The Grand Départ of this second edition of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift will take place in Clermont-Ferrand’s Place de Jaude, the city’s largest and most precious jewel, its historic beating heart. The Auvergne city won’t lose sight of the women’s peloton for long, as the racers will return to Clermont to dispute the finish on Avenue Carnot following a large loop through the surrounding countryside. Tour finishes in Clermont have been a rarity, primarily because the slopes of the mythical Puy de Dôme, which lies on the edge of the city, have often been employed to provide a more challenging finale. Consequently, there have been just two of them, while one of these, won in 1959 by the most Parisian of Bretons, André Le Dissez, ended just outside the city’s limits on the Charade circuit, which has hosted numerous car and motorbike Grand Prix and two French cycling championships... The first stage into the city, which is still well remembered by the older denizens of Clermont-Ferrand, concluded in great jubilation with victory for a local boy, the fiery Raphaël Géminiani, an impressive champion and then a great sports director, who rode home solo in 1951. The “Big Gun” finished second in the general classification that year, behind the untouchable Hugo Koblet.
- Prefecture of Puy-de-Dôme (63)
- Population: 147,900 (Clermontois and Clermontoises), 296,200 within the 21 municipalities comprising the Clermont Auvergne Metropolis, and 662,000 in Puy-de-Dôme