Tour de France 2025 Stage 10: Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore Route

A Bastille Day battle in the beating heart of France.
As the 2025 Tour de France enters its second week, the race leaves behind the flatter landscapes and rolls headfirst into the volcanic ridges of the Massif Central. Stage 10 isn’t just another day in the saddle — it’s a Bastille Day classic in the making. From the fertile plains of Ennezat to the summit of the Puy de Sancy, this 165.3 km mountain stage is as demanding as it is unpredictable.

Riders face a relentless sawtooth profile packed with short but testing ascents, narrow country roads, and rugged volcanic passes. The Auvergne’s jagged skyline has a reputation for tearing the race apart — and on France’s national holiday, expect French climbers and opportunists to ride with twice the fire in front of home crowds.

The final climb to Puy de Sancy promises to be one of the race’s defining moments. Its brutal 3.3 km at 8.8% average will turn even the strongest legs to stone after a day of relentless climbing. And in a Tour still searching for its true GC hierarchy, Stage 10 could be the first real marker in the race for yellow.

This is a day for the brave, the bold, and the blessed by good legs. A stage where national pride, Tour legend, and sheer human suffering converge on the hairpins of the Massif Central.

What’s Special About Stage 10?

It’s Bastille Day, it’s the Massif Central, and it’s one of those stages that screams ‘total carnage incoming.’
Forget your predictable flat drags or high-mountain slogs — this one’s a wildcard.

165.3 km of mountainous terrain from Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, with a finale that bites harder than a cranky Jack Russell. Expect the breakaway to light it up like it’s the last day on Earth. French riders in particular will be foaming at the mouth to get in the move — it’s practically law on July 14.

And here’s what makes it even juicier:

🔹 Multiple sharp climbs, some uncategorized nasties, and a savage final ramp to Puy de Sancy.

🔹 Narrow descents, tricky forest roads, and exposed ridges where a rogue crosswind could snap the peloton like a breadstick.

🔹 Big GC implications — the first real chance for climbers and puncheurs to throw hands, while sprinters pray for survival.

This isn’t just a mountain stage — it’s a Tour de France street fight dressed up in a mountain jersey. Expect drama, attacks, bonks, and maybe a heroic solo win.

Stage 10 is one of those days where careers are made, yellow jerseys are cracked, and underdogs steal the spotlight. Mark this one red in your Tour de France bingo card.

Why it’s special:

🔹 Bastille Day = French riders throw down hard. Some domestique with a four-minute GC deficit? He’s attacking today like his career depends on it (because it kinda does).

🔹 First proper mountain stage of the Tour. That means GC guys stop hiding behind teammates and start throwing haymakers.

🔹 Seven categorized climbs and over 4,300 meters of vertical punishment. That’s nearly a Giro d’Italia queen stage squeezed into 165.3 km.

🔹 The final ascent to Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy isn’t long at 3.5 km, but at an average of 8% with sections ramping into double digits, it’s brutal when your legs are cooked.

🔹 reakaway day potential? Massive. While GC teams eye each other, opportunists smell their shot.

🔹🔹Add in unpredictable Auvergne mountain weather — one minute it’s sunny, the next you’re racing through fog and rain — and you’ve got a stage built for drama, heartbreak, and a Bastille Day legend in the making.

Stage 10 Overview: Ennezat to Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy

Watch for teams like UAE, Jumbo-Visma, and Ineos to bring out the heavy artillery. French climbers will be off the leash, attacking anything that moves.

Bastille Day + National Holiday bonus: no stage on July 14 ever ends quietly.

Stage 10 Profile: A Relentless Dance with the Massif Central

If the Tour de France had a heartbeat, today it would race to the jagged rhythm of the Massif Central. Stage 10 is a masterpiece of suffering — a 165.3 km gauntlet of volcanic slopes, narrow rural roads, and ceaseless undulation that promises to leave its mark on the general classification and Tour lore alike.

Stage 10 Section-by-Section Breakdown:

This is the 2025 Tour’s first high-altitude battlefield, and it’s gonna bite. Let’s break down Stage 10: Ennezat → Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy (165.3 km) with full-blown, climb-by-climb intel.

🔹 🚩 KM 0–12: Ennezat Rollout → Côte de Loubeyrat

• Flat and fast rollout through farmland — early breakaway bait.
• Côte de Loubeyrat hits at km 12: 4.1 km at 6.3%
  • Steady but sharp enough to split the bunch if pace goes hot.
  • Expect early skirmishes from French riders looking for Bastille Day glory.

1. 🚩 Côte de Loubeyrat

🗺️ 4.1 km at 6.3% | Category 2 | Summit at 11.8 km

The day’s first categorized climb hits early, shaking the peloton awake after a flat, ceremonial start in Ennezat. At just 4.1 km, it’s short — but at over 6% average gradient, it’s enough to break up the early rhythm.

Expect a furious fight for the breakaway here. Teams with stage ambitions will be launching missiles, and you can count on the mountains classification hopefuls to grab the first KOM points.

🔹 KM 12–50: Rolling Plateau

• Series of small kicks and descents, but no categorized climbs.
• Riders move past Volvic territory — roads narrow, surface smooth.
• Wind exposure can play a role — cross-tailwind likely from the west.

🔹 KM 51–90: Triple Trouble Zone

2. 🚩Côte de la Baraque

🗺️ 4.8 km at 7.4% | Category 2 | Summit at 54.5 km

A touch longer, a touch steeper, and guaranteed to burn. This climb is nestled deep in rolling farmland and forest, its narrow roads making positioning tricky.
If the breakaway’s not gone by now, it certainly will be here. The GC teams will remain watchful but largely indifferent — for now.

3. 🚩Côte de Charade

🗺️ 5.1 km at 6.8% | Category 2 | Summit at 66.6 km

A familiar climb from past editions and home to the historic Charade race circuit, this one is a twisty, forested ascent that rewards rhythm and punishes over-exuberance.
It comes at a point where the breakaway starts to sense daylight, while the peloton begins calculating the day’s danger men.

4. 🚩 Côte de Berzet

🗺️ 3.4 km at 7.4% | Category 2 | Summit at 78.4 km

Short and sharp, and coming hot on the heels of Charade, this climb will feel steeper than its numbers suggest.
Look for teams like UAE Team Emirates and Visma-Lease a Bike to move to the front and increase the pace, testing rivals for weaknesses.

🔹 KM 91–122: Cols and Chaos

5. 🚩 Col de la Moreno

🗺️ 3.4 km at 6.7% | Category 2 | Summit at 90.5 km

An often-overlooked climb, but one with character. Nestled in dense pine forest, the Moreno’s gradients bite, and its exposed upper slopes can catch riders in sudden gusts.
A perfect place for an ambitious team to turn the screws.

6. 🚩 Col de Guéry

🗺️ 3.4 km at 6.7% | Category 2 | Summit at 115.4 km

After a lumpy transition, this one returns the road skyward. It’s not as long or savage as what’s to come, but after over 100 km of attrition, every meter of climbing hurts.
A good springboard for riders with long-range attacks in mind.

🔹 KM 123–148: The Stomach-Turner

7. 🚩 Col de la Croix Morand

🗺️ 3.4 km at 5.7% | Category 3 | Summit at 124.1 km

The only Category 3 climb of the day — but don’t be fooled. At this point in the stage, it’s less about gradients and more about attrition.
It crests with stunning volcanic vistas, but few will be admiring the view.

KM 149–165: The Final Burn – Puy de Sancy Summit

8. 🚩 Col de la Croix Saint-Robert

🗺️ 5.1 km at 6.4% | Category 2 | Summit at 155.4 km

The penultimate climb is a stage-defining battleground. A classic from the Auvergne region, its narrow switchbacks and exposed upper slopes beg for audacious attacks.
If Pogačar or Vingegaard have a move planned, it’ll likely come here.

9. 🏁 Puy de Sancy (Le Mont-Dore)

🗺️ 3.3 km at 8.8% | Category 2 | Finish

A brutal final wall to end the day. Short but stinging, averaging 8.8% with ramps over 10% in the final kilometer.
It’s a savage test of who’s got anything left. A pure climber’s finish where GC gaps will open, and perhaps a yellow jersey could be won — or lost.

🏞️ Climb-by-Climb Breakdown

Starting in the quiet agricultural town of Ennezat, the peloton gets little time to settle before the road turns skyward. The day’s opening climb, the Côte de Loubeyrat (4.1 km at 6.3%), arrives just 11.8 km in — a sharp wake-up call for any rider still hoping for a tranquil Bastille Day.

From there, the stage unfurls like a cruel symphony of ascents:

The final climb to Puy de Sancy promises to be one of the race’s defining moments. Its brutal 3.3 km at 8.8% average will turn even the strongest legs to stone after a day of relentless climbing. And in a Tour still searching for its true GC hierarchy, Stage 10 could be the first real marker in the race for yellow.

Stage 10 Scheduled Timings (CEST)

From prime mountain passes to hidden village cafés—here’s how to experience Stage 10 like a pro

Tour History: Ennezat, Croix Saint-Robert, & Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy

Stage 10 of 2025 might be a fresh headline in the race book — but these roads? They’ve seen legends written, hearts broken, and Tour myths born in sweat, grit, and thunder.

🚩 Ennezat: First Tour Start

Historical Note:

• 2025 marks the first-ever official stage start in Ennezat.
• Small Auvergne commune, but big energy — the town’s gone full yellow jersey crazy, with murals of Anquetil, Hinault, and Pogacar sprayed along Rue du Commerce.

Local Legend:
In 1975, when the Tour rolled nearby through Riom, Ennezat fans barricaded a roundabout with hay bales just to get the peloton to slow down for their cheers. Wild.

🏔️ Croix Saint-Robert: Classic Ascent

Tour de France Appearances:

• First Tour crossing: 1951 (legendary Louison Bobet solo attack)
• Climbs featured intermittently in editions ‘51, ‘62, ‘78, ‘90, ‘96, and a nasty summit finish in 2008 (remember that Contador/Cadel dogfight? Epic.)

Memorable Moment:
2008:
Alberto Contador and Cadel Evans went toe-to-toe on Croix Saint-Robert’s upper ramps. Attacks, counters, and final heartbreak as Evans cracked with 300m to go — a scene still talked about in Mont-Dore cafés today.

Fan Culture:
Croix Saint-Robert is known locally as “Le Mur des Fans” — a mountain wall covered every July in flags, smoke bombs, cowbells, and thunderous chants.

Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy: Climbers’ Crucible

Tour de France Debuts:

• First finish: 1961, stage won by Spanish climber Federico Bahamontes, the Eagle of Toledo — after dropping everyone on the final slopes in icy wind.

Other Notable Editions:

• 1983: Laurent Fignon makes a name for himself here with a gutsy, glasses-fogged solo.
• 1996: A stage where Bjarne Riis attacked, literally broke Pantani, and took yellow — a drama-packed day still replayed on French sports channels.

Local Lore:

• It’s said you can still hear Hinault’s 1977 “ALLEZ!” roar echoing off the rocks here.
• The finish line café Le Sancy keeps signed bottles from past stage winners — a shrine for fans.

Quick-Fire Tour Stats

Legendary Quote from Le Mont-Dore

Predictions & Contenders Watch: Who Dares Wins on Bastille Day

If there’s a stage designed to crack open the general classification like a ripe peach, it’s this one. Stage 10 of the 2025 Tour de France isn’t just a mountain stage — it’s a celebration of climbing prowess, tactical audacity, and raw mental fortitude. And on Bastille Day, no French rider worth his tricolore would pass up the chance for glory in Le Mont-Dore.

🥇 GC Heavyweights: A Duel at Altitude

Expect fireworks from the yellow jersey contenders.
This is where the real GC battle ignites — where teams must finally show their cards and protect their leaders against not only the relentless gradients but each other.

• Jonas Vingegaard, if fully recovered from his early-season crash woes, has the kind of surgical climbing ability to turn the final ramps of Puy de Sancy into his personal laboratory of suffering.
• Tadej Pogačar, ever the opportunist and chaos merchant, will relish the multiple category 2 climbs stacked before the decisive summit. Expect an attack before the final ascent, perhaps even on the treacherous slopes of Col de la Croix Saint-Robert.
• Carlos Rodríguez and Juan Ayuso will lurk like wolves, ready to pick up the pieces should the duel of the two titans explode spectacularly.

🇫🇷 French Hopes: Bastille Day Ambition

The romantic narrative practically writes itself — a Frenchman on the attack on 14 July.
Watch for David Gaudu, Romain Bardet, and perhaps even Lenny Martinez to light up the early climbs, either for personal glory or to set up a late-stage ambush.

🎩 Breakaway Specialists & Dark Horses

Stages like this are fertile ground for breakaway artists with climbing legs and the stamina to survive a day in the mountains:

• Ben Healy, with his punchy style and fearless descending, could thrive here.
• Guillaume Martin, never one to ignore a Bastille Day opportunity.
• And watch out for a wildcard move from Matteo Jorgenson, whose versatility on both medium and high mountain terrain makes him a potent threat.

Prediction?
Expect a small breakaway to escape early, with the big names letting them dangle until the Col de la Croix Morand. From there, the GC teams will grind down the gap before launching a flurry of moves on the final climbs.

By the ramp to Puy de Sancy, it’ll be GC contenders alone — a test of altitude, agony, and pure nerve.

Final Thoughts: Who Cracks, Who Soars?

Alright folks — Stage 10 isn’t just another stage; it’s a kingmaker. The first proper mountain test always tells you who’s here to fight for Paris, who’s here to survive, and who’s already booking a flight home.

This isn’t one of those high-altitude Alpine grinds yet — but it’s tricky, relentless, and strategically explosive. A stage that feels like you’re climbing a staircase where every step’s a different size: sharp, rolling, nasty little traps all day until the road turns skyward for that final showdown up Croix Saint-Robert and Le Mont-Dore.

It’s the first mountain litmus test — and trust me, every GC contender’s legs will be X-rayed on this one.

One rider will climb into Tour legend tonight.
Another will leave their GC dreams shattered somewhere on those volcanic slopes.
And we? We’ll be right there for every pedal stroke, every attack, every crack.