Latest news with #WoutVanAert
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage five updates from the time trial from Caen
Update: Date: 2025-07-09T14:06:14.000Z Title: Sepp Cuss: Content: Updates from the first time trial of this year's Tour Stage-by-stage guide | Mail Barry with your thoughts Barry Glendenning Wed 9 Jul 2025 10.06 EDT First published on Wed 9 Jul 2025 06.58 EDT 10.06am EDT 10:06 The latest Visma-Lease A Bike rider to take his turn sets off, which means there are just 32 riders left to take to the course. 10.04am EDT 10:04 1. Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease a Bike): 37min 15'sec 2. Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale): +2sec 3. Ivan Romeo (Movistar): +29sec 4. Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla): +44sec 5. Pablo Castrillo (Movistar): +45sec 10.01am EDT 10:01 Wout is out! Wout van Aert rolls down the starting ramp and is away. Even in these very early stages, you can tell he's taking it handy and not going for victory in this stage. He came into this race on the back of an illness that ruled him out of the Belgian Championship and is probably using today as a recovery day. 9.50am EDT 09:50 TNT Sports: With the big guns yet to get going, they're pasing the time as best they can on the network's commentary. Race analyst Sean Kelly has just recounted the time he won a spot prize of a live cow in a criterium he was competing in after the Tour de France back in the day. Living in Belgium at the time, reveals to commentator Carton Kirby that he opted to have it killed, butchered, freezer-wrapped and sent to his home, so that he and his pals could dine like kings. I'm not sure that was the happy ending to the story that Kirby was expecting. Updated at 10.01am EDT 9.45am EDT 09:45 Julian Alaphilippe: The Frenchman rolls over the finish line over three minutes down on the leading time of 37min 15sec after a leisurely trip around the circuit. Tobias Foss won't be unseating stage leader Edoardo Affini from the Big Chair either. The Norwegian champion finishes almost 53 seconds off the pace. Updated at 9.59am EDT 9.35am EDT 09:35 Tadej Pogacar: The reigning Tour de France champion sets off on his race of truth at 3.58pm (BST) and will be seeking to win his second consecutive stage in this year's race. Following his win yesterday, he was in an understandably good mood. 'I couldn't dream for a better finish than today's,' he said. 'To beat one of the best of the world in road cycling, especially in this kind of finishes and to reach [career] 100 victories in the Tour de France with the rainbow jersey, it's incredible. 'The plan was to go full on this climb. I didn't know exactly how long it would be so maybe I could have put in a little bit more towards the top but I think Jonas [Vingegaard] would have been with me anyway. I expected him to follow. In a way, it was perfect, because everyone's legs were tired and the next attacks were not as strong as they would have been. 'Joao [Almeida] did an amazing job to lead me out until the very end. I'm super happy and proud with the team. With so many good riders in such a finale, you're always a bit on the edge, you never know what's gonna happen. It gives you adrenaline, it's beautiful racing and I enjoy it. Tomorrow is the real test. It's about having the legs. It's not Formula 1, it's cycling, and you need the legs to push.' Updated at 9.36am EDT 9.18am EDT 09:18 Tobias Foss: The Ineos Grenadiers rider, a World Champion at this discipline three years ago, is out on the course wearing the Norwegian national team jersey. 9.15am EDT 09:15 Normandy American Cemetery: Today's stage takes place near the Normandy American Cemetry, which contains the graves of nearly 9,400 war dead and nearly 1,600 names on the Walls of the Missing. It overlooks Omaha Beach, where many of those interred in the cemetery lost their lives on D-Day. 9.06am EDT 09:06 An email: 'Purely by chance, I was in Pisa in May when it hosted the finish of the Giro's ITT,' writes Gary Naylor. 'Apart from the usual Tuscan rain I always seem to catch, it was noticeable that the road surface was pretty ropey and looked scary even in the dry. I was also surprised that many riders pretty much coasted in, which made the ones going full gas (like Josh Tarling) look like they were on motorbikes. A minute or two on the road looks like a helluva lot more than that when the rider is a low barrier and four feet away at 45mph.' Updated at 9.10am EDT 9.05am EDT 09:05 Julian Alaphillipe: The mercurial Frenchman and Tudor Pro Cycling veteran rolls the ramp and is sent on his way by a raucous crowd who clearly adore him. 8.59am EDT 08:59 Bruno Armirail comes up just short!!! The clock turns red 2.47 seconds before the French ITT champion crosses the line. Edoardo Affini remains in the Big Chair and 37min 15sec is still the time to beat. 8.55am EDT 08:55 8.53am EDT 08:53 It's been 18 years … This being my first foray into the live coverage of this year's Tour, I am hidebound by tradition to post this video of the now retired German rider Marcus Burghardt crashing into a Labrador that was out on an Alpine stroll in 2007. Somewhat remarkably, both cyclist and dog emerged from the incident completely unscathed. 8.46am EDT 08:46 Bruno Amirail: The French champion is slowing down and posts a slower time than Affini at the second check. He is 18 seconds down on the Italian. Somewhat bizarrely, the Tour broadcasters don't have TV cameras at the on-course checkpoints. 8.41am EDT 08:41 Bruno Armirail: The Decathlon–AG2R La Mondiale rider is out on the course putting in a decent shift. He posted the best time at the first checkpoint and is about to hit the second one wearing the red, white and blue jersey that signifies he is the French national ITT champion. For the first time as far as I can remember, the AG2R La Mondiale riders are not wearing brown shorts. I have to say I'm not happy about it! 8.32am EDT 08:32 8.30am EDT 08:30 Ivan Romeo: Before vacating the leader's Big Chair, the Movistar rider had this to say about today's course and his performance: 'It has been an exhausting ITT, really tough. I didn't have a moment to breath, as I was the whole time on the saddle and pushing as much as possible. 'I'm happy with my performance, although not 100 per cent as I could have done a bit more - not today, but on my best day. In any case, perfection is hard to attain - if you do 50 ITTs you hardly get one completely right. 'This is a course for specialists. Remco is the best time-trialist in the world and it suits him super well. The GC guys are going to top the leaderboard at the end of the day.' 8.28am EDT 08:28 Edoardo Affini leads the stage: The Visma-Lease A Bike rider smithereens the time set by Ivan Romeo and the benchmark is now 37min 15sec. His average speed over the 33-kilometre course was 53.2km per hour. 8.25am EDT 08:25 8.21am EDT 08:21 Edoardo Affini: The Italian (Visma-Lease A Bike) rider is currently scorching up the course with his team leader Jonas Vingegaard on a reconaissance mission behind him in the team car. 37min 44sec is the time to beat and it looks like Edoardo might do it. 8.14am EDT 08:14 8.12am EDT 08:12 Kevin Vauquelin: Currently in the white jersey, in fifth place on General Classification, Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels) will be riding around ther roads of his native Normandy today. 'There's definitely a very high level, it's going to be a great battle for the rest of the Tour,' he said after yesterday's stage. 'This is the biggest race in the world, everyone is at their best so I'm not surprised. I didn't think I'd keep the white jersey. I'm really happy to have a distinctive jersey for tomorrow's time trial, at home. I think it's just pure joy. When I climbed onto the podium with the white jersey, I received a lot of encouragement. It's just a dream.' 8.07am EDT 08:07 Edoardo Affini: The European ITT champion is out on the course and is currently second fastest after the first checkpoint, having split Ivan Romeo and Luke Plapp. 8.03am EDT 08:03 Two non-starters today: Emilien Jeanniere (Total Energies) has left the race with a fractured collarbone he suffered in a crash on stage three, while Jasper De Buyst (Lotto) woke up with a fever and has also abandoned on medical advice. Jeanniere also broke a tooth in his crash and had to ask a local dentist in Dunkirk to open his surgery out of hours so he could get that sorted out. 'I was quickly taken care of thanks to our team doctor, who lives in Dunkirk,' said the rider yesterday. 'He arranged for a dentist, Dr Richard, to open his practice for me at 8pm and I'd like to publicly thank him. He fixed my tooth.' 7.54am EDT 07:54 Ivan Romeo leads. The Movistar rider, who is the World U23 ITT champion, crosses the finish line in 37min 44.94sec. Luke Plapp (Jayco Ulula) finishes at a more sedate pace, taking the last few corners far more cautiously than his Spanish rival, stops the clock at 37min 59.96sec. Romeo's time should stand for a while. 7.49am EDT 07:49 The first rider is finished: Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS Astana) is last on General Classificiation due in no small part to several crashes. The Kazakh rider finishes the course in a time of 42min 24.21sec. He was first down the ramp but not the first man to cross the finish line. Updated at 7.51am EDT 7.43am EDT 07:43 Luke Plapp The Australian Jayco Ulula rider reaches the second checkpoint 10 seconds quicker than Ivan Romeo. 7.36am EDT 07:36 An email: 'Here roadside north-west of Caen in the countryside and its a perfect day for a white wedding and also an individual time trial,' writes Steve Horne. It's hot but not too hot, a merest whisper of breeze and not a cloud in the sky so no chance of rain soaked roads for the later starters.' 7.34am EDT 07:34 Ivan Romeo: The 21-year-old Movistar rider stops the clock at the second checkpoint (16.4km) at 18min 50sec and remains the quickest rider out on the course. 7.30am EDT 07:30 Today's course: Largely flat and not particularly technical, today's course is fairly straightforward but has a very exposed stretch out in the countryside that could cause problems for riders if the wind whips up. 7.26am EDT 07:26 Today's time checks: Ivan Romeo (Movistar) is the quickest rider past the first checkpoint by some distance thus far, travelling the first 8.2 kilometres in 9min 51sec. The next time check is at 16.4km and the third one is at 24.8km. Romeo has already passed the two riders who started in front of him. Updated at 7.54am EDT 7.18am EDT 07:18 7.18am EDT 07:18 7.18am EDT 07:18 7.18am EDT 07:18 An intriguing sub-plot: Still eligible for the best young rider (under-25) category, Remco Evenepoel is the odds-on favourite to win today's stage but should the Belgian endure a rare bad day at the ITT office, there's a decent chance Scotland's very own Oscar Onley could take the white jersey. Riding in only his second Tour de France, the 22-year-old from Perth is a highly commendable seventh overall on General Classification but is only 29 seconds behind Kevin Vauquelin, who is currently in possession of the garment and will have plenty of support as he rides today's ITT on his home roads of Normandy. It's a tall order but a big performance from Oscar (and a poor one from Remco) could see the Picnic PostNL rider wrestle the white jersey from the Frenchman's shoulders. Updated at 7.21am EDT 7.17am EDT 07:17 An email: 'Can you remind me please what Oscar Onley's TTs are like?' asks Nick. 'I know he's a climber and so far an amazing GC top 10. Do you reckon he can hold that to Paris? Everything crossed.' There's a long way to go before Paris so it's far too early to say if Oscar can stay in the top 10 but I read somewhere that his team's plan is for him to hunt stage wins. To be honest, I don't know much about his time-trialling prowess but he was part of the team that won the TTT during his first Grand Tour, the Vuelta, in 2023. Updated at 7.18am EDT 7.08am EDT 07:08 Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS Astana) has rolled down the ramp and started putting the early stages of the course behind him. He's followed 90 seconds later by Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies). 7.05am EDT 07:05 Remco Evenepoel: The last time the Belgian lost an Individual Time Trial was on the final stage of last year's Tour, when he was beaten by the race winner Tadej Pogacar. He has since won the Olympic ITT, World Championship ITT and Belgian National ITT, among other races. 6.59am EDT 06:59 Currently in last place on General Classification, Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS Astana) will be the first rider down the ramp at 12.10pm (BST) but here are a list of the main contenders for today's stage and the times they are due to set off. Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease A Bike) could be the first rider to set a time that could prove hard to beat and he rolls out at 12.49pm. Of course there's also every chance I have managed to omit the name of today's winner from my list of contenders but we'll find out in due course … 12.49pm: Edoardo Affini (Visma-Lease A Bike) 2.58pm: Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease A Bike) 3.36pm: Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe) 3.44pm: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick Step) 3.54pm: Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease A Bike) 3.56pm: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) 3.58pm: Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 6.59am EDT 06:59 1. Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) 16hrs 46mins 00secs 2. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) Same time 3. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) +8secs 4. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) +19secs 5. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) +26secs 6. Enric Mas (Spa-Movistar) +48secs 7. Oscar Onley (GB/Picnic PostNL) +55secs 8. Joao Almeida (Por/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) Same time 9. Remco Evenepoel (Bel/Soudal Quick-Step) +58secs 10. Mattias Skjelmose (Den/Lidl-Trek) +7secs 6.59am EDT 06:59 Stage four report: Tadej Pogacar secured his 100th career win on stage four of the Tour de France, after the defending champion narrowly outsprinted the race leader Mathieu van der Poel just before the line. Jeremy Whittle reports from Rouen … 6.58am EDT 06:58 From William Fotheringham's stage-by-stage guide: The first decisive day in the battle for the overall, a relatively long time trial on the rolling bocage north-east of Caen, largely on wide main roads that will suit the most powerful riders in the field. The favourites need to at least limit any losses; the winner should be a pure rouleur. In the preview he submitted before the race started, m'learned colleague Lord Fotheringham originally tipped Filippo Ganna for the stage win today having failed to foresee that the big Italian Ineos Grenadiers rider would be forced to abandon the race with a concussion after crashing during the first stage. The Swiss Decathlon Ag2r La Mondiale rider Stefan Bissegger is another man who would have had his eye on victory today but he was also forced to abandon the race on the opening day.
The Guardian
07-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage-by-stage guide to this year's race
The climbs of Mont Cassel and Le Mont Noir won't be enough to split the peloton, so this is almost guaranteed to be a bunch sprint, unless it gets windy. A strong westerly would make this a nightmare with more than 140km of crosswinds, but if it stays calm it's a first big test for Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and the other fast men. For the favourites, a first day of trying to stay upright. A punchy finale: three steep little hills in the final 30km, and a climb to the finish. There will be a selection here, with a strong chance of crashes as the riders battle for position before the climbs. This stage has Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert written on it and even more stress than day one for Tadej Pogacar and company. The chances are at least one favourite ends their race here. A third very accessible day for UK fans, another ascent of Cassel, but the safe money is on a bunch sprint in Dunkirk, famed among cycling fans for the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque stage race which actually lasts six days. The same proviso as day one: a westerly equals crosswinds on the final exposed 35km and splits in the field. These early days will be packed with crashes and tension, but Philipsen and company will be licking their lips. A welter of little hills in the finale including the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, a 750m 'wall' in the city centre, 5km from the finish; there will be huge stress for all the contenders trying to get in place for these. Evocatively, one of the late hills is the Côte de Bonsecours, where Jean Robic staged a final-day heist to win the 1947 Tour, but in the Pogacar era there's not much chance of a repeat. The first decisive day in the battle for the overall, a relatively long time trial on the rolling bocage north-east of Caen, largely on wide main roads that will suit the most powerful riders in the field. The favourites need to at least limit any losses; the winner should be a pure rouleur – the Italian Filippo Ganna, perhaps. If he's on form, Ineos should be targeting this stage and a possible spell in yellow. The Suisse Normande isn't widely known among cyclists now, but back in the day local amateurs spoke in awe of races over this area's leg-breaking climbs. The fun starts in the final 70km, with three third-category climbs, before a final little brute, the Côte de Vaudry, 4km from the finish. French fans will be hoping Julian Alaphilippe can throw back the years as this would have been made for him in his pomp. Day one in Brittany is more straightforward, passing Bernard Hinault's village of Yffiniac – 40 years since the Badger became the last French Tour winner – before two ascents of Mûr de Bretagne to conclude. The finish up the 'Wall' is harder than anything the race has tackled to date, and you'd expect Pogacar to make an early statement of intent, but it will also suit Van der Poel, winner here in 2021. The start tips its hat to the triple winner Louison Bobet, the baker's boy from Saint Méen, then the route heads east; if the prevailing wind – westerly – does its thing, this will be very fast, but the scenario is well trodden: early doomed break featuring lowly French teams cheered on by the local crowd – think Arkéa, Cofidis, Total Energies – and a sprint finish for Philipsen and company after five days' waiting. British fans remember Chateauroux for the first of Mark Cavendish's 35 stage wins in 2008 and his 32nd in 2021. With not a single rated climb en route, this is bound to be a sprint day, and by this point, the pressure will be mounting on the fast men who are yet to win: if Philipsen and Merlier are on form, the finger will be pointing at Biniam Girmay and Dylan Groenewegen. Just the 10 climbs today in the Massif Central; mainly second category but totalling 4,450m of vertical ascent. This is the first major showdown among the favourites, and at least a couple could see their hopes of winning end here. With climbing from the get-go it will be full on from the start; for the win look to a puncheur like Ireland's Ben Healy. It's Bastille Day so the French will bust a gut and leave empty-handed. Rest day, Tuesday July 15 This could go either of three ways: full bunch sprint, reduced bunch sprint, or break. The finale with its series of little hills might burn off a fast man or two, and will certainly make a coordinated chase difficult. This could be the last full bunch sprint of the Tour, so let's plump for Philipsen; if the break goes and the sprinters' teams tire in the finale the wily Dane Magnus Cort is a good bet. First proper mountain stage up the grim ascent above Lourdes where Miguel Indurain destroyed the field in 1994. There's a long preamble to the Col du Soulor, the first first-category pass of the race, so expect a massive break targeting the stage win. If the favourites give the break leeway, the winner will be someone who can climb but won't win overall, so why not the Frenchman Guillaume Martin? Three kilometres of flat, eight straight uphill against the watch, culminating in a final kilometre at 16%. This is a day for the GC men, with absolutely no hiding or bluffing. Whoever wins here will have a very good chance of winning overall in Paris, so it's a day for Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard to show exactly what they've got in the tank. For everyone else, it's damage limitation. A mountain classic: Cols de Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde, plus the pull up to the ski station, where winners include Federico Bahamontes, Greg LeMond, Hinault and Robert Millar. Four big passes make this a decisive day in the mountains prize with a ton of points on offer; the stage winner will probably be a climber who's not figuring overall. Enric Mas of Spain might fit that bill, or the Austrian Felix Gall. In the past, the organisers would have left this as a flattish transition stage with a bunch sprint at the end. In the made-for-TV 21st-century Tour, this gets a detour into Le Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc with a couple of meaty climbs midway through to liven things up. It's a day for the breakaway artists, who will know that their opportunities are running out: why not the demon descender Matej Mohoric? Rest day, Monday July 21 Moonscape, Tom Simpson, Giant of Provence, wheel out those evergreen lines for the nastiest climb of the Tour so far. The stage is pretty flat as far as Bédoin at the foot of the Bald Mountain, but then it's uphill for 22 baking or windswept kilometres. A potentially decisive day for the overall contenders. Pogacar and Vingegaard will make the race here, and UAE v Visma could be a battle worthy of the backdrop. Potentially a bunch sprint, the last of the Tour, but teams with a sprinter who can climb – think Intermarché with Girmay for example – will try and burn off the slightly heavier brethren such as Merlier on the drag to the Col de Pertuis after 66km, particularly if the green jersey is in play; here's a chance to gain valuable points. It will all hang on wind direction, morale and the peloton's dwindling reserves of strength. The first of two monstrous Alpine stages, including three super-category passes: the Glandon, Madeleine and the 27km haul up the Col de la Loze to the finish. The script in recent Tours has been for the overall contenders to fight so hard in the biggest mountain stages that the breaks get scooped up before the finish. No reason to expect today to be the exception, so Pogacar or Vingegaard are safe bets for the win. Short and brutal, but with only two super-category climbs and they aren't quite as horrific as the day before's. The race could well have been decided the day before, in which case the favourites will give a break a lot of headroom, and watch each other to the finish to consolidate what they have. That makes this the final chance for climbers such as Australian Ben O'Connor and Ireland's Ed Dunbar. The puncheurs and breakaway specialists will have been waiting for five days with this one on their minds. The battle for the early break will be intense and the fight for the stage could be epic. As well as our old friends Cort and Healy, this will appeal to about half the peloton, wily one-day specialists such as the Dane Mattias Skjelmose. Paradoxically, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Tour finish on the Champs, it's all change: three laps of the Champs circuit, then three times up the Butte Montmartre. If the overall standings are tight this could be a cliffhanger. It's 46 years since a Tour winner won a road-race stage into Paris but don't rule out Pogacar for a final flourish; if not the Slovene, a Classics specialist such as Van der Poel.
The Guardian
06-07-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage two
Update: Date: 2025-07-06T10:42:40.000Z Title: Preamble Content: Settle in folks, this is going to be a long one. The total length of the stage is a mammoth 209.1km, with a few categorised climbs that will probably weed out the pure sprinters but nothing too punishing. The good news is the finale will be worth the wait. The read on the stage profile is that the stage will explode in the final 35km, where there are a couple steep lumps and a bit of an incline towards a finish line, which runs along the banks of the river Liane in the streets of Boulogne. This will be one for the puncheurs and an early opportunity for the likes of Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert to bag a stage and the yellow jersey. Just to cover my own back, I should point out that Tadej Pogacar is as capable of winning this stage as any other but will he want to show his hand this early? Frankly, trying to predict what the Slovenian will do is a fool's game, so I will refrain from doing that. What is easier to predict is that the weather will definitely be a factor. In typical northern French fashion, rain and crosswinds are going to batter a peloton that will be full of riders wary of being on the wrong side of any split. Tension can lead to mistakes and hopefully we won't see a repeat of the crashes that marred stage one. Grab your snacks, get yourself a drink and follow along. I will have you covered through to the end of the stage. If you have any thoughts you'd like to share, do send them in via the link at the top of the page.
The Guardian
02-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Tour de France 2025: stage-by-stage guide to this year's race
The climbs of Mont Cassel and Le Mont Noir won't be enough to split the peloton, so this is almost guaranteed to be a bunch sprint, unless it gets windy. A strong westerly would make this a nightmare with more than 140km of crosswinds, but if it stays calm it's a first big test for Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and the other fast men. For the favourites, a first day of trying to stay upright. A punchy finale: three steep little hills in the final 30km, and a climb to the finish. There will be a selection here, with a strong chance of crashes as the riders battle for position before the climbs. This stage has Mathieu van der Poel or Wout van Aert written on it and even more stress than day one for Tadej Pogacar and company. The chances are at least one favourite ends their race here. A third very accessible day for UK fans, another ascent of Cassel, but the safe money is on a bunch sprint in Dunkirk, famed among cycling fans for the Quatre Jours de Dunkerque stage race which actually lasts six days. The same proviso as day one: a westerly equals crosswinds on the final exposed 35km and splits in the field. These early days will be packed with crashes and tension, but Philipsen and company will be licking their lips. A welter of little hills in the finale including the Rampe Saint-Hilaire, a 750m 'wall' in the city centre, 5km from the finish; there will be huge stress for all the contenders trying to get in place for these. Evocatively, one of the late hills is the Côte de Bonsecours, where Jean Robic staged a final-day heist to win the 1947 Tour, but in the Pogacar era there's not much chance of a repeat. The first decisive day in the battle for the overall, a relatively long time trial on the rolling bocage north-east of Caen, largely on wide main roads that will suit the most powerful riders in the field. The favourites need to at least limit any losses; the winner should be a pure rouleur – the Italian Filippo Ganna, perhaps. If he's on form, Ineos should be targeting this stage and a possible spell in yellow. The Suisse Normande isn't widely known among cyclists now, but back in the day local amateurs spoke in awe of races over this area's leg-breaking climbs. The fun starts in the final 70km, with three third-category climbs, before a final little brute, the Côte de Vaudry, 4km from the finish. French fans will be hoping Julian Alaphilippe can throw back the years as this would have been made for him in his pomp. Day one in Brittany is more straightforward, passing Bernard Hinault's village of Yffiniac – 40 years since the Badger became the last French Tour winner – before two ascents of Mûr de Bretagne to conclude. The finish up the 'Wall' is harder than anything the race has tackled to date, and you'd expect Pogacar to make an early statement of intent, but it will also suit Van der Poel, winner here in 2021. The start tips its hat to the triple winner Louison Bobet, the baker's boy from Saint Méen, then the route heads east; if the prevailing wind – westerly – does its thing, this will be very fast, but the scenario is well trodden: early doomed break featuring lowly French teams cheered on by the local crowd – think Arkéa, Cofidis, Total Energies – and a sprint finish for Philipsen and company after five days' waiting. British fans remember Chateauroux for the first of Mark Cavendish's 36 stage wins in 2008 and his 32nd in 2021. With not a single rated climb en route, this is bound to be a sprint day, and by this point, the pressure will be mounting on the fast men who are yet to win: if Philipsen and Merlier are on form, the finger will be pointing at Biniam Girmay and Dylan Groenewegen. Just the 10 climbs today in the Massif Central; mainly second category but totalling 4,450m of vertical ascent. This is the first major showdown among the favourites, and at least a couple could see their hopes of winning end here. With climbing from the get-go it will be full on from the start; for the win look to a puncheur like Ireland's Ben Healy. It's Bastille Day so the French will bust a gut and leave empty-handed. Rest day, Tuesday July 15 This could go either of three ways: full bunch sprint, reduced bunch sprint, or break. The finale with its series of little hills might burn off a fast man or two, and will certainly make a coordinated chase difficult. This could be the last full bunch sprint of the Tour, so let's plump for Philipsen; if the break goes and the sprinters' teams tire in the finale the wily Dane Magnus Cort is a good bet. First proper mountain stage up the grim ascent above Lourdes where Miguel Indurain destroyed the field in 1994. There's a long preamble to the Col du Soulor, the first first-category pass of the race, so expect a massive break targeting the stage win. If the favourites give the break leeway, the winner will be someone who can climb but won't win overall, so why not the Frenchman Guillaume Martin or his teammate David Gaudu? Three kilometres of flat, eight straight uphill against the watch, culminating in a final kilometre at 16%. This is a day for the GC men, with absolutely no hiding or bluffing. Whoever wins here will have a very good chance of winning overall in Paris, so it's a day for Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard to show exactly what they've got in the tank. For everyone else, it's damage limitation. A mountain classic: Cols de Tourmalet, Aspin and Peyresourde, plus the pull up to the ski station, where winners include Federico Bahamontes, Greg LeMond, Hinault and Robert Millar. Four big passes make this a decisive day in the mountains prize with a ton of points on offer; the stage winner will probably be a climber who's not figuring overall. Enric Mas of Spain might fit that bill, or the Austrian Felix Gall. In the past, the organisers would have left this as a flattish transition stage with a bunch sprint at the end. In the made-for-TV 21st-century Tour, this gets a detour into Le Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc with a couple of meaty climbs midway through to liven things up. It's a day for the breakaway artists, who will know that their opportunities are running out: why not the demon descender Matej Mohoric or the Welsh wizard Stevie Williams? Rest day, Monday July 21 Moonscape, Tom Simpson, Giant of Provence, wheel out those evergreen lines for the nastiest climb of the Tour so far. The stage is pretty flat as far as Bédoin at the foot of the Bald Mountain, but then it's uphill for 22 baking or windswept kilometres. A potentially decisive day for the overall contenders. Pogacar and Vingegaard will make the race here, and UAE v Visma could be a battle worthy of the backdrop. Potentially a bunch sprint, the last of the Tour, but teams with a sprinter who can climb – think Intermarché with Girmay for example – will try and burn off the slightly heavier brethren such as Merlier on the drag to the Col de Pertuis after 66km, particularly if the green jersey is in play; here's a chance to gain valuable points. It will all hang on wind direction, morale and the peloton's dwindling reserves of strength. The first of two monstrous Alpine stages, including three super-category passes: the Glandon, Madeleine and the 27km haul up the Col de la Loze to the finish. The script in recent Tours has been for the overall contenders to fight so hard in the biggest mountain stages that the breaks get scooped up before the finish. No reason to expect today to be the exception, so Pogacar or Vingegaard are safe bets for the win. Short and brutal, but with only two super-category climbs and they aren't quite as horrific as the day before's. The race could well have been decided the day before, in which case the favourites will give a break a lot of headroom, and watch each other to the finish to consolidate what they have. That makes this the final chance for climbers such as Australian Ben O'Connor and Ireland's Ed Dunbar. The puncheurs and breakaway specialists will have been waiting for five days with this one on their minds. The battle for the early break will be intense and the fight for the stage could be epic. As well as our old friends Cort and Healy, this will appeal to about half the peloton, wily one-day specialists such as Alberto Bettiol of Italy or the Dane Mattias Skjelmose. Paradoxically, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Tour finish on the Champs, it's all change: three laps of the Champs circuit, then three times up the Butte Montmartre. If the overall standings are tight this could be a cliffhanger. It's 46 years since a Tour winner won a road-race stage into Paris but don't rule out Pogacar for a final flourish; if not the Slovene, a Classics specialist such as Van der Poel.
The Independent
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Simon Yates conquers his demons to stunningly snatch Giro d'Italia glory on penultimate day
Simon Yates stands to win the Giro d'Italia after putting to bed his personal demons on the Colle delle Finestre with a stunning solo attack that put him in pink after the penultimate stage. On the mountain where his dreams of Giro victory were shattered by Chris Froome 's famous solo breakaway in 2018, Yates turned the tables with a masterclass of his own as his rivals were left to question their own tactics. The 32-year-old Lancastrian rode away from Isaac del Toro and Richard Carapaz on the brutal gradients and the gravel to turn an 81-second deficit and third place into pink and a three minute, 56-second lead over Del Toro, and can now celebrate his second Grand Tour crown in Rome on Sunday. That it happened on the Finestre made it all the more special for Yates. 'I think when the route of the parcours was released, I always had in the back of my mind to try and do something here and close the chapter, let's say,' he said. 'I'm just still a bit speechless that I was able to do it. 'I felt good, the whole race I did, but I never had the right moment to show what I could do and I found the opportunity today. I was trying to get away from Richard and Isaac because I knew when I could race at my own pace, I'd be really strong – and that's what I managed to do. 'The whole team have been fantastic the entire race, and without Wout (Van Aert) in the valley and the rest of the team the entire day, it wouldn't have been possible. 'Maybe I was looking relaxed this morning, but I had doubts I could do it. The guys encouraged me and believed in me, so thanks to them. 'It's unbelievable, I'm trying to find the words now, but words are failing me – sorry.' Australian Chris Harper took the stage 20 win from a breakaway in Sestriere but all eyes were further down the road as Yates blew the race apart with surely his finest day on a bike, shedding tears after the finish line. Carapaz and his EF Education-EasyPost team had been lining up an attack at the foot of the feared Finestre – the 18km climb which averages 9.2 per cent, with the final third ridden on gravel – and duly launched it almost as soon as the road went up. As UAE Team Emirates' Del Toro followed, Yates was initially distanced but was merely biding his time as he soon set off in pursuit, catching the pair and then launching his own attacks, opening up a gap with the fourth and riding clear, still with more than 40km of the 205km stage remaining. Carapaz tried to respond but could not, while the 21-year-old Del Toro, spending an 11th day in the pink jersey, simply stuck the Ecuadorian's wheel, refusing to take a turn until it proved to be too late. Yates crossed the summit of the climb, above the snow line and in the clouds, more than 90 seconds ahead of them, already the virtual leader of the race. That gap only grew on the descent as he hooked up with Visma-Lease a Bike team-mate Wout Van Aert and the pair behind accepted defeat, allowing the gap to balloon on the approach to the final climb into Sestriere. With Sunday's final stage in Rome one for the sprinters, Yates stands ready to celebrate his second Grand Tour victory following his win in the 2018 Vuelta a Espana. He will be the third Briton to win the Giro after Froome in 2018 and Tao Geohegan Hart in 2020.
