How do time cuts in the Tour de France work?

Time cuts - or time limits - are a crucial part of how the Tour de France works. More than just a technicality, they serve as the race’s built-in disciplinary system, ensuring that riders aren’t simply completing each stage, but actively competing. The purpose of time cuts is to maintain the competitive integrity of the Tour de France, and to prevent riders from coasting through the three-week race without contributing to the pace.

Time limits especially affect sprinters and domestiques, who often struggle to keep up on high-mountain stages where the general classification contenders push the tempo to the limit. For these riders, the time cut can feel like a guillotine - ever-present and unforgiving.

The basic rule is straightforward: finish too far behind the stage winner, and you’re eliminated. But the actual calculation behind the Tour de France time cut is more complex - depending on the stage type, winner’s time, and a percentage-based formula set by the race organisers.

Each stage of the Tour de France is assigned a coefficient - a number from 1 to 6 - that reflects the stage’s difficulty. These coefficients are defined by the ASO (the race organiser) and published in the official Tour de France roadbook. Flat stages for sprinters typically receive a coefficient of 1, while demanding mountain stages in the Alps or Pyrenees may be rated as high as 5. Individual time trials, which riders complete alone, are assigned a coefficient of 6.

After each stage, the average speed of the winner is combined with the stage’s coefficient to calculate the time cut - the percentage of the winner’s time within which all riders must finish. The higher the coefficient, the more generous the time limit. But fail to finish within that margin, and a rider is usually eliminated from the race.

For example, during the 2025 Tour de France, some of the toughest stages — such as stage 19 to Isola 2000 and stage 20 over the Col de la Bonette — were assigned a coefficient of 5. On these days, the gruppetto becomes essential. This group of sprinters, domestiques and struggling climbers rides together, sharing the work in a last-ditch effort to beat the time cut. In the mountains, unity becomes survival.

As explained above, each Tour de France stage is assigned a coefficient from 1 to 6, indicating its level of difficulty. To calculate the time cut, first check the stage’s coefficient in the table below. Then, find the average speed of the stage winner and match it to the corresponding time cut percentage in the chart below. This will show you how much time each rider has to finish the stage without being eliminated.

Stages with no particular difficulty. The time limit is calculated according to the actual time recorded by the winner plus:

• 5% if the average speed is ≤ 38 km/h
• 6% between 38 km/h and 40 km/h
• 7% between 40 km/h and 42 km/h
• 8% between 42 km/h and 44 km/h
• 9% between 44 km/h and 46 km/h
• 10% between 46 km/h and 48 km/h
• 11% between 48 km/h and 50 km/h
• 12% over 50 km/h

Stages with rolling terrain. The time limit is calculated according to the actual time recorded by the winner plus:

• 8% if the average speed is ≤ 37 km/h
• 9% between 37 km/h and 38 km/h
• 10% between 38 km/h and 39 km/h
• 11% between 39 km/h and 40 km/h
• 12% between 40 km/h and 41 km/h
• 13% between 41 km/h and 42 km/h
• 14% between 42 km/h and 43 km/h
• 15% between 43 km/h and 44 km/h
• 16% between 44 km/h and 45 km/h
• 17% between 45 km/h and 46 km/h
• 18% over 46 km/h

Stages with very rolling terrain. The time limit is calculated according to the actual time recorded by the winner plus:

• 11% if the average speed is ≤ 36 km/h
• 12% between 36 km/h and 37 km/h
• 13% between 37 km/h and 38 km/h
• 14% between 38 km/h and 39 km/h
• 15% between 39 km/h and 40 km/h
• 16% between 40 km/h and 41 km/h
• 17% between 41 km/h and 42 km/h
• 18% between 42 km/h and 43 km/h
• 19% between 43 km/h and 44 km/h
• 20% over 44 km/h

Very difficult stages. The time limit is calculated according to the actual time recorded by the winner plus:

• 9% if the average speed is ≤ 31 km/h
• 10% between 31 km/h and 32 km/h
• 11% between 32 km/h and 33 km/h
• 12% between 33 km/h and 34 km/h
• 13% between 34 km/h and 35 km/h
• 14% between 35 km/h and 36 km/h
• 15% between 36 km/h and 37 km/h
• 16% between 37 km/h and 38 km/h
• 17% between 38 km/h and 39 km/h
• 18% between 39 km/h and 40 km/h
• 19% over 40 km/h

Very difficult short stages. The time limit is calculated according to the actual time recorded by the winner plus:

• 11% if the average speed is ≤ 29 km/h
• 12% between 29 km/h and 30 km/h
• 13% between 30 km/h and 31 km/h
• 14% between 31 km/h and 32 km/h
• 15% between 32 km/h and 33 km/h
• 16% between 33 km/h and 34 km/h
• 17% between 34 km/h and 35 km/h
• 18% between 35 km/h and 36 km/h
• 19% over 36 km/h

Note: During stage 19 (Albertville to La Plagne), an additional delay of 2% will be granted for each of the above speed brackets.

Individual time trial stage.

• The time limit is calculated based on the best time:
  • +25% for stage 5
  • +33% for stage 13

The time cut in the Tour de France has room for interpretation. The race jury has the authority to reinstate riders who miss the time cut in exceptional circumstances - a crash, a mechanical issue, an obstructed road. The effort a rider makes to recover, the timing of the incident, the nature of the stage - all of it is taken into account. The organiser of the Tour de France (the ASO) may be strict, but it is not without compassion.

Still, the rule is meant to be enforced, not stretched. In 2024, Mark Cavendish came within seconds of elimination on the opening day in Florence. Others have not been as lucky. The délai remains unforgiving, especially when the pace is relentless and the mountains show no mercy.