Tour de France 2021 to include double climb of Mont Ventoux

Tour de France organisers have confirmed the route for the 2021 edition of the iconic race, which is set to take place from June 26 to July 18 next year.

Riders face a challenging climb up Mont Ventoux not once, but twice, during stage 11 – a 199kilometre route which will finish in the town of Malaucene.

The gruelling double-assent in the Alps will take place approximately half-way through the event, which will begin in the north-west city of Brest and end in Paris.

Next year's edition – the 108th Tour de France – features two time trials, set for the fifth and the penultimate stages.

Here is the official #TDF2021 route!Voici le parcours officiel du #TDF2021 ! pic.twitter.com/MEoDFc2ph2
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) November 1, 2020

Organisers have also incorporated Andorra into the race, with stage 15 featuring the highest peak – a 2,408metre-high summit of Port d'Envalira in the Pyrenees.

In the 2020 race that was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, Tadej Pogacar snatched victory from Primoz Roglic of Jumbo-Visma in a penultimate-stage time trial.

Chris Froome did not compete in this year's Tour de France, which is one of few major sporting events in 2020 to have gone ahead in front of crowds.

INEOS Grenadiers elected against renewing Froome's contract, and the 35-year-old – who has signed a multi-year deal with Israel Start-Up Nation – is aiming to become the fifth man to win Le Tour on five occasions.