ventoux twice on stage 11 before finishing down in the town of Malaucène. A summit finish in Tignes will also take place on stage nine, two years after the finish was cancelled due to landslides.

Stage 15 features the highest peak of this year's race, as riders summit the 2,408m-high Port d'Envalira before finishing in Andorra.

Another summit finish on the Col du Portet will also first see riders tackle both the Col du Peyresourde and the Col de Val Louron-Azet.

Two individual time trials will take place on stages five and 20, both around 30km in length.

Brittany will host the Grand Départ, as Copenhagen have had to delay hosting the race due to the rescheduled European Football Championships.

>>> See the full 2021 Tour de France route: Details of the 108th edition

The opening stage will suit the puncheurs, with a finish up the Côte de la Fosse aux Loups.

Riders will tackle the Mûr-de-Bretagne twice on stage two, before a first opportunity for the sprinters on stage three, and another day for the fast men on stage four.

The first individual time trial will take place on stage five, 27km in length, before another likely battle between the sprinters on stage six.

Stage seven will then be the longest Tour stage since the year 2000, with the route between Vierzon to Le Creusot totalling 248km.

Then we get to the mountains, with the riders tackling first the Col de Romme before the Col de la Colombière on stage eight, finishing down in Le Grand-Bornand.

Another day in the mountains follows on stage nine, with the Tour heading up for another summit finish to Tignes two years after the arrival there was cancelled due to landslides.

After the first rest day, the sprinters will head to the Rhône valley for another chance at stage glory, before a stage 11 that will likely prove unforgettable.

Stage 11 will see the Tour de France peloton climb Mont Ventoux twice, firstly from the side out of Sault first before the Bedoin side, then finishing down in Malaucène.

The Tour last went up Mont Ventoux in 2016, although with wind exceeding 100km/h at the top, the summit finish was brought down to Chalet Reynard, 6km down the mountain. Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) won the stage,

Before that, Chris Froome beat Nairo Quintana up the mythical mountain on stage 15 in 2013, extending his lead in the general classification en route to winning his first yellow jersey.

Stage 12 then sees the sprinters battle it out in Nîmes, where Caleb Ewan won in 2019, before heading on a 220km route to Carcassonne on stage 13.

Next, we head to the Pyrénées for a medium mountain day on stage 14, before the highest summit on stage 15, the race heading over the Port d'Envalira before finishing in Andorra.

A day for the barodeurs follows on stage 16, before another big mountain day on stage 17.

Stage 17 will see the riders tackle Col du Peyresourde, Col de Val Louron-Azet before finishing atop the Col du Portet, in what should prove to be a definitive stage for the GC.

The last day in the mountains follows on stage 18, when the riders set out from Pau, tackling both the Tourmalet, where Thibaut Pinot won in 2019 when the climb was used as a summit finish, before a summit finish on Luz Ardiden.

Stage 19 then provides a penultimate opportunity for the sprinters before another stage 20 individual time trial, 31km in length to decide the general classification once and for all, replicating the structure of the 2020 edition, where Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) lost the yellow jersey on the penultimate stage to Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates).

Stage 21 will then see the traditional romp around the Champs-Élysées before the final podium.