France sits at the heart of road cycling history, with races shaped by an extraordinary range of landscapes, from the cobbled and windswept roads of the north to the vineyards, river valleys and ancient towns of the interior, and the high passes of the Alps and Pyrenees. Follow the peloton across France to discover not only famous climbs and decisive racing terrain, but also medieval villages, industrial cities, regional traditions, monuments and landscapes that reveal the country beyond the race itself.
Most road races begin with a peloton. The Chrono des Nations begins with a rider waiting alone on the starting ramp in Les Herbiers, watching the final seconds disappear from the clock before being released onto the roads of the…
Paris-Tours has spent more than a century travelling south through the centre of France, but the landscape that defines the race today is concentrated into its final hour. The opening country is broad and agricultural, shaped by grain fields, small…
The GP de Fourmies does not have the monumentality of an Alpine race, the urban intensity of Montréal or the singular emotional identity of the Memorial Marco Pantani. Its character comes from somewhere quieter. The race moves through Avesnois, a…
Some races belong to cities. Milan-Sanremo begins in one and ends in another, Paris-Roubaix carries the names of two, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège describes its journey before the riders have even started. The Bretagne Classic belongs instead to a small Breton town…
