The 2025 Tour de France promises to be a spectacular edition. Where the battle for overall victory was previously often a duel between Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, this year’s Tour could well become a four-way fight, with Primoz Roglic and Remco Evenepoel also in the mix. Read all about it in this article.
Route
The Tour de France kicks off on July 5 in Lille, France, marking the Grand Départ’s return to home soil after three years abroad. The finish returns to Paris on July 27, albeit with a twist: after three laps on the Champs-Élysées, riders will tackle the cobblestones of Montmartre three times, reducing the chances of a traditional bunch sprint in the capital.
The first week in northern France offers flat stages for sprinters like Tim Merlier and Jasper Philipsen, hilly stages in Boulogne-sur-Mer, and potential crosswind stages en route to Dunkirk. A key moment in the first week is the 33-kilometer individual time trial in Caen on July 9 — a course tailor-made for specialists like Remco Evenepoel. Notably, the first rest day doesn’t come until after ten stages, on July 15, later than usual due to the French national holiday the day before.
The second week is all about the Pyrenees. Riders face brutal summit finishes, including the legendary Hautacam on July 17, where Jonas Vingegaard has previously dropped Tadej Pogacar. There’s also an individual uphill time trial to Peyragudes on July 18, with steep gradients toward the end. This Pyrenees block concludes with a stage to Luchon-Superbagnères, which includes iconic climbs like the Tourmalet, Aspin, and Peyresourde.
In the final week, Mont Ventoux returns with a summit finish on July 22 — the climb where Vingegaard first dropped Pogacar back in 2021. The Tour reaches its climax in the Alps with the queen stage to the Col de la Loze on July 24. With a brutal 5,500 meters of elevation and punishing gradients up to 14%, it promises to be the toughest stage of this Tour. It was on this very climb in 2023 that Pogacar completely cracked and lost over five minutes to Vingegaard. The following day brings another grueling Alpine stage.
Favorites
The battle for the yellow jersey might be more exciting than ever this year. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) is the top favorite after winning both the Giro and the Tour de France in 2024. He was head and shoulders above the competition in the spring and convincingly won the Critérium du Dauphiné, putting Jonas Vingegaard behind. Pogacar already has three Tour victories to his name (2020, 2021, 2024).
His biggest rival is Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tour winner in 2022 and 2023. Although his preparation was disrupted by a serious crash, he showed strong form in the Dauphiné, although he couldn’t quite match Pogacar in the mountains. Vingegaard has history on his side on climbs like Hautacam, Mont Ventoux, and Col de la Loze, where he’s previously managed to drop Pogacar.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) hopes to build on his third-place finish in last year’s Tour. Of the “Big Three,” he’s the best time trialist, which could give him an edge in the long time trial in Caen. However, he tends to lose significant time in the high mountains and will need to limit the damage there.
After a year’s absence, Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) returns to the Tour. The Slovenian, already a winner of both the Giro and the Vuelta, is now going all-in for the Tour de France — the only Grand Tour missing from his palmarès. His form is still a question mark after dropping out of the Giro this year, but a top-five finish in the general classification is certainly within reach. He forms a strong duo with rising talent Florian Lipowitz (third in the Dauphiné and making his Tour debut).
Other riders to watch for the podium include Enric Mas (Movistar), a strong climber who thrives in the Pyrenees, and Carlos Rodríguez (INEOS Grenadiers), who finished in the Tour’s top ten the past two years.
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