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The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Vingegaard still believes in Tour de France chances despite Pogacar dominance
Jonas Vingegaard may be more than four minutes behind the overall race leader Tadej Pogacar in this year's Tour de France, but the Dane still believes he can win. As the race heads towards the endgame, with Tuesday's summit finish on Mont Ventoux the prelude to a gruelling trawl through the Alps, the big question however, is does his team still believe? 'I do still think that I can win,' Vingegaard said during the Tour's second rest day in Montpellier. 'It looks very hard, but I still think I can do it.' As Pogacar's biggest rival, the Visma-Lease a Bike rider is obliged to believe. But after Sunday's stage to Carcassonne, which saw the double Tour champion deserted by some of his teammates just when he needed them most, the task of overthrowing Pogacar looks doubly daunting. 'We have to try to do something,' he said and insisted that he was willing to risk everything to win. 'There needs to be a weakness somewhere on Tadej's part. For now, we haven't found it, but we'll keep trying. I'm willing to sacrifice second place to go for first.' But if he is to achieve an unlikely coup, he will need more convincing support that he has received to date. Sunday's debacle, which saw Vingegaard chasing back after a crash, while others in his team drove the pace at the front, prompted much soul-searching in Denmark. Bjarne Riis, the first Dane to win the Tour in 1996, who subsequently confessed to doping, blasted Vingegaard's teammates when speaking to Danish newspaper BT. 'Their racing style is completely hopeless,' he said. 'I don't understand it at all. After Sunday's stage, you have to wonder whether Jonas should look for another team. They clearly don't see him as a priority. That's disappointing to see.' Echoing comments made by Vingegaard's wife, and personal manager, Trine Vingegaard Hansen, before the Tour began, Riis added: 'Wout Van Aert is clearly more interested in riding his own Tour than in helping Vingegaard.' 'The management has promised Van Aert that he can do what he wants, and that is going to cause conflicts. Give Jonas some respect.' Meanwhile a relaxed Pogacar was enthusing about the happy atmosphere within his own team, saying: 'I'm really enjoying this Tour. The group that we have here, the teammates and on the bus, at dinner, breakfast, it's super nice. If I need to come to the Tour every year, I'll just come for the boys and the atmosphere and nothing else.' Pogacar is confident of final victory. 'I mean, I have to be,' he said. But he remains respectful towards his Danish rival. 'I'm pretty sure that Jonas can be confident as well, because he's in really good shape. I need to keep focused, I need to keep eating well, sleeping well, and keep this mood that we have in this group, keep up the motivation.' 'I think it's going to be tough,' Pogacar added, 'but we are ready for a fight with everybody, especially with Jonas.' Pogacar added that he felt this year's route was designed to 'scare' him and favour Vingegaard. 'We've been to Hautacam and we are going to Mont Ventoux and Col de la Loze, where Jonas dropped me [in the past] all three times. 'I actually like all these climbs. I like Mont Ventoux, it's super iconic, and Col de la Loze is one of the hardest climbs I've ever done in my career. I will not say that I'm looking for revenge – I just want to have better legs than in the past.'
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: Tadej Pogacar wins again on stage 13 mountain time trial
Update: Date: 2025-07-18T16:42:21.000Z Title: Thank you for joining me for the coverage of the', 'Tour de France', '2025's mountain time trial. Content: Tadej Pogacar won stage 13's mountain time trial, to increase his lead over Vingegaard to more than four minutes, while Evenepoel had a bad day. Amy Sedghi Fri 18 Jul 2025 18.36 CEST First published on Fri 18 Jul 2025 13.00 CEST 6.36pm CEST 18:36 Thank you for joining me for the coverage of the Tour de France 2025's mountain time trial. Tadej Pogačar continues to make history, with his individual time trial win on stage 13, making him the youngest rider ever to get 21 Tour stage wins. He completed today's 10.9km course in a time of 23mins, 36secs faster than second placed and GC rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike). Despite losing more time to Pogačar, Vingegaard seemed happy with the day's results. He told reporters: Yesterday was one of my worst performances and today was one of my best. So, I think I can be happy with today. You can read his post race comments here, Pogačar's here and Remco Evenepoel's here. As always, thank you so much for your lovely messages and thoughtful questions. It's been a pleasure to cover the Tour de France 2025 stages but I'm now off to see the Tour in real life with a trip to France next week! I'll be back for the Tour de France Femmes, so come find me then on the live blog. Here's today's race report from Jeremy Whittle in Peyragudes: Looking ahead to tomorrow, Matt has emailed in and is ready for the riders to tackle the Tourmalet on stage 14: Afternoon Amy Sat in the camper on Tourmalet following your fantastic updates. You can see the vans lining the route 24 hours early. 6.21pm CEST 18:21 Here are the pictures from today's podium in Peyragudes: 6.15pm CEST 18:15 Also, a very disappointed Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) has spoken about today's time trial. The world ITT champion was overtaken by Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) shortly before the finish line. Evenepoel said: It was bad. With a normal feeling I should be in the top three on a day like this. I was really bad, [there is] no explanation. My start was good [but] five minutes in I wasn't feeling good and couldn't push the power. It was a very bad from me. 6.10pm CEST 18:10 After today's stage, Jonas Vingegaard spoke to the media. He said: Yesterday was one of my worst performances and today was one of my best. So, I think I can be happy with today. Reflecting on stage 12, the Danish rider said: Yesterday was a terrible day for us. Until the last climb I felt good and then it was like lights out. So, to come back today [is good]. He added: I still believe in myself. I just have to keep trying. I don't know what it was yesterday. To be honest, it was my second bad day and I normally don't have bad days. I hope to not have any more bad days. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider said: The Tour is far from over. We have to keep believing we can do something. The team is strong and we need to show it. 6.04pm CEST 18:04 Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), 37pts Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), 27pts Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), 27pts Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), 22pts Ben Healy (EF Education-Easypost), 16pts 6.02pm CEST 18:02 Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), 231pts Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), 203pts Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), 173pts Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), 154pts Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step), 150pts 6.01pm CEST 18:01 Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG), 45hrs, 45mins +51secs Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +4mins 7secs Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), +7mins 24secs Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +7mins 30secs Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL), +8mins 11secs Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), +8mins 15secs Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +8mins 50secs Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), +10mins 36secs Felix Gall (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale), +11mins 43 secs Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), +14mins 15secs 5.48pm CEST 17:48 Straight on the turbo to warm down, Tadej Pogačar has spoken to reporters and has said he is 'super happy' about today's win. Of the mountain time trial, the mountain time trial rider said: This time trial was a quite a big question mark, already in December, for me. I wanted everything to be perfect and the team delivered in the final moment. Pogačar added: I had an easy day in the morning. I was targeting to go all out from the start to the finish. [I] almost blew up in the end but I saw the timer on the top [of the finish] and it gave me an extra push because I saw I was going to win. Asked about his bike choice, the Slovenian rider explained: This was the biggest decision – which bike today. Obviously we're racing on road bikes most of the year. We did calculations. If you cannot push on the TT bike as much as on the road bike … I decided to be more comfortable and ride on the same bike I've ridden for the last 12 stages, and it worked out well for me. Pogačar said that he decided to go without the radio on the ITT and rode it on feeling and instinct. 'In the last 3km, I took a deep breath and dropped a bit of power as I knew the last part was really steep and I wanted to come to the last part with good legs,' he added. Updated at 5.54pm CEST 5.31pm CEST 17:31 1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +36secs 3. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +1min 20secs 4. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +1min 56secs 5. Luke Plapp (Jayco Alula), +1min 58secs 5.30pm CEST 17:30 I think that was probably the least surprising win of the Tour so far. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) dominated and finished the 10.9km mountain time trial in 23mins. He's taken his fourth stage win of the Tour de France 2025 and he's the youngest rider to have ever won 21 TdF stages. Updated at 5.35pm CEST 5.28pm CEST 17:28 Vingegaard is gaining on Evenepoel. He overtakes him and takes 44secs out of Roglič's time. We have a new leader … for now. Updated at 5.28pm CEST 5.26pm CEST 17:26 Oscar Onley has finished at fourth fastest so far. He's 46secs behind Roglič time. This could mean good things for him in the GC ranking. 5.24pm CEST 17:24 But wait, Pogačar is coming and he's 23secs faster than Vingegaard at the 7.6km mark. Updated at 5.24pm CEST 5.23pm CEST 17:23 Evenepoel reaches down and manages to fix the issue. Vingegaard takes the best time at 7.6km – he's 29secs faster than Roglič! 5.21pm CEST 17:21 Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) whizzed through that, at an average pace of 26.9km/h. He knocks Luke Plapp off the top spot, shaving 38secs off the leading time. Pogačar is coming up fast. Evenepoel isn't looking as if he's having the best day. He's had a gear issue! 5.18pm CEST 17:18 Matteo Jorgenson sets the second best time at the finish at 5secs slower than Plapp. Romain Bardet on the moto has been near Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) and he says his cadence doesn't look the best. The commentators on TNT Sports said Evenepoel was seen shaking his head. 5.13pm CEST 17:13 Pogačar is the fastest through the first time check. He covers the first 4km in 5mins 28secs. That's 5secs faster than Evenepoel and 8secs faster than Vingegaard. A fan shouts to Vingegaard: 'Come on Jonas! All the way!' 5.09pm CEST 17:09 Visma-Lease a bike radio Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) to say 'really concentrate on yourself'. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step), the ITT world champion, is 10secs faster than Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) after four kilometres. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is getting the pundits excited as he storms through this mountain time trial – he's 30secs up on Plapp's time at the moment. Updated at 5.09pm CEST 5.06pm CEST 17:06 Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) has rolled up to the ramp to start his ITT effort shortly. Unlike Vingegaard, he's opted for a road bike and helmet. Apparently the paint has been shaved off his bike to save grams. Updated at 5.15pm CEST 5.04pm CEST 17:04 Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) is off! Two minutes later and Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) rolls down the ramp to huge cheers from the crowds. He's on a time trial bike and wearing an aero (very futuristic) looking helmet. Updated at 5.15pm CEST 5.03pm CEST 17:03 So, before the top three of the GC contenders start, let me squeeze in this query from Dave: Not bike-related. Don't suppose you know what those birds are? We saw them yesterday too. They definitely look like birds of prey but the curved neck looks odd. There's been a lot of chat actually about the birds today, especially by Adam Blythe. He thought it was some kind of vulture and a viewer got in touch to tell him the birds you can see in the coverage are Eurasian griffon vultures. I am no bird expert, so apologies if this is incorrect but that is the best intel I have right now. 5.00pm CEST 17:00 So, we're getting to the business end of today's mountain time trial. The top 10 GC riders are up, with riders setting off now every two minutes until Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) goes at 5.05pm CEST/4.05pm BST. So far, of the top 10, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Oscar Onley (Picnic-PostNL), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) have started. 4.55pm CEST 16:55 Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is off! I've been waiting all day to post this: Updated at 4.55pm CEST 4.52pm CEST 16:52 Here are some more pictures from today's ITT: 4.49pm CEST 16:49 Despite it looking like Adam Yates might challenge the current leader, Luke Plapp, the UAE Team Emirates rider lost 13secs to Plapp in the last 3.3km. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) is off and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) rolls off down the ramp to start his efforts. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in an aero helmet has been spotted making his way towards the waiting area. 4.41pm CEST 16:41 Adam Yates is not far off Luke Plapp's time. At 7.6km in, he's only 4secs behind the current ITT leader. His brother, Simon Yates, is now on the course too. 4.38pm CEST 16:38 Away from the Tour, the Guardian Sport team have launched an account on the Bluesky social media platform. You can find and follow it here. 4.33pm CEST 16:33 Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) has started, Quinn Simmons (Lid-Trek) has been high-fiving spectators on the final ramp to the finish and Harry Sweeny (EF Education-Easypost) finishes 55sec slower than the leading time (24mins 58secs). 4.22pm CEST 16:22 Julian Alaphillipe (Tudor Pro Cycling) finished in the third fastest time so far today, completing the ITT in 26mins 3secs. It's a good day for the French cyclists as Bruno Armirail (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) finishes in the top five with a time of 1min 14secs slower than leader Luke Plapp (Jayco-Alula). With so many strong riders coming through, the rankings in the top five keep switching (not the lead yet!). Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) has completed his final Tour time trial! Updated at 4.25pm CEST 4.15pm CEST 16:15 Neil wants to know what the steepest angle is on the final ramp of this course. There's a 16% gradient in the final kilometre. This profile from official Tour de France website shows how tough this ITT route is. 4.08pm CEST 16:08 If you're wondering how long the gaps are between the riders being set off, here is how it works from what I've gleaned from the Tour website: From the first rider today (Mattéo Vercher) there will be a rider set off at one minute intervals up to the 51st rider (Robert Stannard). After that, the rider will be set off at 1min 30sec intervals until the 161st rider (Ben Healy). From Healy, there will then be two minute gaps for the remaining ten riders to tackle the ITT. 3.52pm CEST 15:52 Hannah Walker has been speaking to Matt Stephens on TNT Sports again about bike set ups. She says that the 'variations are endless', even within the same team. She said that while a number of riders have gone for a road bike for the mountain time trial, some have chosen their most aero road bike while others have selected their climbing road bikes. According to Walker, Jonas Vingegaard is going for a matte black time trial bike with shallow wheels. Tadej Pogačar, she says, is going for a black aero road bike with a 53/39 gear ratio – the same as he rode on his recon. Walker adds that a lot of the riders, including Oscar Onley, have relied on their team's data analysts about what would be their best option. Stephens also makes a good point abut the bike brands that each team are partnered with. Some brands have heavier TT bikes than others and the reverse, he says. On an unrelated note, the Lidl-Trek team bus has a slushy dispenser and some of the riders are having the iced drink in their bidons as they warm up. Updated at 4.01pm CEST 3.43pm CEST 15:43 Half of the riders have finished now. Notable finishes: Clément Champoussin (third placed currently, with a time of 1min 22secs slower than Plapp), Alexey Lutsenko (fourth and 2mins 18 secs slower than Plapp) and Tobias Foss (fifth and 2mins 26secs slower than Plapp). 3.39pm CEST 15:39 I've had a lot of emails about Pogačar's dominance – look what you started Roland. Brian makes a good point: On 'where's the interest now?' given Pog's very likely dominance of this year's GC, perhaps it will allow the teams, and us, to focus on each individual stage as a race in itself, like a selection box of summer classics to be gorged one after another. You're making me crave chocolate now.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
A Bastille Day Tour victory for Bury rider Simon Yates
Bury's Simon Yates won stage 10 of the Tour de France on Bastille Day on Monday. Yates, who triumphed in his second Grand Tour at the Giro d'Italia in June, timed his attack superbly on the final ascent of the 165.3km stage from Ennezat - Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy after being part of a long-range breakaway. That group of 28 riders was whittled down significantly on a punishing day through the Massif Central that contained eight categorised climbs, with the Visma-Lease a Bike rider pulling clear in the closing stages. 'I didn't even feel that good,' admitted Yates to Cycling Weekly after winning what was his third career Tour stage victory. 'It was a really hard start to be there. And that's why I took advantage into the final corners at the bottom of the last descent, because I was looking for a bit of a head start; And I just did my best from there. 'It's been a long time. I was not really expecting any opportunities here. We came here fully focused on Jonas and the GC. 'The stage played out in a way that I could be there and I took it with both hands.' Yates said he'd had a tough start to the Tour, and was still tired after his Giro d'Italia overall victory. He added: 'It's not easy, I'm still a bit tired from there but I'm getting better every day. I was a bit rusty at the start but I've been growing into the race.' Ineos Grenadiers' Dutch climber Arensman finished second, with Healy, who was born in the West Midlands, coming home in third and jumping to the top of the general classification, 29 seconds ahead of defending champion Tadej Pogacar. After a rest day on Tuesday, racing resumes on Wednesday with a 156.8km route around Toulouse. The first big day in the Pyrenees arrives on Thursday with a trip up to the ski resort at Hautacam. After Monday's stage 10 triumph, former Bury Clarion star Yates sat 23rd in the overall classification. Twin brother Adam, riding for UAE Team Emirates XRG, was placed 44th in the general classification after a 24th spot on stage 10.
CNA
6 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Best of the rest: Vingegaard and team get a taste of their own medicine on the Tour
HAUTACAM, France :While Tadej Pogacar has been enjoying a dream Tour de France run this year, his main rival Jonas Vingegaard and his once almighty team are now closer to third than first place after just one high mountain stage on Thursday. Vingegaard was left shattered by Pogacar's brutal attack in the climb up to Hautacam in the 12th stage, leaving the two-time champion 3:31 behind his rival in the overall standings. "On the last climb Tadej was clearly the best and in the end Jonas also suffered a lot. Tomorrow is a new day, we will keep fighting," Vingegaard's Visma–Lease a Bike sports director Grischa Niermann told reporters. "He is the best of the rest." In 2022, Visma-Lease a Bike riders pulled off a tactical coup in the Alps by trapping Pogacar, before Vingegaard effectively sealed his maiden Tour title in Hautacam by humiliating the Slovenian. He added another title in 2023 by beating Pogacar by more than seven minutes, with the Slovenian having broken his wrist 2-1/2 months before the Tour. Pogacar emerged triumphant at last year's edition, when Vingegaard's preparation was hampered by a freak crash a few months before the Tour. This year, however, the rivalry could reach new heights as both riders announced they were at their peak. SUFFER FEST Pogacar hammered Vingegaard in the first individual time trial and was merciless on Thursday as the Dane's teammates were a shadow of their dominant selves. Key mountain lieutenants Matteo Jorgenson and Simon Yates were of no help as they struggled as early as the Col du Soulor and left Vingegaard fighting on his own at the bottom of Hautacam. Memories of the humiliation three years ago must have been at the forefront of Pogacar's mind and everything clicked when he realised Visma-Lease a Bike were not as strong as he had expected. Their attempts at upping the pace failed and the world champion smelled blood. "The biggest switch in my head happened when I saw what Visma tried. They followed their plan, but I noticed not everyone (in their team) was feeling great," he said. "That was the moment I mentally switched — I thought, OK, today can actually be a really, really good day. Johnny (Jhonatan Narvaez) was still there, Marc Soler wasn't far behind — we even thought he might come back. Adam (Yates) was there, Tim (Wellens) was up front. All of that gave us the belief, the mental boost, that today could really go our way." At the end of the day, Pogacar won a Tour stage by 2:10 - his biggest margin on a Tour win. "Based on my feelings, I feel like it is the best moment of my career. I'm riding in a rainbow (world champion) jersey. I ride with an amazing team. Amazing teammates, so it's like a fairytale for me riding on the bike these couple of years now," he said.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Tour de France 2025 live: Stage 12 route updates to summit finish in Pyrenees as Tadej Pogacar reveals crash injuries
The general classification battle of the 2025 Tour de France is set to properly ignite today as the race reaches the high mountains for the first time, with a formidable stage 12 in the Pyrenees ahead. EF Education-EasyPost's stage six winner Ben Healy took the overall race lead on stage 10 but is likely to relinquish it today as the big guns come to the fore, although there was a scare for Tadej Pogacar on stage 11 as he crashed with 4km to go. Today's 180km run begins in Auch and traverses three mountains before the summit finish at the hors-categorie Hautacam, a climb steeped in Tour history and a recent happy hunting ground for Jonas Vingegaard and his team Visma-Lease a Bike, who dominated on its slopes in 2022 as the Dane won the stage and extended his overall lead. Follow all the action on stage 12 of the Tour de France below. Ineos with the most riders in the breakaway Ineos very happy with their strength in numbers in the breakaway today: Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 14:24 Breakaway's lead slipping 90km to go: The breakaway's lead has diminished slightly, reduced down to around 1min 30sec, as the peloton gently closes in. The 50-rider break has just started the cat-four Cote de Labatmale (1.3km at 6.3% gradient). Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 14:12 Stage 12 in pictures A few images from the stage so far: Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 14:00 Tour de France explained I know what you're thinking: how do Tour de France riders go to the toilet? We do indeed have the answer: How do Tour de France riders go to the toilet? How do the peloton answer nature's call out on the road? Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 13:52 Breakaway being held 115km to go: The 50-rider breakway has stabilised at around 1min 45sec, and the peloton seems happy enough with this state of play. They are about 20km away from the first categorised climb of the day, the cat-four Cote de Labatmale (1.3km at 6.3% gradient). 17 July 2025 13:44 Tadej Pogacar speaks! Here's what Tadej Pogacar – sporting a bandage all the way up his left arm – told Discovery+ this morning, after his crash yesterday: 'I'm OK. Nothing too bad. My whole left arm is open completely. It's more burned off skin, I hit my hip a little bit and my shoulder, but luckily I was back on the bike quite fast. Today is another day. It's not the first time I crashed and continued the race. 'We'll see how the legs are. I think it's more important, the legs, than my arm. I have a super strong team around me that support me to the end, they give everything for me, so I'm so grateful that I can rely on them even if I have a hard day today. But I hope not.' Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 13:36 The breakaway in full 125km to go: Here we go, then – the 50 riders at the front of the race. Carlos Rodriguez is not only the closest rider to the top of the GC standings (five minutes behind the yellow jersey), he also has the most teammates in the break, with five Ineos riders in all. Wellens (UAE Emirates), Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Schachmann (Soudal Quick-Step), Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost), Barré, Rex (Intermarché-Wanty), Buitrago, Martinez, Stannard, Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Arensman, Foss, Laurance, C. Rodriguez, Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Pithie, Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Nys, Skjelmose, Theuns (Lidl-Trek), Martin Guyonnet, Madouas, Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ), Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Alaphilippe, Hirschi, Storer, Trentin (Tudor), O'Connor, Durbridge, Schmid (Jayco AlUla), Garcia Pierna, Venturini (Arkea-B&B Hotels), Castrillo, Romeo, Rubio (Movistar), Armirail, A. Paret-Peintre (Decathlon AG2R), Buchmann, Coquard, Izagirre, Teuns (Cofidis), Tejada, Velasco (XDS Astana), Cras, Gachignard, Turgis (Total Energies), Woods, Blackmore, Lutsenko (Israel Premier Tech), Drizners (Lotto). Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 13:29 Hautacam awaits There are four categorised climbs today, and the first hors categorie climb of the race: Hautacam, atop which the finish line awaits. Jonas Vingegaard won here en route to overall victory in 2022, and Vincenzo Nibali did likewise in 2014. Whoever wins today's race will have to conquer this brute of a climb, which is steep from the get-go and ratchets up above 10% gradient in the second half. Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 13:23 Stage 12 stabilises 135km to go: The huge breakaway is being held at around two minutes, with the GC group happy to keep the race in this state for now. Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 13:19 Huge breakaway escapes up the road 150km to go: An interesting dynamic has developed early in this stage, with a giant breakaway featuring almost 50 riders up the road from Pogacar, Vingegaard, Healy and the rest of the top GC riders. The breakaway includes Van der Poel, Benoot, Teuns, Buchmann, O'Connor, Arensman, Wright and plenty more notable names. Carlos Rodriguez is the highest placed rider in the GC among them, more than five minutes back from the yellow jersey at the start of the day. Lawrence Ostlere17 July 2025 13:07
