Top gun Pogacar targets fourth Tour de France triumph
After starts in Florence, Bilbao and Copenhagen, and with upcoming editions in Barcelona and Edinburgh, cycling's most prestigious race has an old school itinerary this year raced exclusively in France and favouring climbers.
France has been wilting under a heatwave this week, but the race's sole African rider Biniam Girmay was unfazed by this.
"If there's one person who is happy to ride in the heat, it's me," said the 2024 sprint king. "The hotter, the better."
Girmay will be amongst the favourites to take the first stage win and the yellow jersey accorded to the overall leader.
And with hordes of Belgian fans pouring across the nearby border Remco Evenepoel will be well supported in his bid to reach further than his third man billing.
"I'll go all in all the way," promised the Olympic and world time-trial champion.
Often described as the most beautiful stadium in the world, the Tour route roves across the north coast to the west of Brittany, before heading south through the Massif Central and the first mountain stage on day 10.
"Everybody knows that's when the real race begins," said the straight talking Belgian Evenepoel.
Team UAE's Pogacar starts as red-hot favourite with fans and bookmakers alike, and he can silence any remaining doubters by beating arch-rival Vingegaard of Visma.
Pogacar has won three Tour de France and has 99 professional wins, so will almost certainly hit his century here, maybe in the first week.
"Jonas might be stronger in the mountains, so I'd better get ahead a bit early on with some bonus seconds," he said.
- 'Intense rivalry' -
Glimpses of Pogacar and Vingegaard going head-to-head on the Alpine slopes or along the panoramic roads of the French Riviera provide tension, drama and sporting rivalry as enthralling as any involving the old-time legends.
Vingegaard tends to focus on a single-mission strategy, awaiting one big moment to spring a deeply considered killer move at a meticulously chosen spot.
Visma team boss Grischa Niermann insisted Friday his team had come to win, but both he and Vingegaard were keeping mum about what their plan was.
"I'm on the highest level that I've ever been," said the 2022 and 2023 winner.
"If we didn't think we could win, we wouldn't be sat here," said Niermann.
Pogacar certainly seemed relaxed when he spoke to the press at the magnificent Lille Opera.
"The last five years have been intense between me and Jonas," Pogacar said. "It's a great competition and rivalry and it will be interesting to see if the title changes hands again."
The volcanoes of the Puy de Dome present the first mountains as late as stage 10, with two more colossal climb days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.
But before any dash towards the eventual finish line on the Champs-Elysees there is one final twist.
A last-minute addition to the 2025 route is a nod to the 2024 Olympic Games road race, which drew vast crowds to the old Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre.
On the final day a cauldron of noise up the narrow cobbled climb to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica provides one final obstacle, after which the winner will be crowned.
For 21 days this July, the daily doings of this most arduous of sporting struggles provides the drumbeat of summer, with armchair tourists and cycling fanatics alike tuning in around the world.
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SBS Australia
7 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Think you could race the Tour de France? Explore the 2025 map and key stats
Cycling's most prestigious race is back for its 112th edition and likely to be as hot, brutal, long and challenging a contest as ever, with riders tackling 3,339 kilometres on roads across France over three weeks. The Tour de France begins on 5 July, with 184 riders representing 23 teams taking part. This year the race will be held entirely in France, the first time it hasn't held stages in other countries since 2020. It will culminate in a spectacular finish along Paris' Champs-Élysées, marking 50 years of the iconic finish line in the city's heart. Breaking down the Tour de France route This year's race is made up of seven flat stages, six mountain stages, six hilly stages, two time trials, and two rest days. The pack speeds downhill in last year's Tour de France. This year, riders will cover 3,339 kilometres in 21 days. Source: AP / Daniel Cole The route includes: 52,500m of total ascent. 2,304m — biggest climb, Col de la Loze. Eight towns that haven't had the tour visit before. What are the important jerseys for the Tour de France? The yellow jersey, or maillot jaune, is one of the most iconic pieces of apparel in global sport and is worn by the race's overall leader, changing depending on who that is. Belgian Remco Evenepoel of Soudal Quick-Step, Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost, Eritrean Biniam Girmay Hailu of Intermarche-Wanty and Slovenian Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates pictured on the podium after the 2024 Tour de France cycling race. Source: AAP / Belga/David Pintens/Sipa USA Here's a breakdown of the important jerseys: Yellow: Race leader. The rider with the lowest accumulated time since the tour's beginning. Green: Leader of the points. Usually, a sprinter who has collected points for finishing stages first. Polka Dot: 'King of the Mountain'. The rider with the most points from winning designated climbs. White: Best young rider (under 26) with the lowest overall time. The tour's overall winner is the competitor with the lowest combined time across all 21 stages. Usually, they are an all-rounder — good at sprinting, climbing and time trials. Who are the favourites While some teams acknowledge they cannot win the overall title and will instead aim to win specific stages, elite teams are chasing the general classification (GC) win, which means achieving the shortest overall time. Tour de France winner Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey (right), and second place Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard talk after last year's tour. Source: AP / Jerome Delay Top GC rider Jonas Vingegaard will be determined to reclaim his overall title against rival Tadej Pogacar, and last year's best young rider Remco Evenepoel is also considered a threat, as are Primoz Roglic, Felix Gall and Carlos Rodriguez. After three weeks of incredible performances, Pogacar won the final stage time trial in Nice and won the race by a hefty margin of six minutes and 17 seconds last year and taking six stage wins. Cadel Evans became the first and only Australian to win the race in 2011, converting a new wave of Tour fans. This year, 10 Australians will be in the peloton, including Luke Durbridge, Ben O'Connor and Luke Plapp of Team Jayco AlUla. What do riders eat? Cyclists expend between 17,000 and 29,000 kilojoules (KJ) per stage of the race, up to 3.5 times the average recommended male adult intake of 8,700 kJ on hard days. An estimated 37,000 water bottles will be consumed, filled with water and/or highly sugary carbohydrate mixes to maintain riders' glycogen levels. Belgium's Remco Evenepoel, wearing the best young rider's white jersey, Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard and Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar, wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, climb during the twentieth stage of the Tour de France in last year's competition. The three are among the race favourites. Source: AP / Daniel Cole They'll also eat gels, energy bars and rice cakes while in the saddle, usually passed to each other by a 'domestique' rider during the race, and consume high-protein meals shortly after the race finishes and then again for breakfast and dinner. How can Australians watch the 2025 Tour de France? All 21 stages of the 2025 Tour de France will be live-streamed in full on SBS On Demand, with live television coverage beginning on SBS at a slightly later time on most nights. With catch-up replays as well as extended highlights and analysis available throughout the three weeks, SBS and SBS On Demand are the places to keep up to date. Eritrea's Biniam Girmay, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, celebrated as he crossed the finish line first in stage 12 of last year's Tour de France. Source: AP / Jerome Delay Fans will also have access to a new mobile-optimised Race Centre on the SBS Sport website . The Race Centre will provide key statistical features, including live tracking of riders to help follow the race.
ABC News
8 hours ago
- ABC News
Tour de France 2025 battle between Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard Hansen, Ben O'Connor leads Aussie charge
The 2025 Tour de France, which gets underway on Saturday, is beckoning cycling aficionados toward it like the most alluring and tantalising of treats. This — the sport's most monumental test — is a race that promises everything. Yet, due to one man's insane levels, it's a race that could ultimately deliver little in the way of a contest at the pointy end. Tadej Pogačar, resplendent in the rainbow jersey of the reigning world champion — or more often than not in a coloured leaders jersey — is seemingly untouchable. He has won three of the last five Tours de France (including 17 stage wins) an utterly dominant Giro d'Italia last year and a huge number of one-day classics, including four Il Lombardia's, three Liège-Bastogne-Liège's and two Ronde van Vlaanderen's — he sits on 99 professional race wins in his career. Pogačar has had 22 days of racing this year and has finished on the top step of the podium nine times. The 26-year-old has also won the general classification at the UAE Tour and, most notably, the Critérium du Dauphiné last month. He is, no doubt, the overwhelming favourite to claim a second-straight victory at la grande boucle when the race rolls onto the Champs Élysées in Paris on July 27. The Slovenian is, without question, the best and most versatile rider since Eddy Merckx dominated the sport through the 60's and 70's with such voracity that he was justifiably nicknamed the cannibal. And where Merckx needed different rivals for different races — fellow Belgian Roger De Vlaeminck in the northern European classics and Luis Ocaña and Felice Gimondi in the grand tours — Pogačar is cultivating different rivalries too. His exchanges with Mathieu van der Poel on the cobbles in the spring were a delight, Pogačar's wins at De Ronde and Strade Bianche matched in their epic quality, while van der Poel's triumphs against Pogačar at Paris-Rouxbaix and Milan-Sanremo were equally magnificent. But van der Poel is not a chance to chase Pogačar up the mountains of the Alps or Pyrenees. So now the Slovenian shifts his attention to his grand tour nemesis, Jonas Vingegaard Hansen. No sport builds its mythology in the head-to-head battles between its biggest names as road cycling. In a sport with so many variables, it seems improbable that a race can boil down to such a thing. And yet, throughout history, the sport's fanbase has been split between rivals often diametrically opposed in their personalities and approach to racing. Italians Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi could not have been more different, with their furious battles in the 1940s and 50s helping Italy forget its post-War slump. Then there were the two Frenchmen Jacques Anquetil; the controlling yet graceful "Maître Jacques" whose home town of Rouen will be visited on stage four, and Raymond Poulidor; the ever-popular and affectionately named "Pou-Pou" whose attacking flair and grit was so easily identifiable by so many of the rural French but never quite helped "the eternal second" earn victory as they battled for French hearts and minds in the 1960s. Greg LeMond and Bernard Hinault too gave the Tour a bitter rivalry that will be honoured this year when the race climbs Luchon-Superbagnères. In 1986, that was where the legendary head-to-head between brash America and old-world France came to such a dramatic head. Now, it's the turn of the Dane and the Slovenian who — just like the legendary pairs of the past — are vastly contrasting in both personality and style. Vingegaard is the ice man: steely, cool and relentless, single-mindedly pursuing the yellow jersey with every pedal stroke committed to that goal of victory in Paris in August. Granted, this year he has shown a slightly different approach, being more personable and even launching ambitious attacking forays off the front on the flat. Pogačar is something else entirely, though. A happy-go-lucky, attack-minded throwback who can't stop racing and winning — be it on the gravel of the Strade Bianche, the cobbles of De Ronde or the high-mountains of the Tour and Giro. Despite such contrasting approaches and styles, between them they have won all five of the last Tours de France. "There's nothing better than a duel. It's the spice of all sporting competitions," Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme said in an interview with AFP this week. And yet, the way that Pogačar blew his erstwhile rival away at the Dauphiné was alarming for those hoping for a tight battle for the yellow jersey. Pogačar destroyed both Vinegaard and this era's grand tour third wheel Remco Evenepoel in the mountains last month: "It was amazing what he did … putting a minute into Jonas and almost two minutes into me," the Belgian former world champion said after the sixth stage of the Dauphiné. "He has shown once again who is the best rider in the world." And all this after the Slovenian beat Vingegaard, Evenepoel and van der Poel in a flat-chat sprint finish on stage one, although he did lose time on the time trial to perhaps offer some faint hope. And Vingegaard is unlikely to have peaked for June — with another spell at altitude under his belt and a stacked team, the Dane will likely be far better in France over the next three weeks. But the truth is, it would be an almighty shock if Pogačar did not win his fourth Tour this year. "We're doing everything we can to make sure it's decided at the last moment," Prudhomme said. "If he's at the same level as he's been in recent months, it will be very difficult for his rivals. That's also why the first week will perhaps be the most important in years. That's when they have to try to take time off him." Of course, anything can happen in the race. Crashes, punctures, illness or loss of form can all wreck havoc on any rider, no matter how good they are, as one of the other contenders knows all too well. Primož Roglič has five grand tour victories to his name and, backed by Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe and the good will of a huge number of supporters, has his eyes set on an elusive Tour de France title. However, Roglič crashed out of the Giro earlier this year — a depressingly default position for the former ski jumper in recent years — and is likely to struggle to back up sufficiently to offer a real challenge this time around. What of his other challengers? João Almeida, who won three stages and the overall title at the Tour de Suisse last month, is Pogačar's chief support rider but will be more than happy to step up should any mishap befall his leader. The same could be said of Roglič's German domestique Florian Lipowitz, who finished a solid third at the Dauphiné. The overall general classification may be a two-horse race, but the final spot on the podium is more than up for grabs, particularly for Ben O'Connor. The 29-year-old West Australian will be Jayco AlUla's first home-grown overall challenger in the 12 years since the team was founded as Green Edge. It will be his fourth Tour de France and 11th overall grand tour. He has won a stage in each of those grand tours, including at last year's Vuelta a España, when he wore the leaders red jersey for a record 13 stages before finishing second to Roglič while riding for Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale. O'Connor then won the silver medal at the 2024 World Championships behind Pogačar, capping a superb year in which he also finished fourth at the Giro d'Italia. "The Tour de France is the biggest race in the world, and I'll be proud to lead the team," O'Connor said. "Hopefully we can come out the other end in Paris with a really sweet result. "I think it will be interesting to see how an Aussie goes in an Aussie team, fighting all the way to Paris for the [general classification]. "It's something I'm really looking forward to, something I'm really proud of, and something I also want to promote for cycling in Australia." O'Connor will have fellow Australian riders Luke Plapp and Eddie Dunbar — both riding their first Tours de France — as support in the mountains, with road captain and Australian champion Luke Durbridge hoping to use his experience to guide the squad to the front of the field. Plapp comes into the race off a maiden grand tour stage win at this year's Giro, while Dunbar claimed two stage wins at last year's Vuelta. "We have a really versatile team and I've performed well in grand tours in the past so I'll do everything I can to get back to the top five," O'Connor said. "It's always an exciting time. It's the biggest race, and biggest stress, but it's also the biggest reward. "The route is a race of two halves. You have northern France with some extremely punchy stages and then pretty much, from stage 10 onwards, all of climbs are 30 minutes to one hour long. "There are some really big cols and passes, so I think that's where I will be enjoying the race a lot more — they're the kind of mountain stages I really prefer. "For me, it'll be about getting through the first half and then executing in the second half." There are 10 Aussies on the start list for this year's Tour de France. The Tour will take place entirely in France this year, the first time that has happened since 2020. The route will cover 3,320km with around 51,550m of elevation gain over the course of the three weeks. On the 50th anniversary of the polka dot mountains jersey there are five mountain top finishes on storied climbs such as the Hautacam, Luchon-Superbagnères, Mont Ventoux, Courchevel Col de la Loze and La Plagne. The finale of the race also returns to Paris after last year's Olympic Games forced a change to tradition and a finish in Nice for the first time in the race's history. The Olympics still has an impact on this year's route though, with three ascents of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre, where the dramatic Olympic road race played out in front of an estimated half a million spectators. It will finish on the famous Champs Élysées, 50 years after the first instance of it doing so. The Tour de France will be shown live on SBS throughout its three-week duration, with highlights on every morning from 7:00am. This year's Tour de France Femmes gets underway on July 26 in Brittany, just as the men's tour concludes in Paris. The race will take place over nine stages over 1,165km — the longest ever for the event in its fourth year, with 17,240m total elevation. Starting in Vannes in the France's west, the race will finish in the eastern town of Châtel in the high Alps. Last year, Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma claimed a stunning victory over Dutch rider Demi Vollering by just four seconds in one of the all-time great stage races in cycling history. Sarah Gigante was Australia's highest-ranked finisher, seven minutes and nine seconds down.
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Tupou needs to tame Lions to earn Wallabies recall
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt wants Taniela Tupou to send a reminder about what he can bring to the Test arena when the powerhouse prop squares off against the Lions. Tupou was demoted from the Wallabies line-up to face Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday and will instead turn out for his NSW Waratahs against the British and Irish tourists at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. Schmidt hasn't closed the book on Tupou winning selection for the Wallabies' opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19 but said he needs to see more from the 29-year-old, who was in patchy form this Super Rugby Pacific season. "With Taniela, I'd love to see him just be really, really strong at set-piece," Schmidt said from Newcastle. "I think the set-piece is somewhere that can be a real strength for him and I felt in the Super Rugby, toward the end, he had some pretty good performances, particularly in the scrum, and then just making sure he's contributing around the field as best he can." Schmidt said that the best form of Tupou's 58-Test career wasn't that long ago, and urged the France-bound prop to revisit his last international appearance, against Ireland in December. "The last game he played for us was against Ireland and he made a 50-metre dash up the field at one stage and he was very strong in the scrum. "And so we haven't forgotten that and I'm hoping, and I've spoken to "Nella", that he hasn't forgotten it either. "He knows he's capable and we just want to see him demonstrate that capability." The Waratahs mark the third tour match for the Lions, who have had commanding victories over the Western Force and Queensland Reds. Andy Farrell's men have been particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the two Australian sides 64-0. Schmidt said the tourists hadn't been at their best in those victories, which demonstrated their massive depth. "They've been pretty impressive," Schmidt said. "I think in the two games in the first 20 minutes they haven't really started that well ... they've actually missed a few opportunities and the more cohesion they develop, the more they'll be dangerous in finishing some of those opportunities. "They've got incredible strength and depth so as we see them play the Waratahs they'll develop those combinations and that will be what we'll be tracking beyond this Fiji game." Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt wants Taniela Tupou to send a reminder about what he can bring to the Test arena when the powerhouse prop squares off against the Lions. Tupou was demoted from the Wallabies line-up to face Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday and will instead turn out for his NSW Waratahs against the British and Irish tourists at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. Schmidt hasn't closed the book on Tupou winning selection for the Wallabies' opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19 but said he needs to see more from the 29-year-old, who was in patchy form this Super Rugby Pacific season. "With Taniela, I'd love to see him just be really, really strong at set-piece," Schmidt said from Newcastle. "I think the set-piece is somewhere that can be a real strength for him and I felt in the Super Rugby, toward the end, he had some pretty good performances, particularly in the scrum, and then just making sure he's contributing around the field as best he can." Schmidt said that the best form of Tupou's 58-Test career wasn't that long ago, and urged the France-bound prop to revisit his last international appearance, against Ireland in December. "The last game he played for us was against Ireland and he made a 50-metre dash up the field at one stage and he was very strong in the scrum. "And so we haven't forgotten that and I'm hoping, and I've spoken to "Nella", that he hasn't forgotten it either. "He knows he's capable and we just want to see him demonstrate that capability." The Waratahs mark the third tour match for the Lions, who have had commanding victories over the Western Force and Queensland Reds. Andy Farrell's men have been particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the two Australian sides 64-0. Schmidt said the tourists hadn't been at their best in those victories, which demonstrated their massive depth. "They've been pretty impressive," Schmidt said. "I think in the two games in the first 20 minutes they haven't really started that well ... they've actually missed a few opportunities and the more cohesion they develop, the more they'll be dangerous in finishing some of those opportunities. "They've got incredible strength and depth so as we see them play the Waratahs they'll develop those combinations and that will be what we'll be tracking beyond this Fiji game." Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt wants Taniela Tupou to send a reminder about what he can bring to the Test arena when the powerhouse prop squares off against the Lions. Tupou was demoted from the Wallabies line-up to face Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday and will instead turn out for his NSW Waratahs against the British and Irish tourists at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night. Schmidt hasn't closed the book on Tupou winning selection for the Wallabies' opening Test against the Lions in Brisbane on July 19 but said he needs to see more from the 29-year-old, who was in patchy form this Super Rugby Pacific season. "With Taniela, I'd love to see him just be really, really strong at set-piece," Schmidt said from Newcastle. "I think the set-piece is somewhere that can be a real strength for him and I felt in the Super Rugby, toward the end, he had some pretty good performances, particularly in the scrum, and then just making sure he's contributing around the field as best he can." Schmidt said that the best form of Tupou's 58-Test career wasn't that long ago, and urged the France-bound prop to revisit his last international appearance, against Ireland in December. "The last game he played for us was against Ireland and he made a 50-metre dash up the field at one stage and he was very strong in the scrum. "And so we haven't forgotten that and I'm hoping, and I've spoken to "Nella", that he hasn't forgotten it either. "He knows he's capable and we just want to see him demonstrate that capability." The Waratahs mark the third tour match for the Lions, who have had commanding victories over the Western Force and Queensland Reds. Andy Farrell's men have been particularly dominant in the second half, outscoring the two Australian sides 64-0. Schmidt said the tourists hadn't been at their best in those victories, which demonstrated their massive depth. "They've been pretty impressive," Schmidt said. "I think in the two games in the first 20 minutes they haven't really started that well ... they've actually missed a few opportunities and the more cohesion they develop, the more they'll be dangerous in finishing some of those opportunities. "They've got incredible strength and depth so as we see them play the Waratahs they'll develop those combinations and that will be what we'll be tracking beyond this Fiji game."
