Stage 17 of the 2025 Tour de France is the last flat day before Paris, and therefore attractive to the sprinters. It could also be an opportunity for a breakaway, particularly if the peloton decides to have an easy day before hitting the Alps.
There's also a chance of echelons forming along the sinuous route, which could criss-cross any headwinds blowing down the valley of the river Rhône.
Stage 17: Bollène > Valence
- Date: 23 July
- Distance: 160.4km
- Elevation gain: 1,650m
- Stage type: Flat
Stage profile
Stage map
In between some supremely mountainous stages, the peloton should find some typical calm on the road to Valence today.
Not that the sprinters – nor their teams – will find much peace, especially in the final third of this stage, as manoeuvring into position before the brawl to the line takes shape.
The fast men have dominated in Valence. This is its fifth finish and the previous three occasions have been clinched by serial winners – André Greipel in 2015, Peter Sagan in 2018 and Mark Cavendish in 2021.
For today’s sprinters, it’s their final chance at a win before the finale in Paris, and if they haven’t got off the mark so far, they’re nearing the last-chance saloon.
Paris-Nice veteran Bollène hosts the start, the town’s first elevation to the Tour de France.
“There’s no such thing as an absolutely flat stage on the roads of the Vaucluse and Drôme, but there’s definitely an opportunity here for the sprinters, and that’ll mean the breakaway riders won’t get much room for manoeuvre,” says race director Christian Prudhomme.
“If the wind starts to blow, as is often the case in this area, there could be a dramatic twist if there’s an attempt to create echelons.
“There’ll be real tension at every change of direction over the final 50 kilometres.”
More on the Tour de France 2025
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- Buy the official 2025 Tour de France Guide now!
- BikeRadar's Tour de France hub
What's on the stage?
Apart from two brief excursions into the hills on the left bank of the Rhône, the stage follows the river north, offering a flattish parcours.
Valence is the capital of the Drôme département. Considered the gateway to the south of France, it has an attractive old town with many monuments, including the 11th Century Cathedral of St. Apollinaris.
It's also famed for its Suisse, a biscuit in the shape of a man and mirrored on the uniform of the Swiss Guards protecting Pope Pius VI, who died in Valence in 1799. You can wash your Suisse down with Crozes-Hermitage red wine, made from grapes grown north of the town.
One to watch: Jonathan Milan
This looks like a stage for the sprinters, despite the opportunity for a breakaway to put some substantial time into the peloton on the early-stage climbs. With Tadej Pogačar just behind him in the points classification, Lidl-Trek's Jonathan Milan will be hoping to cement his advantage in Valence.
