Tour de France 2025 - Stage 4: Voigt's preview: Hilly ride in Anquetil's homeland

Stage 4 | Tuesday, 8 July 2025 | Amiens Metropole - Rouen | 174.2 kilometres | 2050 vertical metres

Jens Voigt's assessment of stage 4

Stage 4 is only 174.2 kilometres long, but very demanding. Once again, you have to pay attention to the wind direction. There are also many hills to overcome on the second half of the stage. I count a total of five mountain classifications today. They are only 3rd and 4th category climbs, but they are all nasty and steep. In my opinion, the route is too difficult for the sprinters. The terrain is more suitable for a well-performing Julian Alaphilippe or for Tadej Pogačar and the other classification riders. There will definitely be an incredible amount of pressure on the classification riders today not to lose any valuable time.

It's likely to be a very, very stressful day for all the riders. The ups and downs in the finale start at the Côte Jacques Anquetil (4th), followed by the Côte de Belbeuf (3rd). The third climb on the route, the Côte de Bonsecours (4th), features a statue of Jean Robic, the first Tour winner after the Second World War in 1947, followed by the Cote de Grand' Mare (4th) and the Saint-Hilaire climb (3rd) with a gradient of 15 per cent - just five kilometres before the finish line. If there is an attack, a ten-second lead could be enough to win the stage.

Then it's a fast descent at 60 to 70 km/h towards the centre of Rouen to the day's finish. The finish is in the home town of Jacques Anquetil - the visit to the Normandy capital is a small tribute to the five-time Tour winner.

Schedule, TV coverage & live stream of stage 4 of the Tour de France 2025

• Neutral start: 13:15, sharp start 13:35
• Estimated arrival time: between 17:22 and 17:44
• TV broadcast: ARD 14:10-17:15, Eurosport 1 13:00-17:30
• Live stream: sportschau.de, Discovery Plus (fee required)
• All stages of the Tour de France 2025 at a glance

Highlights of the 4th stage

• 16:20: The riders reach the Côte Jacques Anquetil, the second of six mountain classifications on this day. Anquetil's last residence is very close by.
• 17:05: The pro cyclists pass the Côte de la Grand' Mare 12 kilometres before the finish. The first of two stretches where the decision could be made.

TOUR expert Jens Voigt

Nobody in the German-speaking world knows the Tour de France better: Jens Voigt competed in the most important cycling race as a professional a total of 17 times between 1998 and 2014. Only the Frenchman Sylvain Chavanel, the current record holder, has managed one more participation. Voigt knows the race from the perspective of the winner and the tireless helper in the team. He won two stages himself and wore the yellow jersey for one day each in 2001 and 2005. In 2010, as a team-mate in Team Saxo Bank, he accompanied Luxembourg's Andy Schleck to his overall victory (after the doping disqualification of Alberto Contador, who initially came first; editor's note). The 53-year-old Berliner currently works as a brand ambassador for the bike manufacturer Trek and as a pundit for the Eurosport channel.

For TOUR readers, the former pro gives his predictions for the course of the 21 stages, points out difficulties and things worth seeing. For each day's stage, he gives a tip on what role the course could play in the final standings in the individual classifications in Paris. If three of the jerseys are coloured, this means that this day could be decisive for this classification - i.e. overall classification (yellow), sprint/points classification (green) and classification of the best climber (red dotted jersey). We also give you the broadcast times of the TV channels in Germany (ARD and Eurosport) and their live streams - plus tips on when it might be particularly worth tuning in.