Getty Image
The 2025 Tour De France is all but over, with Slovenian superstar Tadej Pogacar looking like he’s going to claim his fourth victory in the legendary race. But before it could wrap up, the race had one more bizarre twist in story
Thursday’s 19th stage, the final mountain stage of the Tour and, presumably, the last major chance to change the standings, was scheduled to pass over the Col des Saisies in the department of Savoie in Southeastern France.
However, due to the outbreak of a rare cattle disease in the area, those plans needed to be altered.
Why Did The Route For Stage 19 Of The 2025 Tour De France Change?
In a statement released across its social media channels, the Tour de France announced that the Stage 19 route would change in order to show respect to local farmers and to ensure “smooth running of the race.”
“The discovery of an outbreak of contagious nodular dermatitis affecting cattle in a herd located specifically in the Col des Saisies has necessitated the culling of the animals. In light of the distress experienced by the affected farmers and in order to preserve the smooth running of the race, it has been decided, in agreement with the relevant authorities, to modify the route of Stage 19 (Albertville–La Plagne) and to avoid the ascent to the col des Saisies.
“The ceremonial start will take place as planned at the exit of Albertville. After a 7 km parade, riders will head towards the D925, where the official start will be given. The race will then rejoin the original route shortly before Beaufort (at km 52.4 on the original schedule).
Due to this change, which notably bypasses the Col des Saisies, the stage will now cover a total distance of 95 km instead of the originally planned 129,9 km.”
Nodular dermatitis in this case to Lumpy Skin Disease, a severe poxvirus-caused disease with skin nodules, fever, and swollen lymph nodes.
The Col Des Saisies Has A Storied History In The Tour De France
While it won’t feature in the 2025 edition, the Col des Saisies is a mythical climb in Tour de France history. The first category climb spans 13.6 kilometers (8.45 miles) with a of 6.4 percent, including several steep pinches.
The Tour last crested the mountain in 2023, when Italian Giulio Ciccone led the pack en route to winning that year’s King of the Mountains award.
In 2006, the climb was part of American Floyd Landis’ infamous 120-kilometer (75 miles) solo breakaway. Landis, after a rough stage the day prior, took back 5 minutes and 42 seconds on the way to winning the Tour de France. But he was later disqualified after testing positive for elevated levels of testosterone in his blood.