Par
David Saint-Sernin
Published on
“Hello, cycling enthusiasts, can you explain to me the difference between The departure of the Stadium and the departure of Seilh For the Tour de France? ». This question was asked this Tuesday, July 15, 2025 on social networks by a person, visibly neophyte of the Tour de France. A very useful question in order to explain why, while the racing booklet announces a departure from the 11e Stage from the Tour de France from Toulouse, another departure has been indicated from another municipality located 16 km from the pink city.
Fictive departure and real departure
Toulouse’s stage is not going to be an exception, and like all stages of the Tour de France, will have two separate departures: one fictitious departure and a real departure.
What is the difference between the two? The fictitious start is the first departure. It is most often carried out from the city center of a municipality and allows runners to leave the agglomeration fairly quietly, to parade as close as possible to the public, and at a reduced pace, for a few kilometers. It is a warm -upspectators can see the champions closely. These kilometers carried out under fictitious departure are not not counted in the mileage of the stage.
Kilometer 0 of the stage, the official or real departure of the stage, therefore arrives a few kilometers after the runners set off. He’s the race director, Christian Prudhommewho agitates his flag from his car. And almost always, the first attacks fuse.
In Toulouse, the longest parade in the Tour de France
At this level, the Toulouse stage will offer a specificity since it is the step that will have The largest number of kilometers between fictitious departure and real departure, 16.5 kilometers.
The real departure of the stage will not take place in Toulouse, but on the territory of the commune of Seilh (Haute-Garonne). And per kilometer 0, the runners will actually have already rolled for 30 minutes.
A parade and beautiful images for TV
Why such a long fictitious departure? No doubt to allow runners to leave Toulouse quietly and Find more suitable roads at the real race. This long parade will allow viewers to admire everything that makes Toulouse’s beauty such as the Place du Capitole, the Saint-Sernin basilica, the platforms of the Garonne, and its attractiveness, like the Airbus factories near which the runners will pass.
Images that will go around the world thanks to the TV broadcast provided by France Television.
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