The Race
L'Avenir goes from strength to strength
The Tour de l’Avenir reconnects with its history. The 57th edition, which had to be cancelled in 2020 because of the pandemic, will take place from August 13 to 22, 2021 on a route that follows the main lines of the one planned last year.
More than ever, the Tour de l’Avenir justifies its reputation as the Tour de France for young people, as shown by the recent prize list, with the victories of the Colombian Egan BERNAL (2017) or the Slovenian Tadej POGACAR (2018) who did not wait more than two years, one as the other, to triumph in the Tour de France!
As initially planned last year, the event will start with an individual time trial prologue in Charleville-Mézières (Ardennes). It will be six years since the Tour de l’Avenir offered this type of exercise as a preamble, so all the specialties of road cycling will be covered for this event that serves as a springboard for tomorrow’s champions.
The so-called flat section, through the Aisne and Seine-et-Marne, will also be marked by a team time trial around Laon, and then the course will make a large incursion into the Grand-East region.
As is traditional, the mountains will be the main focus of the event, from the Jura to Savoie, the usual stopping point. A first day of medium mountain through the Jura will precede an arrival at the top of the dreaded Grand-Colombier pass, approached by the twists and turns of the Culoz slope (Ain), where Tadej POGACAR had won a stage of the 2020 Tour de France. The next day, the day before the finish, a “flash” stage (60 kilometers), on a very spectacular format already experienced by the Tour de l’Avenir in recent years, will put the bunch of hopefuls to the test of the Alps with the Col du Mollard before the finish in Saint-Jean d’Arves, on the flanks of the Col de la Croix-de-Fer. And nothing will undoubtedly be definitively decided until the final stage and the outcome at an altitude of more than two thousand meters, at the top of Petit-Saint-Bernard, on the French-Italian border after crossing the Iseran, the highest road pass in Europe (2764 m) where Egan BERNAL had forged his success in the 2019 Tour de France.
Organized by Alpes Vélo, the Tour de l’Avenir, which supports the final round of the UCI Nations Cup for the under-23s, will take place as usual under the formula of the national selections (six riders). The return of this event is essential for the age group of international hopefuls wishing to prove themselves in order to reach the upper echelons. In this respect, the Tour de l’Avenir is the benchmark event and a revelation of new talent.
Prologue | 13 August Friday 13 August | Charleville-Mézières (4:00 pm CEST) Charleville-Mézières (6:05 pm CEST estim.) | CLM individuel | 5 km 3.11 mi | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stage 1 | 14 August Saturday 14 August | Charleville-Mézières (12:30 pm CEST) Soissons (4:25 pm CEST estim.) | Plaine | 161 km 100.04 mi | +1,763 m | ||
Stage 2 | 15 August Sunday 15 August | Laon (2:20 pm CEST) Laon (3:49 pm CEST estim.) | CLM par équipe | 27 km 16.78 mi | +256 m | ||
Stage 3 | 16 August Monday 16 August | Château-Thierry (12:30 pm CEST) Donnemarie-Dontilly (4:15 pm CEST estim.) | Plaine | 152 km 94.45 mi | +1,479 m | ||
Stage 4 | 17 August Tuesday 17 August | Provins (11:45 am CEST) Bar-le-Duc (4:20 pm CEST estim.) | Plaine | 186 km 115.57 mi | +1,365 m | ||
Stage 5 | 18 August Wednesday 18 August | Tomblaine (11:00 am CEST) Bar-sur-Aube (3:00 pm CEST estim.) | Hilly | 151 km 93.83 mi | +1,502 m | ||
Stage 6 | 19 August Thursday 19 August | Champagnole (12:30 pm CEST) Septmoncel (4:10 pm CEST estim.) | Moyenne montagne | 138 km 85.75 mi | +2,528 m | ||
Stage 7 | 20 August Friday 20 August | Saint-Vulbas (11:45 am CEST) Anglefort - Grand Colombier (2:30 pm CEST estim.) | Mountain | 98 km 60.89 mi | +1,749 m | ||
Stage 8 | 21 August Saturday 21 August | La Tour-en-Maurienne (11:15 am CEST) Saint Jean d’Arves (1:30 pm CEST estim.) | Mountain | 71 km 44.12 mi | +2,910 m | ||
Stage 9 | 22 August Sunday 22 August | La Toussuire (9:20 am CEST) Séez - Col du Petit Saint-Bernard (2:30 pm CEST estim.) | Mountain | 154 km 95.69 mi | +4,166 m |
The Prizes
Yellow Jersey
Polka Dot Jersey
White Jersey
Green Jersey
Most Aggressive Rider
Super Combative Rider
History
The Tour de l’Avenir was created in 1961 by Jacques Marchand, editor of the newspaper L’Équipe.
The race has changed name several times in its history. From 1972 to 1979, it was called the Trophée Peugeot de l’Avenir in reference to its official sponsor. Then from 1986 to 1990, this event took the name of Tour de la Communauté Européenne since it was organised by the European Community and the European Parliament. And finally in 1992, the race acquired its current name of Tour de l’Avenir.
Originally, the Tour de l’Avenir brought together national teams of eight riders, half of whom had to be under 25 years old. Gradually, the race was opened up to professionals. Since 2007, the event is the exclusive domain of young riders aged 19 to 23 years old.
The Tour de l’Avenir is now part of the UCI U23 Nations Cup (category 2.Ncup).
The previous edition
| Winner | Tobias FOSS (NOR) |
| Second | Giovanni ALEOTTI (ITA) |
| Third | Ilan VAN WILDER (BEL) |
| Green Jersey | Matteo JORGENSON (USA) |
| Polka Dot Jersey | Jon AGIRRE (ESP) |
| Super Combative Rider | Stefan BISSEGGER (CHE) |
| Team Classification | Belgium |
