'We never design a route for or against a rider' - Christian Prudhomme insists the 2027 Tour de France route does not penalise Tadej Pogacar

Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme denied that the 2027 Tour de France route was designed to some-how penalise Tadej Pogačar and so keep the race open and help rivals such as Paul Seixas or Remco Evenepoel.

The 2027 route includes two time trials for a total of 71km against the clock. The stages in the high Alps are limited, with the hardest mountain stages in the final week in the Pyrenees, while there are more rolling stages where it will be difficult to control the racing.

Pogačar attacked alone on the Col du Tourmalet on stage 6, gained more than two minutes on his rivals and kept the yellow jersey all the way to Paris. Tour organisers ASO regretted such a tough stage early in the 2026 Tour.

The hardest stage of the 2027 Tour is on stage 18 and includes 5,400m of climbing and a mountain finish on the long and steep Col du Portet, the highest point of the Tour.

Prudhomme denied the 2027 Tour route was designed to some-how work 'against' Pogačar. 

"We never design a course for or against a rider," Prudhomme insisted to French media during a special presentation of stage 14 of the Tour to Mende.

"We never design a route for or against a particular rider. We can design courses for a certain type of rider, but not for a specific rider.

"The difficulty is that, whatever the terrain, Tadej Pogačar is very strong. On the climbs, obviously, but not only. His descent of the Col du Tourmalet last year was absolutely phenomenal. You include cobblestones and he's at the front, you make it harder and he's there, you make it a little easier and he attacks from further out." 

"The idea is to have the greatest talents in cycling racing each other in the first week, whether they showcase their abilities on the climbs, the flats, in the wind, or in the time trial," Prudhomme told L'Equipe.

"The course is designed for spectacular riders. One of the greatest satisfactions of recent years is seeing young people following the Tour again. The only thing that truly matters to me is that kids dream of the Tour like I did when I was a kid."

Prudhomme went as far as questioning if Pogacar will again be as dominant after his Vuelta a Espana crash and injuries.

"The real question for me, and I obviously wish him all the best, is how he will have recovered from his very, very, very serious crash in the Vuelta a España?

"Because his talent lies in his physical superiority, but also in his riding skills. His descent of the Tourmalet last summer was mind-blowing and astounding. As you get older, after a really bad fall, are you still the same rider? Do you take as many risks? There are definitely some questions after his crash."

Prudhomme could not hide his enthusiasm for Paul Seixas and what a French contender for the yellow jersey means for the Tour.   

"I'm going to daydream out loud. The end of the season often indicates what will happen the following year," Prudhomme told L'Equipe. 

"The way Seixas won at Lombardia makes me think that his crash at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes certainly penalized him much more than I thought in July. 

Finishing fourth in your first Tour de France at 19 is simply exceptional but what we saw in Lombardy is what we saw at the Tour of the Basque Country, the Flèche Wallonne, and Liège-Bastogne-Liège: he was right behind Pogacar. He's no longer a champion of tomorrow but a champion of today."

Prudhomme highlighted the details and difficulties of the 2027 Tour route during the presentation in Paris.

The 2027 route includes 53,450 metres of altitude gain, with six mountain stages and three summit finishes on the Grand Colombier, Les Saisies and Saint-Lary-Soulan Col du Portet. This will be tempered by far more time trialling than in recent years, with a 38km time trial on stage 7 in central France, with another 33km time trial around Toulouse on stage 16.

"The total of 71 kilometres to be raced against the clock will be the highest since the 2012 edition," Prudhomme confirmed.

"Those riders who’ll need to claw back losses to the specialists in this discipline will be even more determined to go on the attack. They will do so in the high mountains, which are an essential element of any Grand Tour landscape."

He explained to L'Equipe his idea of 'rebalancing' the Tour between the best climbers and the best time trialists.  

"There's a kind of rebalancing happening when you see the dominance of a rider in the time trials, with Remco Evenepoel in this case, Seixas or others. We can tell ourselves that there might be a chance of suspense and a great battle right to the end." 

"The Alps and the Pyrenees are essential, there's no doubt about that, but we want to explore new and challenging terrain.

This is probably one of the first times we haven't climbed above 2000m in the Alps, but the Col du Pré-Montée de Bisanne combination is worth its weight in gold. In the Pyrenees, we'll be combining the Tourmalet and the Portet for the first time.

When you say Montpellier-Mende, you wouldn't immediately think of it as a mountain stage. But yes, there's 4,300 meters of elevation gain, breathtaking scenery, very steep gradients—it's dizzying."