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The 112th edition of the Tour de France gets under way in Lille on Saturday with the three-week race ending on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday, 27 July.

The riders will tackle six mountain stages including trips to the Pyrenees and Alps during the gruelling 3,320km (2,063-mile) race.

There will also be two individual time trials, with the second featuring the steep climb up to the Altiport in Peyragudes.

BBC Sport looks at all 21 stages of La Grande Boucle analysing where it could be won and lost.

The Grand Depart takes place in France for the first time since 2021 with a relatively flat route around Lille served up for starters.

That should mean the sprinters will get an early opportunity to take centre stage on the final straight below the Citadel.

The second stage is also the longest in this year’s race covering 209.1km with the peloton making their way through the countryside of the Hauts-de-France region, heading towards the Strait of Dover.

This should be another good chance for the Tour’s fast men to shine.

Both Amiens and Rouen have been the preserve of sprinters in previous editions of the Tour but that will not be the case this time around.

The first of two individual time trials arrives on wide and completely flat roads of Caen.

Six categorised climbs and more than 3,400m of vertical gain mean this is regarded as the most challenging flat stage in the Tour’s recent history.

The race passes through the home village of five-time winner Bernard Hinault during a relatively tame opening 175km of stage seven.

However, expect bedlam as the finishing line approaches with a closing circuit that mirrors the 2021 stage.

When you think of Chateauroux one rider immediately springs to mind – Mark Cavendish.

The first of the Manx Missile’s record 35 stage wins arrived in the city in 2008 and he repeated that success on the Avenue de la Chatre in 2011 and 2021.

While the 4,400m of elevation gain across seven category-two climbs and a category-three ascent is likely to put the sprinters in trouble almost from the start, the general classification contenders are likely to keep their powder dry on a stage that looks made for the breakaway specialists.

There will likely be a strong posse of home riders trying to get in any group heading up the road with the objective of becoming the first French stage winner on Bastille Day since Warren Barguil in 2017.

The first real big day in the mountains could see fireworks in the GC race.

The route up to the ski resort at Hautacam on the roads above Lourdes takes the peloton on the route where five-time champion Miguel Indurain tore the race (and his rivals) apart in 1994.

An individual time trial takes the riders from the valley floor up to the runway of Altiport 007 in Peyragudes.

After a flat start, there will be over 8km uphill and no hiding place for the GC favourites in the race of truth.

A classic and mouth-watering mountain stage in the Pyrenees arrives at the end of week two.

Nearly 5,000m of elevation gain is packed into climbs up the mighty hors-categorie Tourmalet followed by the Col d’Aspin and Col de Peyresourde.

On a day when the GC riders will be need to be at their very best, the strongest climbers will have their focus on the fight for the King of the Mountains jersey and hope to contest the stage on the pull up to the ski resort of Luchon-Superbagneres.

A transitional stage arrives as the race heads from the Pyrenees towards the Alps, which looks suited to the strongman sprinters who can cope with some climbing.

Stage 16 is a flat route until one of the most legendary mountains in Tour history comes into view at the end with the potential to turn the race on its head.

With no categorised climbs all day before Mont Ventoux, and the intermediate sprint featuring 112km into the stage, it would be no surprise if the peloton remains largely intact until then.

With two big Alpine tests still to come the GC teams will probably play second fiddle to the sprint teams when it comes to trying to rein in any breakaways.

This year’s queen stage comes with more than 5,500m of elevation across 171.5km of racing and three legendary climbs which makes it arguably the toughest run of the entire Tour.

All three ascents fall under the hors categorie, with the Col du Glandon, a 21.7km drag with with sections at double digits just for starters.

The last real mountain stage represents the final opportunity for those high in the GC standings to make a play for the yellow jersey.

The route from Albertville to La Plagne covers almost 130km, and includes five leg-sapping ascents.

Plenty of points will be up for grabs again in the race for the the polka-dot jersey points available but this is really a last-chance saloon in terms of the overall race.

The penultimate stage sees the race snake over the hills of the Jura towards Pontarlier.

The Tour returns to it’s traditional Paris finish after relocating to Nice last year due to the Olympics.

However, it does so with a twist, given the cobbled climb up to the Sacre-Cœur Basilica features three times in a throwback to the road race in the 2024 Paris Games.

The 112th edition of the Tour de France gets under way in Lille on Saturday with the three-week race ending on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday, 27 July.

The riders will tackle six mountain stages including trips to the Pyrenees and Alps during the gruelling 3,320km (2,063-mile) race.

There will also be two individual time trials, with the second featuring the steep climb up to the Altiport in Peyragudes.

BBC Sport looks at all 21 stages of La Grande Boucle analysing where it could be won and lost.

Winner: Jasper Philipsen

Report: Philipsen wins stage one to claim first yellow jersey

Jasper Philipsen was the first rider to wear the yellow jersey this year – claiming the maillot jaune for the first time in his career.

A sprint finish was expected after a flat stage beginning and ending in Lille, and Alpecin-Deceuninck’s lead-out train delivered the 27-year-old in the perfect position to claim his 10th stage win.

The second stage is also the longest in this year’s race covering 209.1km with the peloton making their way through the countryside of the Hauts-de-France region, heading towards the Strait of Dover.

This should be another good chance for the Tour’s fast men to shine.

Both Amiens and Rouen have been the preserve of sprinters in previous editions of the Tour but that will not be the case this time around.

The first of two individual time trials arrives on wide and completely flat roads of Caen.

Six categorised climbs and more than 3,400m of vertical gain mean this is regarded as the most challenging flat stage in the Tour’s recent history.

The race passes through the home village of five-time winner Bernard Hinault during a relatively tame opening 175km of stage seven.

However, expect bedlam as the finishing line approaches with a closing circuit that mirrors the 2021 stage.

When you think of Chateauroux one rider immediately springs to mind – Mark Cavendish.

The first of the Manx Missile’s record 35 stage wins arrived in the city in 2008 and he repeated that success on the Avenue de la Chatre in 2011 and 2021.

While the 4,400m of elevation gain across seven category-two climbs and a category-three ascent is likely to put the sprinters in trouble almost from the start, the general classification contenders are likely to keep their powder dry on a stage that looks made for the breakaway specialists.

There will likely be a strong posse of home riders trying to get in any group heading up the road with the objective of becoming the first French stage winner on Bastille Day since Warren Barguil in 2017.

The first real big day in the mountains could see fireworks in the GC race.

The route up to the ski resort at Hautacam on the roads above Lourdes takes the peloton on the route where five-time champion Miguel Indurain tore the race (and his rivals) apart in 1994.

An individual time trial takes the riders from the valley floor up to the runway of Altiport 007 in Peyragudes.

After a flat start, there will be over 8km uphill and no hiding place for the GC favourites in the race of truth.

A classic and mouth-watering mountain stage in the Pyrenees arrives at the end of week two.

Nearly 5,000m of elevation gain is packed into climbs up the mighty hors-categorie Tourmalet followed by the Col d’Aspin and Col de Peyresourde.

On a day when the GC riders will be need to be at their very best, the strongest climbers will have their focus on the fight for the King of the Mountains jersey and hope to contest the stage on the pull up to the ski resort of Luchon-Superbagneres.

A transitional stage arrives as the race heads from the Pyrenees towards the Alps, which looks suited to the strongman sprinters who can cope with some climbing.

Stage 16 is a flat route until one of the most legendary mountains in Tour history comes into view at the end with the potential to turn the race on its head.

With no categorised climbs all day before Mont Ventoux, and the intermediate sprint featuring 112km into the stage, it would be no surprise if the peloton remains largely intact until then.

With two big Alpine tests still to come the GC teams will probably play second fiddle to the sprint teams when it comes to trying to rein in any breakaways.

This year’s queen stage comes with more than 5,500m of elevation across 171.5km of racing and three legendary climbs which makes it arguably the toughest run of the entire Tour.

All three ascents fall under the hors categorie, with the Col du Glandon, a 21.7km drag with with sections at double digits just for starters.

The last real mountain stage represents the final opportunity for those high in the GC standings to make a play for the yellow jersey.

The route from Albertville to La Plagne covers almost 130km, and includes five leg-sapping ascents.

Plenty of points will be up for grabs again in the race for the the polka-dot jersey points available but this is really a last-chance saloon in terms of the overall race.

The penultimate stage sees the race snake over the hills of the Jura towards Pontarlier.

The Tour returns to it’s traditional Paris finish after relocating to Nice last year due to the Olympics.

However, it does so with a twist, given the cobbled climb up to the Sacre-Cœur Basilica features three times in a throwback to the road race in the 2024 Paris Games.

The 112th edition of the Tour de France gets under way in Lille on Saturday with the three-week race ending on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday, 27 July.

The riders will tackle six mountain stages including trips to the Pyrenees and Alps during the gruelling 3,320km (2,063-mile) race.

There will also be two individual time trials, with the second featuring the steep climb up to the Altiport in Peyragudes.

BBC Sport looks at all 21 stages of La Grande Boucle analysing where it could be won and lost.

Winner: Jasper Philipsen

Report: Philipsen wins stage one to claim first yellow jersey

Jasper Philipsen was the first rider to wear the yellow jersey this year – claiming the maillot jaune for the first time in his career.

A sprint finish was expected after a flat stage beginning and ending in Lille, and Alpecin-Deceuninck’s lead-out train delivered the 27-year-old in the perfect position to claim his 10th stage win.

The second stage is also the longest in this year’s race covering 209.1km with the peloton making their way through the countryside of the Hauts-de-France region, heading towards the Strait of Dover.

This should be another good chance for the Tour’s fast men to shine.

Both Amiens and Rouen have been the preserve of sprinters in previous editions of the Tour but that will not be the case this time around.

The first of two individual time trials arrives on wide and completely flat roads of Caen.

Six categorised climbs and more than 3,400m of vertical gain mean this is regarded as the most challenging flat stage in the Tour’s recent history.

The race passes through the home village of five-time winner Bernard Hinault during a relatively tame opening 175km of stage seven.

However, expect bedlam as the finishing line approaches with a closing circuit that mirrors the 2021 stage.

When you think of Chateauroux one rider immediately springs to mind – Mark Cavendish.

The first of the Manx Missile’s record 35 stage wins arrived in the city in 2008 and he repeated that success on the Avenue de la Chatre in 2011 and 2021.

While the 4,400m of elevation gain across seven category-two climbs and a category-three ascent is likely to put the sprinters in trouble almost from the start, the general classification contenders are likely to keep their powder dry on a stage that looks made for the breakaway specialists.

There will likely be a strong posse of home riders trying to get in any group heading up the road with the objective of becoming the first French stage winner on Bastille Day since Warren Barguil in 2017.

The first real big day in the mountains could see fireworks in the GC race.

The route up to the ski resort at Hautacam on the roads above Lourdes takes the peloton on the route where five-time champion Miguel Indurain tore the race (and his rivals) apart in 1994.

An individual time trial takes the riders from the valley floor up to the runway of Altiport 007 in Peyragudes.

After a flat start, there will be over 8km uphill and no hiding place for the GC favourites in the race of truth.

A classic and mouth-watering mountain stage in the Pyrenees arrives at the end of week two.

Nearly 5,000m of elevation gain is packed into climbs up the mighty hors-categorie Tourmalet followed by the Col d’Aspin and Col de Peyresourde.

On a day when the GC riders will be need to be at their very best, the strongest climbers will have their focus on the fight for the King of the Mountains jersey and hope to contest the stage on the pull up to the ski resort of Luchon-Superbagneres.

A transitional stage arrives as the race heads from the Pyrenees towards the Alps, which looks suited to the strongman sprinters who can cope with some climbing.

Stage 16 is a flat route until one of the most legendary mountains in Tour history comes into view at the end with the potential to turn the race on its head.

With no categorised climbs all day before Mont Ventoux, and the intermediate sprint featuring 112km into the stage, it would be no surprise if the peloton remains largely intact until then.

With two big Alpine tests still to come the GC teams will probably play second fiddle to the sprint teams when it comes to trying to rein in any breakaways.

This year’s queen stage comes with more than 5,500m of elevation across 171.5km of racing and three legendary climbs which makes it arguably the toughest run of the entire Tour.

All three ascents fall under the hors categorie, with the Col du Glandon, a 21.7km drag with with sections at double digits just for starters.

The last real mountain stage represents the final opportunity for those high in the GC standings to make a play for the yellow jersey.

The route from Albertville to La Plagne covers almost 130km, and includes five leg-sapping ascents.

Plenty of points will be up for grabs again in the race for the the polka-dot jersey points available but this is really a last-chance saloon in terms of the overall race.

The penultimate stage sees the race snake over the hills of the Jura towards Pontarlier.

The Tour returns to it’s traditional Paris finish after relocating to Nice last year due to the Olympics.

However, it does so with a twist, given the cobbled climb up to the Sacre-Cœur Basilica features three times in a throwback to the road race in the 2024 Paris Games.

The 112th edition of the Tour de France gets under way in Lille on Saturday with the three-week race ending on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday, 27 July.

The riders will tackle six mountain stages including trips to the Pyrenees and Alps during the gruelling 3,320km (2,063-mile) race.

There will also be two individual time trials, with the second featuring the steep climb up to the Altiport in Peyragudes.

BBC Sport looks at all 21 stages of La Grande Boucle analysing where it could be won and lost.

Winner: Jasper Philipsen

Report: Philipsen wins stage one to claim first yellow jersey

Jasper Philipsen was the first rider to wear the yellow jersey this year – claiming the maillot jaune for the first time in his career.

A sprint finish was expected after a flat stage beginning and ending in Lille, and Alpecin-Deceuninck’s lead-out train delivered the 27-year-old in the perfect position to claim his 10th stage win.

The second stage is also the longest in this year’s race covering 209.1km with the peloton making their way through the countryside of the Hauts-de-France region, heading towards the Strait of Dover.

This should be another good chance for the Tour’s fast men to shine.

Both Amiens and Rouen have been the preserve of sprinters in previous editions of the Tour but that will not be the case this time around.

The first of two individual time trials arrives on wide and completely flat roads of Caen.

Six categorised climbs and more than 3,400m of vertical gain mean this is regarded as the most challenging flat stage in the Tour’s recent history.

The race passes through the home village of five-time winner Bernard Hinault during a relatively tame opening 175km of stage seven.

However, expect bedlam as the finishing line approaches with a closing circuit that mirrors the 2021 stage.

When you think of Chateauroux one rider immediately springs to mind – Mark Cavendish.

The first of the Manx Missile’s record 35 stage wins arrived in the city in 2008 and he repeated that success on the Avenue de la Chatre in 2011 and 2021.

While the 4,400m of elevation gain across seven category-two climbs and a category-three ascent is likely to put the sprinters in trouble almost from the start, the general classification contenders are likely to keep their powder dry on a stage that looks made for the breakaway specialists.

There will likely be a strong posse of home riders trying to get in any group heading up the road with the objective of becoming the first French stage winner on Bastille Day since Warren Barguil in 2017.

The first real big day in the mountains could see fireworks in the GC race.

The route up to the ski resort at Hautacam on the roads above Lourdes takes the peloton on the route where five-time champion Miguel Indurain tore the race (and his rivals) apart in 1994.

An individual time trial takes the riders from the valley floor up to the runway of Altiport 007 in Peyragudes.

After a flat start, there will be over 8km uphill and no hiding place for the GC favourites in the race of truth.

A classic and mouth-watering mountain stage in the Pyrenees arrives at the end of week two.

Nearly 5,000m of elevation gain is packed into climbs up the mighty hors-categorie Tourmalet followed by the Col d’Aspin and Col de Peyresourde.

On a day when the GC riders will be need to be at their very best, the strongest climbers will have their focus on the fight for the King of the Mountains jersey and hope to contest the stage on the pull up to the ski resort of Luchon-Superbagneres.

A transitional stage arrives as the race heads from the Pyrenees towards the Alps, which looks suited to the strongman sprinters who can cope with some climbing.

Stage 16 is a flat route until one of the most legendary mountains in Tour history comes into view at the end with the potential to turn the race on its head.

With no categorised climbs all day before Mont Ventoux, and the intermediate sprint featuring 112km into the stage, it would be no surprise if the peloton remains largely intact until then.

With two big Alpine tests still to come the GC teams will probably play second fiddle to the sprint teams when it comes to trying to rein in any breakaways.

This year’s queen stage comes with more than 5,500m of elevation across 171.5km of racing and three legendary climbs which makes it arguably the toughest run of the entire Tour.

All three ascents fall under the hors categorie, with the Col du Glandon, a 21.7km drag with with sections at double digits just for starters.

The last real mountain stage represents the final opportunity for those high in the GC standings to make a play for the yellow jersey.

The route from Albertville to La Plagne covers almost 130km, and includes five leg-sapping ascents.

Plenty of points will be up for grabs again in the race for the the polka-dot jersey points available but this is really a last-chance saloon in terms of the overall race.

The penultimate stage sees the race snake over the hills of the Jura towards Pontarlier.

The Tour returns to it’s traditional Paris finish after relocating to Nice last year due to the Olympics.

However, it does so with a twist, given the cobbled climb up to the Sacre-Cœur Basilica features three times in a throwback to the road race in the 2024 Paris Games.

With 16 players and head coach Andy Farrell on British and Irish Lions duty, Ireland’s squad for this month’s two Tests against Georgia and Portugal was always going to be almost unrecognisable.

Even before his playing career came to an end almost 10 years ago, Paul O’Connell felt like an Irish head coach in waiting. The absence of Farrell for this trip gives him his first opportunity to lead the side he represented on 108 occasions.

Such is the youthful nature of his summer squad, centre Stuart McCloskey is the only player on the trip who played with or against the Munster legend.

Ireland arrived in Georgia on Wednesday with 13 uncapped players in their number after Ulster prop Scott Wilson was added to the squad just before departure.

Wing Tommy O’Brien and second row Darragh Murray will make their debuts against Georgia, while the uncapped Michael Milne, Jack Aungier, Tom Ahern and Ben Murphy are all on the bench.

Farrell has previously spoken cautiously about the idea of simply handing out international caps although this tour has a different feel with interim attack coach Mike Prendergast saying last week it “would be the intention” to have all of the tourists get game-time across the two Tests.

The 2025 Six Nations brought the curtain down on the long and distinguished Test careers of Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy.

The trio have been a mainstay of the international panel for over a decade and earned a combined 376 caps in green. Indeed, nobody in history played more for Ireland than Healy.

Their retirements, which in the case of Murray is solely from the international game, offer up opportunities for others to crack what has been a relatively settled matchday squad.

Leinster’s Jack Boyle had already been putting pressure on Healy after the 23-year-old made his debut against Wales in the Six Nations, and will be in pole position, but Munster’s Michael Milne and Paddy McCarthy, who is the younger brother of British and Irish Lions lock Joe McCarthy, will also be keen to grab their opportunities to impress.

Coupled with the form of Jamison Gibson-Park, Munster’s Craig Casey, who missed the Six Nations through injury, had already largely edged ahead of Murray for both province and the Test side.

The 26-year-old will step up to captain Ireland for the first time on this tour but will be backed up by the uncapped pair of Ben Murphy and Nathan Doak, with the former named on the bench against Georgia.

With usual skipper Caelan Doris injured, and Jack Conan and Josh van der Flier away with the Lions, plenty of back rows figure to be handed the chance to stake a claim to step up in O’Mahony’s absence.

From the moment Leinster’s Sam Prendegast was named to start against Australia in November, the 22-year-old has been at the centre of the fiercest debate in Irish rugby.

When Johnny Sexton retired after the 2023 World Cup, it was Munster’s Jack Crowley who was given first crack at establishing himself as the former world player of the year’s long-term successor.

Crowley largely impressed as Ireland won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2024 but, by the end of the calendar year, had appeared to cede the jersey to the young challenger.

Leinster’s Prendergast started the first four games of the 2025 Six Nations, although the more experienced player got the nod for the concluding game against Italy in Rome.

Ireland have not had such a back and forth for their fly-half berth since Sexton began to challenge Ronan O’Gara almost 15 years ago and every selection is scrutinised by the public, a situation only heightened by provincial rivalries.

With Ireland having drawn from largely the same pool for the past number of years for their matchday squads, it is natural that plenty of attention will be devoted to those with little or no international experience on this trip.

There are a few others, though, who are looking to offer a reminder of what they can do at this level. Chief among them, the squad’s most capped player – Jacob Stockdale.

It was during a Lions tour, when the invitational side was in New Zealand eight years ago, that Ulster wing Stockdale made a try-scoring international debut against the United States.

His first 18 months as an international included setting a record for tries in a single Six Nations campaign, since bettered by France’s Louis Bielle-Biarrey only this year, and an unforgettable score to clinch Ireland’s first win on home soil against the All Blacks.

Injuries, some questions over his defence, and the qualification on residency of Leinster’s James Lowe, have ensured the 29-year-old has been a more peripheral figure in recent times, making only three international appearances in the past four years.

Healy is not the only experienced front row campaigner to be absent this summer.

With the 37-year-old retired, and Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher, Tadhg Furlong and Finlay Bealham all with the Lions, Ireland will be without their first and second-choice units from recent seasons.

As a result, Saturday’s Test against a muscular Georgian side will provide a thorough examination of Ireland’s depth in a position recently considered so stretched that performance director David Humphreys placed a temporary ban on imported front row signings.

The emergence of Leinster trio Boyle, Gus McCarthy and Tom Clarkson during the 2024-25 season has eased those fears somewhat and it is those three who start together on Saturday.

Against a Georgian side historically renowned for their scrummaging prowess, and coached by former England hooker Richard Cockerill, the inexperienced visiting group will face a serious test of their mettle.