The battle for the yellow jersey in the 2021 Tour de France may open with two high-altitude stages with finishes atop the Pyrenees Mountains in the final week.

The route for the 108th Tour de France will be officially announced next Thursday in Paris, but as usual, local newspapers are busy reporting bits and pieces of details about each stage.

On Tuesday, La Dépèche (opens in new tab) quoted Michel Périeu, president of the Haute-Pyrénées Tourist Council, confirming that "two beautiful stages" will be held in the province.

According to the newspaper, the first stage will take place on Bastille Day, July 14, and will be the 17th stage. It is said to start in Saint-Gaudens and tackle three major mountains until the summit finish at the Col de Portet.

The Porte, 17.8 km long with an average gradient of 7.9%, was last used in the 2018 Tour when Nairo Quintana won a stage and Geraint Thomas extended his overall lead.

According to La Dépèche, the day after this stage is another grueling day in the Pyrenees, with another summit finish awaiting. The starting town is said to be Pau, and the goal of the stage is set for Luz-Ardiden, although there is no information yet on the preceding climb. The climb to the 1710-meter-high ski resort is 13 km, with an average gradient of 7.6%. [The Tour has finished in Luz-Ardiden eight times, including Pedro Delgado's victory in 1985, Miguel Indurain and Greg LeMond's 1990 win, and Lance Armstrong's comeback win from a crash in 2003. It was last disused in 2011, when Samuel Sanchez won, Thomas Voeckler defended yellow, and Andy Schleck pulled away from Alberto Contador.

The 2021 Tour de France will start on June 26. One week earlier than usual due to the Olympic Games being postponed to late July. The Grand Depart in Copenhagen has been cancelled due to the Danish capital hosting the European soccer championships at the end of June, and the overall start will be in Brittany.

Four stages will take place in Brittany, and while not yet confirmed, Le Télégramme reports that the punchy Mules de Brittany, which Dan Martin won in 2018, will be visited in stage 2. The Alps are likely to feature in the second week, while La Provence newspaper reports that Mont Ventoux has accelerated rumors of its first visit since 2019, as the president of the province has been invited to the route launch in Paris next Thursday.