2025 Tour de France

The 2025 Tour de France is the 112th edition of the Tour de France. It started in Lille on 5 July, and will finish with the final stage at Champs-Élysées, Paris, on 27 July.^[1]

Twenty-three teams will take part in the race. All 18 UCI WorldTeams were automatically invited. They will be joined by five UCI ProTeams: the two highest ranked UCI ProTeams in 2024 (Lotto and Israel–Premier Tech), along with three teams (Team TotalEnergies, Tudor Pro Cycling Team and Uno-X Mobility) selected by Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the organisers of the Tour.^[2]

Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) rules allow twenty two teams to enter a Grand Tour – eighteen UCI WorldTeams, the two highest ranked UCI ProTeams from the previous season and two teams invited by the organisers. Grand Tour race organisers ASO and RCS Sport asked the UCI to allow an additional wildcard team to be invited to Grand Tour events, after lobbying from smaller teams competing for the wildcard slots.^[3] Larger teams were reported to not support the request, with Visma–Lease a Bike noting that an additional team would decrease safety.^[4][5] In March 2025, the UCI announced that twenty three teams would be permitted in 2025, allowing an additional ProTeam to be invited.^[6] ASO subsequently announced the teams on 31 March 2025.^[2]

On 30 November 2023, it was announced that the Grand Départ will take place in Lille.^[7] The full route was announced on 29 October 2024 by Christian Prudhomme.^[8] The route is considered to be in two halves, with flat and hilly stages for the first 10 stages, followed by mountainous stages in the Pyrenees and Alps before a return to the traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.^[9][10] The race will feature five summit finishes, including at Col de la Loze and Mont Ventoux.^[11] The race will feature just 44 km (27 mi) of individual time trial, with a 11 km (6.8 mi) mountain time trial to the Peyragudes altiport on stage 13.^[9] The race will be the first to take place wholly in France since the 2020 edition.^[10]

Reacting to the route, Rouleur stated that "the climbing in the second half of the race is relentless"^[12] and Vélo Magazine predicted "plenty of drama" from a route "heavy on uphill finals and explosive breakaway stages".^[13] Defending champion Tadej Pogačar called the route "brutal", expressing his interest in the uphill time trial to Peyragudes.^[14]

In May 2025, it was announced that the final stage in Paris would include laps of a circuit inspired by the road races at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, with climbs of Montmartre before the traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées.^[15] Some riders criticised the change, with Remco Evenepoel stating that he didn't like the idea, Wout van Aert called the stage "dangerous" and Jasper Philipsen said it was "a shame to see this stage change".^[15][16][17]

Prior to the race, Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, and Remco Evenepoel were widely considered to be the major contenders for the overall classification,^[19][20][21] with defending champion Pogačar considered favourite following his win at the Critérium du Dauphiné.^[21][22] Top competitors for the points classification were considered to be former winner Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, Jonathan Milan, and defending winner Biniam Girmay. Riders considered outside contenders for the green jersey included Mathieu van der Poel, former winner Wout van Aert, and Pogačar.^[23] Evenepoel was widely considered to be the favorite for the white jersey, with some expecting a strong challenge from Florian Lipowitz and Mattias Skjelmose.^[24]

The first stage of the Tour featured a flat course that offered an opportunity for the sprinters to take the first yellow jersey. With 17 kilometres (11 mi) to go, Visma–Lease a Bike split the peloton in the crosswinds. In the reduced bunch sprint, Jasper Philipsen won the stage ahead of last year's green jersey winner, Biniam Girmay. GC contenders who made the front split such as Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard gained 39 seconds on some GC contenders, including Remco Evenepoel.^[25]

The second stage featured a hilly parcours that favored the puncheurs. Inside the last 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), the riders tackled the Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont (1 km at 10.6%), immediately followed by the Côte d'Outreau (800 m at 8.8%), which topped at 5.3 kilometres (3.3 mi) to go. In the finale of the stage, riders such as Vingegaard, Matteo Jorgenson, Kévin Vauquelin, and Florian Lipowitz attempted some attacks but the stage was decided by a small bunch sprint, where Mathieu van der Poel held off Pogačar to win the stage and take the yellow jersey in the process.^[26]

The third stage was another flat stage with only one late fourth-category climb. Because of this, no riders attempted to form a breakaway. In the intermediate sprint, Philipsen went down heavily, forcing him to abandon the race. There were two more crashes in the final 5 kilometres (3.1 mi), causing some riders to suffer abrasions. In the sprint, Tim Merlier narrowly beat Jonathan Milan in a photo-finish.^[27]

Much like stage 2, the fourth stage was another hilly parcours. It featured the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, an 800-metre (2,600 ft) climb averaging 10.6%, which topped with 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) to go. On that climb, Pogačar launched a big attack, with Vingegaard the only rider able to follow despite being briefly dropped at one point. They were caught by a small chase group led by Evenepoel on the descent. Evenepoel and Jorgenson attempted some counter-attacks but they were not able to get a significant gap. In the sprint, Pogačar managed to come around van der Poel to win the stage, taking his 100th career victory in the process. Van der Poel kept the yellow jersey.^[28]

The fifth stage featured the first individual time trial of the race. It was contested on a 33-kilometre (21 mi) flat parcours. Evenepoel, the current World and Olympic time trial champion, won the stage by 16 seconds over Pogačar. Vingegaard shipped significant time to his main GC rivals, losing more than a minute to both Evenepoel and Pogačar. In the GC, Pogačar took over the yellow jersey, 42 seconds ahead of Evenepoel. Vingegaard sat in fourth at 1' 13" down.^[29]

The following stage was contested on a hilly parcours with six small categorized climbs. The finish in Vire Normandie featured a 700-metre (2,300 ft) climb with an average of over 10%. A long fight to enter the break ensued until an eight-man group formed, including van der Poel. With 42.5 kilometres (26.4 mi) to go, Ben Healy made the stage-winning move, gradually extending his lead all the way to the finish to win his first Tour stage. The GC group was led by Pogačar across the line at almost five and a half minutes down. Van der Poel took back the yellow jersey by one second after gaining 1' 29" on the GC favorites.^[30]

• Official website