PONTARLIER, France (26 July 2025) — The morning air in Nantua crackled with anticipation as 160 riders prepared for Stage 20, a 175-kilometer journey through the Jura Mountains to Pontarlier. With the general classification largely settled and only two stages remaining, this was the day for opportunists, attackers, and those still hunting their moment of Tour de France glory.

A Huge Battle for the Breakaway

The race exploded into action the moment the flag dropped at 12:17, with a ferocious battle that raged for over 60 kilometers before any semblance of order emerged. “Today was full gas racing, especially during the first hour – up and down, left and right, under heavy rain,” Tadej Pogačar later described the chaotic opening. “It was pretty dangerous and even the Yellow Jersey could have been at risk at some point.”

Kasper Asgreen of EF Education-EasyPost fired the opening salvo, immediately establishing himself at the front as rain began to fall across the peloton. The Danish rouleur knew these roads intimately, having pulled off a masterful breakaway victory in Bourg-en-Bresse during stage 18 of the 2023 Tour, just 30 kilometers west of today’s start in Nantua. His experience showed as he drove hard through the early kilometers, but the nervous energy in the bunch meant every attack met fierce counter-attacks.

EF Education-EasyPost had clearly identified this stage as a major opportunity. Ben Healy, the Irish climber who had already tasted stage victory earlier in this Tour, launched attack after attack in support of his team’s ambitions. “I spent a lot of this Tour helping Ben [Healy] and I knew last night that today would be one of my chances,” Harry Sweeny later explained about his team’s tactical approach.

Wave after wave of attacks crashed against the front of the peloton. Wout van Aert tried his luck, Julian Alaphilippe surged repeatedly, and riders from across the classification spectrum threw everything into gaining those precious early meters of freedom. Tim Wellens, the former mountains jersey wearer, featured prominently in the action, while young guns and veterans alike sensed opportunity in the chaotic opening hour.

Finally, at kilometer 65, after 60 minutes of relentless combat, the decisive move crystallized. Harry Sweeny, Asgreen’s EF teammate, managed to bridge across to a promising trio of Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels). Nine more chasers successfully made the junction in the chaos that followed, forming a formidable 13-man breakaway.

The final composition read like a perfect blend of climbing specialists, tactical nous, and raw ambition: Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal-Quick Step), local hero Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), the versatile Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), veteran Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana), French climber Jordan Jegat (Total Energies), Frank van den Broek (Picnic-PostNL), and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech).

Sweeny Tries His Luck

Behind the newly formed breakaway, Mauro Schmid of Jayco-AlUla found himself with a crucial responsibility. Jordan Jegat’s presence among the escapees posed a direct threat to Ben O’Connor’s 10th place in the overall standings, with just 4’08” separating the two riders. The Swiss national champion took to the front of the peloton, his distinctive jersey visible as he began the delicate task of controlling the gap.

The chase wasn’t without drama. Around kilometer 65, both Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) found themselves momentarily distanced from the main group, their Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale teammates immediately mobilizing to bring them back. The situation eventually stabilized, but it highlighted the nervous energy still crackling through the peloton.

Schmid’s task became more complicated at kilometer 71 when he crashed on a slippery section of road. The Swiss rider quickly remounted, but the incident briefly disrupted the chase effort. Despite this setback, he regained control and managed to stabilize the gap at 2’30” as the race approached the day’s main challenge: the fearsome Côte de Thésy.

The climb immediately shattered the breakaway’s unity. Jordan Jegat launched a fierce acceleration as soon as the road pitched upward through the 3.6 kilometers averaging 8.9%. The French climber’s attack immediately put pressure on his companions, but Harry Sweeny proved equal to the challenge, grinding his way back to the TotalEnergies rider as they approached the summit.

“When Jegat went on the climb, I thought that he would be very strong but I got to him and he didn’t really have anything to go with,” Sweeny later reflected on this crucial moment. “I sort of knew at that moment it was probably the wrong move.”

At the top of Côte de Thésy, with 54 kilometers remaining to the finish in Pontarlier, Sweeny made his decisive move. The EF Education-EasyPost rider, sensing his moment, dropped Jegat and went solo into the descent. Within minutes, he had opened a gap of 40 seconds to his former breakaway companions, his rainbow bands of Australian national champion clearly visible as he carved through the twisting descent.

For several kilometers, Sweeny’s solo effort looked like it might stick. The Australian maintained his advantage through the technical descent and onto the flatter roads leading toward the final climb. “I did everything that I could to try and make it work,” he later said about his bold move. But cycling’s eternal truth—that one rider rarely beats many for long—began to assert itself. Behind him, the remnants of the breakaway had regrouped and worked systematically to reel him in.

The catch came as the race hit the bottom of the Côte de Longeville, the day’s final categorized climb sitting just 24.1 kilometers from the finish. Ten riders came back together in a dramatic regrouping, though the earlier pace had cost them three casualties: Costiou, Wellens, and Jorgenson had fallen behind and now fought a losing battle to rejoin.

A Dramatic Finale

The Côte de Longeville, despite its modest category 4 classification, proved to be the stage’s decisive battlefield. The racing became increasingly aggressive as the regrouped leaders hit the 2.5-kilometer climb averaging 5.5%. Over the summit, just six riders emerged clear: local hero Romain Grégoire, Ivan Romeo, Simone Velasco, Kaden Groves, Jake Stewart, and Frank van den Broek.

The sense of opportunity felt palpable as this elite group crested the climb with just over 20 kilometers remaining. Grégoire, riding on home roads with thousands of supporters lining the route, immediately accelerated on the technical descent. The Groupama-FDJ rider had waited all day for this moment, and the roar from the crowd reached deafening levels as he opened a small gap.

But the others weren’t finished. Ivan Romeo, the Spanish climber, sensed his own opportunity and launched a counter-attack in pursuit of Grégoire. For a brief moment, it looked like the Movistar rider might bridge across and form a winning duo. Then disaster struck.

With 22 kilometers to go, Romeo hit a slippery corner at speed and went down hard. The crash looked spectacular and immediately ended his stage hopes. Worse still, the incident caught both Grégoire and Velasco in its aftermath, forcing all three riders to scramble back to their feet as precious seconds ticked away.

Through the chaos, three riders had kept their composure and their momentum: Kaden Groves, Jake Stewart, and Frank van den Broek. The trio quickly established themselves at the front as their rivals dealt with the crash aftermath, but the real racing had just begun.

“After the crash [with 22 km to go], there was gap, and Van den Broek went full. I closed that,” Groves later described the pivotal moment. “And then him and Stewart look at each other.”

With 16.5 kilometers to go, the psychological battle began. Stewart and van den Broek, both experienced professionals, began the familiar dance of marking each other. Each rider knew the other was dangerous, each waited for the other to make the first move. Neither wanted to lead out a sprint for the other’s benefit.

“In the finale, I knew Jorgenson and Wellens would look each other so I distanced myself from them,” Groves explained his tactical thinking. The Australian had watched and learned all day, and now he saw his moment. While his two companions continued their tactical standoff, Groves simply rode away.

“I went full for the last 16 km,” he said of his winning move.

The Solo Masterpiece

What followed ranked as one of the most impressive solo performances of the 2025 Tour de France. Groves, drawing on the accumulated experience of six Vuelta stage wins and two Giro victories, began building an advantage that would only grow. Behind him, van den Broek finally realized the danger and began a desperate chase, but the damage was already done.

Stewart, perhaps realizing his tactical error too late, also gave chase, but he was already out of contention for victory. Van den Broek’s pursuit proved valiant but ultimately futile—the gap continued to grow with each passing kilometer as Groves displayed a masterclass in time trialing.

“I didn’t enjoy the final kilometres as much as I would like to,” Groves admitted about the pressure of his solo effort. “I’ve never been in this situation before and with the noise of the crowds, it was quite difficult to hear in the radio. I knew I had about 30, 40 seconds and I just wanted to go to the finish line as quick as possible.”

The final 16 kilometers became a procession toward history. Groves maintained a pace that his pursuers simply couldn’t match, his advantage growing from seconds to nearly a minute. As he entered the final five kilometers, the emotion of the moment began to show on his face. This wasn’t just any stage win—this was his first Tour de France victory, the final piece in a Grand Tour puzzle that would make him only the 114th rider in cycling history to win stages at all three Grand Tours.

Meanwhile, behind the leaders, Pascal Eenkhoorn had ridden a quiet but effective race. The Soudal-Quick Step rider had managed to distance himself from the crash-affected group and steadily made up ground on the fading Stewart.

Emotional Victory

Kaden Groves crossed the line in Pontarlier with arms raised high, tears streaming down his face as the magnitude of his achievement hit home. “Winning in all three Grand Tours is a dream of every rider, and especially in the Tour,” he said through his emotions after the finish. “It’s also my first solo victory, and to do it in the Tour makes it even more special. It’s so many emotions.”

The victory capped a challenging season for the Australian. “It’s been an up and down year, missing the Classics, and that’s why bouncing back in the Giro was super important for me,” he reflected on his path to this moment.

Frank van den Broek rolled in 54 seconds later, his second place a just reward for the strongest chase of the day. Pascal Eenkhoorn claimed the final podium spot at 59 seconds, having timed his effort perfectly to overhaul the fading Jake Stewart in the final kilometers.

For Harry Sweeny, the day ended in disappointment despite his brave solo effort. “I have to say I am very disappointed,” he admitted. “In the end, it’s not what I wanted. If it had been the right moment, with the right rider, then that move would have worked. You never know until you try.”

But the EF rider showed his class in defeat, celebrating his friend’s success: “Kaden [Groves] is one of my best mates so I think tomorrow night in Paris is gonna be good fun. You could see the emotion, Kaden had tears in his eyes crossing the finish line and it’s the opposite for me…”

Despite the disappointment, Sweeny remained philosophical about his Tour performance: “This Tour, I’ve showed people a lot of what I’m capable, but it leaves me hungry for more, for sure.”

Romain Grégoire, the local hero who had animated the finale before his crash, had to settle for fifth place on his home roads—a bitter disappointment but still a result that showcased his fighting spirit. The peloton eventually crossed the line with a gap of over seven minutes, having conceded the stage early in the proceedings.

Team Success and Gratitude

For Alpecin-Deceuninck, Groves’ victory represented perfect tactical flexibility. “I came here to support Jasper [Philipsen] and then we lose him, so we shifted focus to Mathieu [van der Poel],” Groves explained the team’s evolving strategy throughout the Tour. “We had some incredible success at the start of the Tour and the team gave me the opportunity to win a third stage with a third rider, which is something unique also.”

The gratitude in his voice was unmistakable: “I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to start the Tour and now I repay them with a win.”

Championship Implications

In the overall standings, Jordan Jegat’s brave ride paid unexpected dividends. The TotalEnergies climber’s presence in the early break and strong finishing kick were enough to leapfrog Ben O’Connor into 10th place overall—a significant achievement for both rider and team.

For the main classification contenders, the stage passed without major incident. Tadej Pogačar maintained his commanding lead, though he remained cautious about claiming victory prematurely. “I am more or less sure of my overall victory, but I still don’t want to say anything about it,” the Slovenian said. “I want to stay focused, along with my team, until I have crossed the last finish line in Paris.”

Florian Lipowitz successfully defended his third place overall and white jersey, describing the day as “a big relief” after expecting “a super hard day.” The German already looked ahead with some concern: “I don’t know how it will be tomorrow but it will be a hard day. I don’t expect it to be a sprint, there will be fireworks on the climb.”

Looking to Paris

As the Tour prepared for its traditional finale on the Champs-Élysées, the green jersey competition remained tantalizingly close to resolution. Jonathan Milan, despite holding a commanding lead, showed the superstition common among athletes: “Call me superstitious, but I prefer to wait until tomorrow before saying that I have won the green jersey.”

The Italian sprinter savored the moment: “This has been a big goal since the beginning of the year, both for me and for my team. I want the achievement to sink in slowly. These last few days have been beautiful for me. I have actually enjoyed them.”

Pogačar, meanwhile, already looked forward to the spectacle of racing through Paris: “It is always a pleasure to ride in such a big, beautiful city like Paris is. That’s one of the most beautiful parts of this sport. We are 180 guys who spend weeks riding in the mountains and in the end, all of a sudden, we come to the streets of one of the biggest cities in the world.”

However, he warned that the final stage might not follow the traditional script: “I am unsure of how the final stage will pan out. It won’t be a Classic, because we come after 20 stages and the course is relatively short, and that will make for a rather punchy effort. We will make plans depending on how we feel after entering the final circuit and assessing the risks we may take. We have guys like me or Jhonatan Narvaez who can go for the win.”

The Perfect Stage

Stage 20 provided the perfect reminder of why the Tour de France captivates millions worldwide. From the hour-long battle for the breakaway in the opening kilometers to Groves’ emotional victory in Pontarlier, it showcased everything that makes cycling’s greatest race so compelling: tactical warfare, individual brilliance, heartbreak, triumph, and the pure unpredictability that keeps fans on the edge of their seats.

For Groves, as he prepared to celebrate his achievement, the words said it all: “I’m gonna celebrate this one and enjoy the Champs Élysées tomorrow.” It was a perfect ending to a perfect day—cycling at its finest, with a worthy winner whose tears of joy embodied everything the Tour de France represents.

For the Tour de France, another chapter had been written in its rich history of unforgettable stage victories, one that would be remembered not just for the tactical brilliance of the racing, but for the raw emotion of a dream finally realized.

By the Numbers

114: WINNER IN ALL THREE GRAND TOURS!
Winning a Tour de France stage for the first time, Kaden Groves becomes the 114th rider to have raises his arms in all three Grand Tours. The Australian has won seven Vuelta stages, two Giro stages, and one Tour stage. The 113th to join this list was Tim Wellens thanks to his victory in Carcassone six days ago.

4: ANOTHER “NEO” WINNER
After Jonathan Milan (stages 8 and 17), Thymen Arensman (stages 14 and 19), and Valentin Paret-Peintre (stage 16), Kaden Groves is the 4th Tour newcomer to win this year. Four “neo” becoming Tour winners, like in 2023 (Jai Hindley, Carlos Rodriguez, Félix Gall, Jordi Meeus). He is the 863rd rider to win a Tour stage.

2002: TWO DUTCHMEN ON THE PODIUM
The Dutch riders Frank Van den Broek (2nd) and Pascal Eenkhoorn (3rd) both achieved their 2nd Tour stage podiums. Frank finished 2nd in Rimini last year, Pascal 2nd in Bourg-en-Bresse in 2023. This is the first time there have been two Dutch riders in the top-3 since Plouay 2002, 23 years ago, and the hat-trick of Karsten Kroon, Servais Knaven, and Erik Dekker!

40: AUSTRALIA WINS, AGAIN!
Kaden Groves gives Australia its 40th victory, two days after Ben O’Connor’s triumph at the Col de la Loze. Two wins in three days, a first since 2006, when Robbie McEwen won in Esch-sur-Alzette (July 3), Saint-Quentin (July 5), and Vitré (July 7). The last Tour with two Australian victories was the 2022 edition (Simon Clarke in Arenberg; Michael Matthews in Mende).

14: A NEW WINNER FOR ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK
Alpecin-Deceuninck claimed its 14th Tour victory, but Kaden Groves is only the 4th different rider to lead the team to victory. He joins a list that includes Jasper Philipsen (10 wins with the team), Mathieu van der Poel (2), and Tim Merlier (1). This is the 3rd Alpecin-Deceuninck victory in this Tour – and with 3 different riders – after stages 1 (Philipsen) and 2 (van der Poel).

3: BRAVE AUSTRALIANS
Present in the breakaway and leading the Côte de Thésy, the toughest climb of the stage (category 2), Harry Sweeny received his first combativity award. He’s the third Australian to do it after his compatriots Michael Storer (stage 15) and Ben O’Connor (stage 18). It makes Australia the second country with the most combativity awards, behind France (9).

3: POLKA-DOT JERSEY FOR POGAČAR
There are only 5 points left for the moutains classification. Leader Tadej Pogačar has a 13-point lead over second-place Jonas Vingegaard. By reaching the finish line tomorrow, the Slovenian will win his 3rd polka dot jersey after 2020 and 2021, as many as Eddy Merckx and Julio Jimenez. Richard Virenque (7), Federico Bahamontes (6), and Lucien Van Impe (6) are the only riders to have won this classification more than three times.

80: GREEN JERSEY SECURED FOR MILAN
With an 80-point lead over Tadej Pogacar and 70 points remaining tomorrow, Jonathan Milan is mathematically guaranteed to win the points classification. The Italian still needs to cross the finish line on Sunday to confirm his first green jersey triumph. He would be the 7th different winner in the last seven years (2019-2025), a streak not seen since 2006-2012. Milan can become the first “néo” to win the points classification since Peter Sagan in 2012.

Stage 20 Results

1. 1. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – 4h06’09”
   2. Frank van den Broek (Team Picnic PostNL) – +54″
   3. Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step) – +59″
   4. Santiago Velasco (XDS Astana Team) – +1’04”
   5. Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) – +1’04”
   6. Jake Stewart (Israel – Premier Tech) – +1’04”
   7. Julien Jegat (TotalEnergies) – +1’04”
   8. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – +1’04”
   9. Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) – +1’04”
   10. Harry Sweeny (EF Education-EasyPost) – +1’04”

General Classification After Stage 20

1. 1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 73h54’59”
   2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +4’24”
   3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +11’09”
   4. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – +12’12”
   5. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) – +17’12”
   6. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – +20’14”
   7. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – +22’35”
   8. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +25’30”
   9. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) – +28’02”
   10. Julien Jegat (TotalEnergies) – +32’42”

Jersey Leaders after Stage 20

• • Yellow Jersey (Overall Leader) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • Green Jersey (Points Classification) – Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
  • Polka Dot Jersey (King Of The Mountains) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • White Jersey (Best Young Rider) – Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

LA PLAGNE, France (25 July 2025) — The mountains speak their own language through gradients and oxygen debt, through the rhythm of labored breathing and the percussion of carbon wheels against tarmac. On this penultimate day in the Alps, with the Tour’s final act awaiting in Paris, the peloton faces one last reckoning with the high places that have defined this race since its inception.

Stage 19 of the Tour de France 2025 should have been a ceremonial procession, the final mountain test before the yellow jersey procession to the Champs-Élysées. Instead, it becomes a theater of dreams and records, where a Dutch climber named Thymen Arensman etches his name into Tour folklore with a performance that defies logic and rewrites the script of what seems inevitable. But perhaps more significantly, it becomes the stage where Jonas Vingegaard finally answers the question that haunts him since last year’s defeat: can he still match Tadej Pogačar in the mountains?

The answer comes in the final sprint to the line, where the Dane reaches 34.3 km/h to edge the Slovenian by mere inches—breaking a nine-stage mountain losing streak that stretches back to their last meaningful confrontation. For Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), wearing the polka-dot jersey in deference to Pogačar’s (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) yellow, it represents a psychological victory worth far more than the two seconds he gains.

The Quiet Before the Storm

The morning air in Albertville carries the weight of expectation and the promise of Alpine drama. This storied city, which has become a regular fixture in the Tour’s Alpine odyssey, prepares to witness its sixth peloton departure in less than a decade. The ghosts of cycling’s past linger in the mountain air—Pierre Rolland’s triumph in 2012, Romain Bardet’s coup in 2016, Geraint Thomas’s yellow jersey seizure in 2018, and most memorably, the 2022 stage to the Granon where Vingegaard first dethrones Pogačar.

Nature intervenes before the riders even clip in. A course change reduces the stage from its original 129.9 kilometers to a compact but venomous 93.1 kilometers, concentrating the day’s drama into a tighter window. The 161-man peloton will roll through Beaufort before rejoining the original route toward La Plagne, where the final HC climb of the 2025 Tour awaits like a sleeping giant.

At 14:30, the peloton begins their 5.4-kilometer neutral parade through the streets of Albertville, a city that will soon fade into memory as the mountains rise ahead. Local hero Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost), born in this very town, carries the hopes of French cycling on his shoulders. His aggressive racing style, witnessed just yesterday and during the Critérium du Dauphiné’s passage through these same roads, promises fireworks from the opening kilometers.

The stage profile appears deceptively benign on paper—just 93.1 kilometers through the heart of the Tarentaise Valley after the course change. But those familiar with Alpine racing know better. Three classified climbs await: the Col du Pré (12.6km at 7.7%), the Cormet de Roselend (5.9km at 6.3%), and finally, the hors catégorie beast of La Plagne (19.1km at 7.2%). With 45 King of the Mountains points available—20 each at the first and final climbs, plus five at the Cormet—the day’s mathematics heavily favor the pure climbers.

The jersey situation adds layers of intrigue to the unfolding drama. Pogačar enters the day in commanding yellow, his 4:26 advantage over Vingegaard seeming insurmountable with just three stages remaining. Yet the Slovenian’s dominance in the mountains classification—105 points to Vingegaard’s 89—means he starts wearing yellow while his Danish rival dons the polka dots, a visual reminder of the power dynamics that define this Tour.

In the points classification, Jonathan Milan’s (Lidl-Trek) sprint victory yesterday moves him to 332 points, extending his lead to 75 over the yellow jersey. The Italian’s Lidl-Trek team controls the early pace, their seven remaining riders forming a perfect train as the race officially begins at 14:45.

The truncated distance only sharpens the stakes. With less road to work with, every move will carry amplified consequence, every hesitation potentially decisive.

The Early Choreography

As ritual dictates in this Tour, Lidl-Trek assumes their familiar position at the front of the bunch, shepherding the green jersey of Jonathan Milan toward the intermediate sprint at Villard-sur-Doron. The first 12 kilometers to Villard-sur-Doron unfold at a civilized pace, the peloton content to let Lidl-Trek orchestrate the approach to the intermediate sprint. Quinn Simmons, Toms Skujiņš, Thibau Nys, and Jasper Stuyven (all Lidl-Trek) take turns at the front, their mechanical precision testifying to modern sprint train tactics. Behind them, Milan sits perfectly positioned, flanked by teammates Simone Consonni and Edward Theuns.

The sprint itself displays a masterclass in controlled aggression. Milan, resplendent in his emerald tunic, dominates with characteristic ease, claiming his seventh intermediate sprint victory of the Tour—a small but symbolic assertion of control in a race where such moments of certainty have become increasingly rare. Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) manages second, with Anthony Turgis (Total Energies) completing the podium. But Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) catches the eye, following the sprinters through and then continuing his acceleration beyond the line—the first hint that the day’s racing is about to ignite.

Alpine Overtures

The Col du Pré provides the stage’s first selective moment, its 7.2% gradient serving as an appetizer for the feast of suffering to come. The approach to the Col du Pré marks the Tour’s transition from valley roads to mountain warfare. As the gradient begins its inexorable rise, the peloton’s demeanor shifts perceptibly. Conversations cease, positions crystallize, and the distinctive sound of gear changes echoes through the ranks.

Abrahamsen’s early move displays textbook opportunism—a sprinter’s teammate seizing the moment when the pure climbers are still sizing each other up. The Norwegian’s solo effort carries him clear as the climb’s initial ramps sort the field, but seasoned observers know this is merely the opening gambit in a much larger game.

Behind him, the climb’s steeper pitches—reaching 10% in places—begin to reveal the day’s true protagonists. From the inevitable early skirmishes, two groups crystallize at the race’s sharp end, before distilling further into a trio that will define the day’s opening act. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), still smarting from yesterday’s losses on the Col de la Loze, becomes the first to show his hand. The Slovenian veteran’s acceleration with seven kilometers remaining to the summit proves surgical in its precision, immediately distancing all but the most committed climbers.

Only Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) can match Roglič’s initial surge. Martinez, in particular, seems motivated by the 20 King of the Mountains points on offer—valuable currency in his ongoing battle with Pogačar for the polka-dot classification. The Frenchman’s aggressive riding has already netted him ten summit victories in this Tour, including three hors catégorie climbs.

The three crest the Col du Pré in that order, Martinez claiming the symbolic first passage and maximum points, Roglič taking the remaining five for second place, and Paret-Peintre rounding out the podium. Their advantage over the yellow jersey group stands at a modest 55 seconds—close enough to maintain hope, far enough to avoid immediate recapture.

Behind them, Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) assumes domestique duties for Pogačar, the Belgian’s steady tempo ensuring no dangerous moves can develop. The yellow jersey himself looks supremely relaxed, chatting occasionally with teammates Jhonatan Narváez and Adam Yates while keeping a watchful eye on Vingegaard’s position.

The Visma-Lease a Bike leader, resplendent in polka dots that fall to him as the classification’s second-placed rider, rides with the contained aggression of a rider who knows his moment will come. Surrounded by teammates and sporting the mountain jersey with quiet dignity, Vingegaard presents a paradox—outwardly calm yet internally coiled for action.

The Accelerando

The Cormet de Roselend—that familiar giant of the Tour’s alpine arsenal—begins to impose its will on the race’s narrative. The Cormet de Roselend provides a brief interlude, its gentler gradients allowing Roglič to showcase the descending skills that once made him a ski jumping world champion. The Slovenian’s fearless approach to the rain-slicked switchbacks proves breathtaking—hitting 94.6 km/h on the steepest sections while maintaining perfect control. His average speed of 62 km/h on the descent speaks to decades of experience reading mountain roads in all conditions.

Martinez again tops the climb, extending his King of the Mountains points tally, but behind, the GC group rouses itself into action. Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) takes up the tempo-setting duties, his steady rhythm designed to shed Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), the Arkéa-B&B Hotels rider who fell behind on the Col du Pré.

The time gaps tell the story of a race beginning to fracture along predictable lines: the three leaders hold a 50-second advantage over the yellow jersey group, while Vauquelin trails by 1’50”, his hopes of stage glory already fading into the alpine air.

Yet even Roglič’s legendary bike handling cannot create the decisive gap needed for stage victory. Martinez and Paret-Peintre show equal commitment on the treacherous descent, their pursuit relentless despite the challenging conditions. By the time the trio reaches the valley floor, their lead stabilizes around the one-minute mark—significant enough to stay clear, but hardly insurmountable given the firepower lurking in the chase group.

Roglič, that master of tactical opportunism, senses the moment on the descent. The Slovenian, who has redefined what’s possible in his mid-thirties, drops his two companions on the technical downhill sections, his bike handling as precise as his tactical instincts.

The intermediate classifications tell the story of a race still in its infancy. At the Cormet de Roselend’s summit, Martinez extends his King of the Mountains points tally while Roglič adds to his collection. But with 20 points still available at La Plagne’s summit, the day’s major prize remains very much in play.

Behind them, the weather becomes a factor. Rain clouds gather ominously over the final climb, their dark presence adding an element of uncertainty to the tactical calculations. In mountain racing, weather can be the great equalizer—or the decisive factor that separates the truly great from the merely good.

The Final Gathering

By the time the race reaches the valley floor, the day’s story compresses into its essential elements. Paret-Peintre and Martinez, their early efforts spent, get swept up by the peloton with 32 kilometers remaining. Tim Wellens of UAE Team Emirates-XRG bridges across to Roglič, the Belgian all-rounder’s effort reducing the gap to nothing just as the road begins its final, decisive turn upward.

Ahead lie 19.1 kilometers of La Plagne, ascending at an average of 7.2%—the Tour’s final major summit, where careers can be made and dreams can die.

The Crucible of La Plagne

The sight of La Plagne’s lower slopes rising ahead like a concrete wall marks the day’s transition from chess match to full combat. This climb, with its reputation for breaking dreams and creating legends, hosts a Tour de France finish for the fifth time in the race’s history. The echoes of Laurent Fignon’s victories in 1984 and 1987 seem to whisper from every switchback, reminders of the climb’s capacity to crown champions and destroy pretenders.

The gradient of La Plagne exposes truth, and Roglič—that warrior of so many alpine battles—finds himself among the first casualties as the climb bites deep. His early distancing triggers an immediate response from Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, who sense opportunity for Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) to claim fifth place overall.

As the early breakaway hits the climb’s opening kilometers, the mathematics of mountain racing begin their inexorable work. The rain that threatens all afternoon finally begins to fall, transforming the already challenging climb into a treacherous test of nerve and skill. The roads become slick, the rocks more dangerous, and the margin for error vanishingly small. These conditions favor experience over youth, calculation over impulse.

Behind the leaders, the yellow jersey group assembles into its familiar formation. Wellens continues his metronomic pace-setting, his diesel engine perfectly calibrated to keep the race under control while preserving Pogačar’s energy for the decisive moments ahead. The Slovenian champion looks around frequently, his eyes constantly seeking Vingegaard’s position—a tell-tale sign that despite his commanding overall lead, he remains acutely aware of the threat posed by his greatest rival.

The early kilometers of La Plagne are deceptively gentle, their 5-6% gradients lulling riders into a false sense of security before the climb’s middle section ramps up toward double digits. Here, with 21 kilometers remaining to the finish, the day’s script begins to deviate from expectation.

With 14 kilometers of climbing remaining, the race’s ultimate protagonist finally makes his entrance. Tadej Pogačar, bearer of 51 maillots jaunes and architect of so many alpine masterpieces, launches an attack that shatters the group like glass hitting stone.

Only Jonas Vingegaard can match the Slovenian’s acceleration, the Dane’s wheel-sucking a testament to the tactical chess match that has defined their rivalry throughout this Tour. But they are not alone—Thymen Arensman has somehow bridged across, the Ineos Grenadiers climber positioning himself in the most rarified company imaginable.

The Master Stroke

Thymen Arensman spends the early part of the stage in complete anonymity, the Dutch climber content to ride in the wheels of the yellow jersey group while his more heralded teammates and rivals mark each other. This patience proves to be tactical genius of the highest order.

The Ineos Grenadiers rider possesses advantages that aren’t immediately apparent to casual observers. He understands the psychological burden that Pogačar and Vingegaard carry—the weight of their rivalry that makes them focus on each other rather than the wider tactical picture.

When Roglič’s breakaway finally gets reeled in with 21 kilometers to go, the stage appears to be setting up for the familiar two-man battle that has defined so many mountain stages in recent years. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) assumes pace-making duties, the Austrian’s fierce tempo stringing out what remains of the yellow jersey group and creating the perfect launching pad for attacks.

The Moment of Truth

What happens next defies conventional wisdom and challenges every assumption about the hierarchy of professional cycling. With 13 kilometers remaining, Arensman—the stage winner from Hautacam who has already exceeded every expectation of his Tour—makes a decision that borders on the absurd.

He attacks Pogačar and Vingegaard.

Arensman makes his move—not with the explosive acceleration that marks most successful breakaways, but with a subtle shift in rhythm that speaks to deep tactical intelligence. His increase in pace is almost imperceptible at first, but he sustains it in a way that immediately puts his rivals on the defensive.

The Dutchman’s acceleration is not the desperate flailing of an overreaching domestique, but a calculated gamble by a rider who has already tasted the impossible once before. Pogačar and Vingegaard both react, but their response is conditioned by months of marking each other. As they glance across to gauge their rival’s reaction, Arensman simply rides away from them. His knowledge of La Plagne’s every nuance allows him to accelerate precisely where the gradient favors sustained power over explosive speed.

Within 500 meters, the Dutchman opens a gap that proves to be the winning move. His timing is perfect—late enough to avoid a prolonged chase, early enough to build an insurmountable advantage. Most importantly, he correctly calculates that Pogačar and Vingegaard will be too focused on each other to mount an effective pursuit.

As he opens a gap on the two strongest riders in the world, the alpine air seems to thin with possibility.

Three kilometers later, the inevitable regrouping occurs. Pogačar and Vingegaard join with Gall, Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost). The mathematics of the chase seem simple: seven of the world’s finest climbers against one audacious Dutchman who holds a slender 30-second advantage.

A Duel for the Ages

What follows is perhaps the most psychologically charged mountain duel of the Tour. Behind Arensman, who steadily extends his advantage with each pedal stroke, Pogačar and Vingegaard find themselves locked in the kind of personal battle that transcends mere racing tactics.

For Pogačar, the situation represents a familiar scenario. The Slovenian has dominated mountain finishes so completely in recent years that he has grown accustomed to controlling the finale from positions of strength. His nine consecutive victories over Vingegaard in mountain stages have created an aura of invincibility that extends far beyond mere statistics.

Yet something is different today. Perhaps it is the polka-dot jersey adorning Vingegaard’s shoulders—a visual reminder that the Dane remains capable of challenging for mountain prizes. Perhaps it is the accumulated pressure of maintaining yellow jersey responsibilities while also defending his King of the Mountains lead. Whatever the cause, Pogačar’s usual air of supreme confidence seems fractionally diminished.

Vingegaard, conversely, rides with the desperate urgency of a rider who understands that opportunities for redemption are becoming increasingly rare. His relegation to second place in this Tour has been comprehensive, built on a foundation of superior climbing that had seemed unshakeable. Today represents perhaps his final chance to prove that the fire that carried him to two Tour victories still burns within.

As the kilometers tick by, their tactical dance becomes increasingly intricate. Pogačar surges slightly, testing Vingegaard’s response. The Dane matches him immediately, sometimes even taking the initiative with counter-attacks of his own. Neither can shake the other, but neither gains ground on Arensman, whose metronomic pace up ahead remains untroubled by their psychological warfare.

The supporting cast adds their own subplots to the unfolding drama. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), the young German who has impressed throughout the Tour, desperately tries to limit his losses to preserve his white jersey aspirations. His 11:01 deficit to Pogačar in the overall classification means he can afford little slippage, yet the pace being set by the race leaders begins to tell on his less experienced legs.

Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), the revelation of this Tour, also starts to feel the effects of his recent breakthrough. The young Briton gained 1:39 on yesterday’s stage to La Loze, moving to within 11:23 of the yellow jersey, but La Plagne’s relentless gradients test the limits of his still-developing mountain legs.

The Pressure Cooker

With five kilometers remaining, the race situation crystallizes into its essential elements. Arensman leads by 30 seconds, his advantage seeming stable as he maintains his devastating rhythm of 23 km/h on gradients that reduce many riders to survival mode. He has already been awarded the day’s combativity prize—a fitting recognition for the tactical masterpiece he is executing.

The gap fluctuates like a heartbeat in the thin air—30 seconds, then 25, then 20 as the final three kilometers approach. Behind Arensman, Onley begins to show the first signs of distress, his young legs finally succumbing to the accumulated fatigue of three weeks’ racing.

Behind him, the psychological tension between Pogačar and Vingegaard ratchets up another notch. Every glance, every subtle shift in position, every change in breathing pattern gets analyzed and interpreted. They are close enough to hear each other’s labored breathing, to see the strain in each other’s faces, to sense the mounting fatigue that even the world’s best climbers cannot entirely mask.

The supporting group gets whittled down to its essential components. Gall continues his pace-making duties, though his earlier efforts begin to show. Lipowitz hangs on grimly, knowing that every second lost here will be almost impossible to regain, defending his white jersey and podium position. Onley, too, fights to stay connected, his youthful enthusiasm battling against the accumulated fatigue of three weeks of racing.

The weather continues to play its part, the rain making every corner treacherous and every pedal stroke a calculated risk. These conditions test more than just physical strength—they demand complete mental focus and unwavering commitment to the racing line.

The Final Gambit

The decisive moment arrives with two kilometers remaining. Here Pogačar finally abandons his patient approach and unleashes the kind of acceleration that has become his trademark. The attack is smooth, powerful, and seemingly effortless—the hallmark of a rider operating at the very peak of his abilities.

Lipowitz, sensing the moment, accelerates. The German’s move brings Arensman into view, the gap closing with each meter of altitude gained. The stage victory that seemed impossible suddenly becomes tangibly within reach of the chase group.

For once, however, Vingegaard is ready. The Dane’s response is immediate and comprehensive, matching Pogačar’s surge with an acceleration of his own that speaks to months of preparation for exactly this moment. For the first time in their recent encounters, it is Pogačar who looks around with concern rather than confidence.

The psychological shift is subtle but unmistakable. Vingegaard, carrying the weight of nine consecutive mountain defeats, finally finds the form that once made him cycling’s most feared climber. His positioning is perfect, his breathing controlled, his pedal stroke fluid despite the enormous power he generates.

Behind them, the casualties begin to mount. Lipowitz, despite his best efforts, can no longer sustain the pace. His acceleration with 2.5 kilometers to go is brave but ultimately futile, the young German’s inexperience showing as he overextends himself when patience would serve him better.

Onley, too, finally succumbs to the accumulated strain. The Briton’s brave effort throughout the Tour has been one of the race’s most compelling storylines, but La Plagne’s merciless gradients finally find his breaking point. With two kilometers to go, he drops from the leading group, his dreams of a stage victory dissolving into the Alpine mist. The young Briton finishes 47 seconds behind Arensman—his struggles giving Lipowitz valuable breathing room in the young rider classification.

The Moment of Truth

But Arensman has found something beyond physical capability—a zone where suffering becomes transcendent, where the body’s limitations dissolve into pure will. Ahead of the drama unfolding behind him, Arensman can sense victory approaching. His intimate knowledge of La Plagne’s final kilometers tells him exactly what remains: one final ramp of maximum gradient, followed by a slight easing before the finish line. He has calculated his effort perfectly, maintaining just enough in reserve for one final acceleration when it will matter most.

The gap to his pursuers stabilizes at 15 seconds—close enough to maintain pressure, far enough to offer genuine hope of victory. His average speed of 23 km/h for the entire climb represents a performance of exceptional quality, achieved in conditions that would break lesser riders.

As the red kite marking the final kilometer appears, he maintains his advantage, the gap hovering at 20 seconds as if suspended by invisible threads. As the gradient kicks up to its maximum in the final kilometer—reaching 12% in places—Arensman finds that elusive extra gear that separates stage winners from also-rans. His acceleration is subtle but decisive, stretching his advantage back toward the 20-second mark that will guarantee victory.

Behind him, Vingegaard and Pogačar lock themselves in their own private world. The Dane positions himself perfectly for the final sprint, his bike handling in the treacherous conditions flawless despite the intensity of his effort. Pogačar, for his part, seems to calculate his options—whether to risk everything on one final acceleration or to accept that today will not be his day.

Triumph and Redemption

In those final moments, with La Plagne’s crowds creating a corridor of sound and color, Thymen Arensman holds off the inevitable. The finish line at La Plagne approaches through swirling mist and the roar of thousands of spectators who have braved the Alpine weather to witness cycling history. Arensman, arms raised in triumph, crosses first with the kind of victory that defines careers. His time for the final climb—19 minutes and 1 second—will stand as one of the finest performances in the mountain’s storied history. He crosses the line with arms raised, his face a mask of exhaustion and disbelief.

Two seconds later, the moment that cycling has waited for finally arrives. Vingegaard, summoning every ounce of the form that once made him cycling’s greatest champion, outsprints Pogačar in the final meters. His speed of 34.3 km/h in the final sprint testifies to the reserves of power he has maintained despite the brutal pace—just two seconds ahead of Vingegaard and Pogačar, who cross together in a sprint that seems almost anticlimactic after the drama that preceded it, yet carries profound psychological weight.

The psychological implications are immediate and profound. After nine consecutive mountain defeats, Vingegaard has finally proven he can still match Pogačar when it matters most. The margin is tiny—just two seconds—but the symbolism is enormous. The balance of power in cycling’s greatest rivalry has shifted, if only slightly, back toward equilibrium.

Pogačar, gracious in defeat despite his evident disappointment, crosses the line two seconds behind his greatest rival. His overall lead remains commanding at 4:26, and his yellow jersey seems secure with just two stages remaining. Yet the flicker of vulnerability he shows in the final kilometers will not go unnoticed by his rivals or the cycling world at large.

Lipowitz salvages fourth place, his deficit of six seconds to the stage winner representing a creditable performance given the circumstances. His white jersey remains secure, though Onley’s struggles have given him valuable breathing room in the young rider classification.

The Aftermath

In the immediate aftermath of his triumph, Arensman’s words capture the magnitude of what he has achieved:

“I’m absolutely destroyed. I can’t believe it. To win one stage from the breakaway was already unbelievable. But now, to do it against the GC group, against the strongest riders in the world, it feels like I’m dreaming. I don’t know what I just did.”

The tactical genesis of his attack reveals itself in the post-race interview: “After the descent towards La Plagne, I was talking on the radio, Tobias [Foss] was there, and I spoke with our DS Zak [Dempster]. I thought today is the last mountain stage. I’m not riding for GC, but I’ll try to hang on, see how the legs feel in the first kilometres of the climb. I told Tobias to swing off: ‘Tomorrow is your day, and I’ll see what I can do here.'”

His tactical gamble was born of desperation and opportunity in equal measure: “Since I’m not in the GC, I figured maybe they’ll look at each other. I just try, I just don’t take no as an answer. Tadej [Pogačar] and Jonas [Vingegaard] are the strongest in the world, almost aliens, and I’m human. I can’t believe I beat them today.”

The mental fortitude required for such an audacious move becomes clear in his description of the final kilometers: “I tried to not look behind, to go as fast as I could. I did and it was enough. This is just crazy.”

His triumph becomes all the more remarkable by the adversity he has overcome in recent weeks: “I got sick in the last week of the Giro. Somebody crashed into me and my knee was hurting. I still got to Rome but I had better hopes. To then go to the Tour and take two stage wins is just crazy.”

Behind him, Lipowitz successfully defends his white jersey and podium position, his tactical acumen evident in his race analysis: “I knew after yesterday Oscar [Onley] is very strong and I had to keep his wheel. I think I managed things quite well today. Of course, on the last climb, I was thinking a lot. You never know how your legs are in the end but I felt quite okay and when I saw him dropping, I gave everything. I’m super happy with today.”

The German’s emotional response captures the magnitude of racing at cycling’s highest level: “It’s unbelievable [to wear the white jersey and be in the GC top 3] but I expect another hard day tomorrow, with a lot of ups and downs. Everyone will try to join the breakaway so we still need to be focused. Today was amazing. It was incredible to see so many fans cheering for me, to see my name painted on the road. I never saw that. I had goosebumps during the race.”

The Yellow Jersey Milestone

For Pogačar, the day brings both triumph and tactical reflection. His 52nd day in yellow ties Jacques Anquetil’s historic record and secures his place in the Tour’s top five for most days leading the overall standings. Yet his post-race analysis reveals the complexity of racing at the sport’s pinnacle:

“We did a very good job until the last climb. Then some riders thought they could sprint all 19 kilometres of the climb and set a super high pace from the bottom. I attacked as soon as Decathlon stopped pulling, but it was a bit too early. I thought Jonas [Vingegaard] may have wanted to win the stage as I did, but he was just following my wheel.”

His tactical decision not to follow Arensman’s attack proves costly but perhaps inevitable: “When Arensman attacked, I decided not to follow and set a defensive rhythm I felt comfortable with. Nobody else contributed to the chase, and Arensman was too strong for my comfort pace. We came close to overtaking him, but we didn’t and he deserved this win.”

The physical toll of the chase becomes evident in his description of the final kilometers: “I was pulling and counting down the kilometres left to Paris. I had to pull for nearly the whole climb, and came quite tired to the finish line.”

The fatigue of leading the Tour for nearly two months is evident in his words: “It was a tough last three days and I’m happy that today is over. The Tour de France has begun to feel very long. With this weather today, and the ceremony after… I just want to go to the bus and take a good, hot shower. This is the Tour de France, and you never know what might come your way. We have to keep our focus for two more days.”

The Broader Picture

As the riders recover in the finish area, the day’s broader implications begin to crystallize. Arensman’s victory builds on tactical intelligence of the highest order—patient positioning, perfect timing, and intimate course knowledge combine to create one of the Tour’s most impressive stage wins. His performance serves as a reminder that in mountain racing, cerebral approach can triumph over pure power.

For Vingegaard, the psychological victory is perhaps more valuable than the stage podium. His ability to match and ultimately beat Pogačar in a mountain sprint demonstrates that reports of his decline have been greatly exaggerated. The confidence gained from this performance could prove invaluable in future encounters.

Pogačar’s defeat, meanwhile, is hardly catastrophic. His yellow jersey remains secure, his overall advantage commanding, and his reputation intact. Yet the aura of invincibility that has surrounded his mountain performances fractures, creating doubt where none had existed before.

In the King of the Mountains classification, Pogačar’s dominance continues despite his stage defeat. His 105 points remain well clear of Vingegaard’s 89, with Martinez third on 97 points after his early break success. The polka-dot jersey will return to Pogačar tomorrow, though Vingegaard’s brief tenure has been symbolically important.

The points classification sees Milan extend his advantage, his early sprint points proving valuable as the Tour enters its final stages. With 332 points to Pogačar’s 257, the Italian’s green jersey appears all but secure barring catastrophe.

Historical Echoes

As the Tour prepares to leave La Plagne and continue its march toward Paris, the echoes of cycling history seem to whisper from every switchback. This climb, which has witnessed Fignon’s dominance in the 1980s and created legends across five previous Tour finishes, adds another chapter to its storied legacy.

Arensman’s victory will be remembered not just for its tactical brilliance, but for the way it has been achieved—through patience, intelligence, and perfect execution rather than brute force. In an era dominated by power meters and scientific training, his triumph reminds us that bike racing remains fundamentally about reading situations and seizing moments.

The duel between Vingegaard and Pogačar, meanwhile, adds another layer to cycling’s greatest modern rivalry. Their battle transcends mere competition, representing a clash of contrasting philosophies and approaches to the sport’s ultimate prize.

The Eternal Return

As the last riders cross the line at La Plagne and the mountains begin their descent into evening shadow, Stage 19 of the 2025 Tour de France takes its place in the race’s vast mythology. Arensman’s double triumph—Hautacam and now La Plagne—represents something pure in a sport often complicated by tactics and calculation: the victory of audacity over convention, of dreams over probability.

With just two stages remaining, the 2025 Tour enters its final act. But on this day, in these mountains that have witnessed a century of cycling’s greatest stories, Thymen Arensman adds his own chapter to the legend. The last dance at La Plagne belongs to a Dutchman who dares to dream beyond his station and finds, in that rarified air, that even aliens can be human when the mountains call the tune.

In the thin air of the French Alps, where legends forge and yellow jerseys change hands, multiple narratives converge into one transcendent moment. Arensman’s tactical masterpiece, Vingegaard’s psychological redemption, and Pogačar’s rare moment of vulnerability combine to create the kind of stage that defines Tours and lives in memory long after the final podium ceremony in Paris.

The mathematics of the race remain largely unchanged—Pogačar’s yellow jersey secure, Milan’s green jersey all but guaranteed, Lipowitz’s white jersey defended with German efficiency. Yet the psychological landscape shifts in ways that cannot be quantified by time gaps or points classifications. The aura of inevitability that surrounded this Tour’s final week shatters under a Dutchman’s audacious gamble and a Dane’s moment of redemption.

As the Tour caravan prepares to depart La Plagne for the final time, the mountain’s slopes bear witness to one eternal truth: that in cycling, as in life, it is not always the strongest who prevail, but those who dare to dream when the moment demands courage over calculation. The last dance at La Plagne reminds the cycling world why the mountains remain the Tour’s ultimate theater—unpredictable, unforgiving, and utterly unforgettable.

By the Numbers

2: DUTCH CLIMBERS’ NEW STAR
Winner in Superbagnères six days ago, Thymen Arensman raises his arms for the 2nd time and gives the Netherlands its 170th Tour victory. He is the first Dutchman to win two mountain stages since Peter Winnen, who triumphed at L’Alpe d’Huez in 1981 and 1983, over 40 years ago!

1981: NEOS GOING PAST ONE
Two riders, Jonathan Milan and Thymen Arensman, scored 2 stage wins in their first Tour. Not a common sight: the last time it happened was in 1981, with both Ad Wijnands and Daniel Willems scoring 2 stage wins at their first participation. Before Milan and Arensman, the last “neo” to win two Tour stages was Tadej Pogačar in 2020.

6/12: A HALF… MORE THAN A HALF
Thymen Arensman 1st (2 wins), Tadej Pogačar 3rd (4), Ben Healy 8th (1), Valentin Paret-Peintre 9th (1), Simon Yates 10th (1), Ben O’Connor 12th (1): half of the top-12 riders have won more than half of the stages contested (10 out of 19)!

52: POGAČAR LIKE ANQUETIL
Tadej Pogačar still leads the general classification and equals Jacques Anquetil as the 5th rider with the most Yellow Jerseys (52). His next target is Christopher Froome (59).

2000: GALL FOR AUSTRIA
Félix Gall reaches 5th place in the general classification, the best ever achieved by this rider, who is finishing his third Tour de France (8th and stage winner in 2023). He has never done as well in a Grand Tour, his references being a 6th place in the Vuelta (2022, stages 4-5) and a 18th place in the Giro (2024, stage 1). He is the first Austrian to be in the top 5 of the Tour de France since Peter Luttenberger, who was 5th after stages 10 and 11 in… 2000!

6: JOHANNESSEN IS MAKING HISTORY
Moving from 7th to 6th overall, Tobias Johannessen improves a result that would be historic for Norway. A Norwegian has never finished in the top 10 of the Tour, the highest ranking being Jostein Wilmann’s 14th place in 1980.

10: VINGEGAARD BEATS POGAČAR. FINALLY!
Tadej Pogačar had beaten Jonas Vingegaard in the last 10 mountain stages. Even if it wasn’t for today’s victory, the Dane (2nd) ended this streak by finally beating the Slovenian (3rd) in La Plagne. It hadn’t happened since the 11th stage of the Tour 2024, won by Vingegaard in Le Lioran.

63: ONE MINUTE FOR THE PODIUM
63 seconds (or 1’03”) separate Florian Lipowitz (3rd) and Oscar Onley (4th) in the general classification. The battle for the podium – which is also the battle for the white jersey – has not been this tight after 19 stages since the Tour 2019. Geraint Thomas was then 3rd, 12 seconds ahead of Steven Kruijswijk.

3: LOSER OF THE DAY
Attacking in the first part of the stage, Primož Roglič finished 27th, 12’39” behind the winner. The Slovenian had not finished so far since Mende 2022 (113th, +24’23”). He lost 3 places, slipping from 5th to 8th overall behind Kévin Vauquelin. 8th would be his worst result in a “finished” Grand Tour since 2017 (38th in the Tour de France, with a stage victory in Serre Chevalier). During this period, he won 5 Grand Tours, finished on the podium in three others… but also abandoned five times.

11: MARTINEZ’S EFFORTS WERE NOT ENOUGH
First at the summit of the Col du Pré, and then the Cormet de Roselend, Lenny Martinez has conquered 11 climbs in this Tour. It’s the highest number, far ahead of Tadej Pogačar (5), who dominates the mountains classification. The Frenchman is mathematically no longer in contention for the polka dot jersey: he is 20 points behind, with 14 remaining.

Stage 19 Results

1. 1. Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) – 2h46’06”
   2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +2″
   3. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – +2″
   4. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +6″
   5. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – +47″
   6. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) – +1’34”
   7. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – +1’41”
   8. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) – +2’19”
   9. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) – +3’47”
   10. Simon Yates (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +3’54”

General Classification After Stage 19

1. 1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 69h41’46”
   2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +4’24”
   3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +11’09”
   4. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – +12’12”
   5. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) – +17’12”
   6. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – +20’14”
   7. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – +22’35”
   8. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +25’30”
   9. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) – +28’02”
   10. Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) – +34’34”

Jersey Leaders after Stage 19

• • Yellow Jersey (Overall Leader) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • Green Jersey (Points Classification) – Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
  • Polka Dot Jersey (King Of The Mountains) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • White Jersey (Best Young Rider) – Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

On cycling’s most feared ascent, Ben O’Connor exorcised demons while Pogačar faced his greatest nightmare—and both emerged transformed

COURCHEVEL, France (24 July 2025) — The morning mist clung to the valley floor like a shroud as 162 riders assembled in Vif, their breath forming small clouds in the Alpine air that would soon thin to nothing. Above them, invisible behind gray clouds, the Col de la Loze waited—a 2,304-meter colossus that had twice witnessed Tadej Pogačar’s rare moments of mortal frailty. The devil has many faces on the Col de la Loze, and the yellow jersey knew them all.

At this altitude, La Loze stands as the highest summit in this edition, making it the Souvenir Henri Desgrange—a special prize named after the iconic creator of the race, who took riders over 2,500 meters as early as 1911 at the Col du Galibier. La Loze might be slightly lower, but its irregular slopes have already carved themselves into cycling legend through just two previous appearances in the Tour de France—both times serving as the theater for the Slovenian’s most profound suffering. In 2023, on these very slopes, Pogačar uttered the words that haunt him still: “I’m gone, I’m dead,” as Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) inflicted a five-minute defeat that all but sealed the Tour. It remains the most striking defeat Pogačar suffers in his otherwise dominant Tour history.

As Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Cyril Barthe (Groupama-FDJ) withdraw from the race due to injuries sustained in yesterday’s crash, 162 riders now remain to face Stage 18 of the 2025 Tour de France—the queen stage with three hors catégorie climbs packed into 174 kilometers with a staggering 5,450 meters of elevation gain, the highest single-day total of the race. The weather forecast reads like a climber’s nightmare: overcast skies bleeding into intermittent rain, with thunderstorms predicted for the final ascent. At the summit, temperatures will plummet from the valley’s deceptive 23°C to a bone-chilling 10°C. Epic weather for a stage that promises to rewrite the race’s narrative.

But this edition explores a slightly different side of the devil’s playground—26.4 kilometers at 6.5% average gradient, with gradients above 10% on several stretches, compared to the more brutal Méribel approach used in 2023. The yellow jersey’s demons await, but this time, it will be another man entirely who dances with the devil and emerges victorious.

The Mathematical Certainty of Green

The morning began with mathematical certainty disguised as competitive theater. At precisely 12:20, after a ceremonial 4.6-kilometer parade through streets lined with anticipation, the real race began. The opening 30 kilometers unfolded with deceptive tranquility, Lidl-Trek orchestrating a controlled 50 km/h tempo to protect Jonathan Milan’s commanding 72-point lead in the green jersey competition. Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek), and the indefatigable Milan himself took turns at the front, their blue, red, and yellow jerseys cutting through the peloton like sharks through still water.

The large contingent of Lidl-Trek riders at the front of the peloton had sent an unmistakable message to any potential attackers: the green jersey was very interested in the points at the intermediate sprint at kilometer 23, and no one was foolish enough to challenge him. At the intermediate sprint in Rioupéroux, Milan fulfilled his first mission of the day with ruthless efficiency, claiming another 20 points—his sixth such victory of the Tour. Behind him, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Anthony Turgis (Total Direct Énergie) completed the podium, but the mathematics were already cruel.

Milan’s advantage over Pogačar stretches to 92 points—a margin that renders the points classification all but decided with only 180 points remaining until Paris. The Italian powerhouse transforms what was once cycling’s most unpredictable competition into a procession of inevitability. The green jersey, it seems, finds its owner.

But as the riders pass through Vizille—hometown of the late Thierry Claveyrolat, “L’Aigle de Vizille,” whose own Tour dreams ended in tragedy—the race’s true character begins to emerge. The road tilts upward, imperceptibly at first, then with growing malevolence. The battle to form the day’s breakaway begins immediately after the sprint, and everyone understands that whoever makes the right move now will be riding for glory eight hours later on the Loze’s unforgiving slopes.

The Glandon’s Cruel Arithmetic

Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) fired the opening salvo, his acceleration at kilometer 34 splitting the peloton like an axe through kindling. The Belgian’s attack drew immediate responses: Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), that master of calculated aggression, launched the first serious acceleration, followed by Wellens. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) bridged across to join the initial move, but it was the names that followed that transformed a typical early break into something more dangerous.

After numerous attacks and counter-attacks that shred the peloton’s composure, two distinct groups emerge on the 21.7-kilometer ascent to the Col du Glandon. At the front, a formidable 15-rider selection forms: Wellens, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla), Raúl García Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Will Barta, Gregor Mühlberger, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Felix Gall, Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Michael Woods, and Alexey Lutsenko (Israel Premier Tech). Michael Storer (Tudor) drops due to a mechanical issue, his Tour dreams derailed by the cruel randomness that defines cycling’s grandest stage.

The American Jorgenson, still smarting from a difficult second week, sees redemption in the breakaway. Martinez, the 21-year-old Frenchman tied with Pogačar on 60 King of the Mountains points, understands that today might be his last chance to claim the polka dots outright. Arensman, the quiet Dutchman whose steady consistency goes unnoticed, senses opportunity in the chaos.

In pursuit at 30 seconds halfway up the climb, a chase group featuring Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility), Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Cristian Rodríguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Enric Mas, Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Jordan Jegat (Total Energies), and Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) fights desperately to bridge the gap that could determine their entire Tour.

By the base of the Col du Glandon—at a deceptively moderate 5.1% gradient—the fifteen leaders forge clear, their gap to the yellow jersey group hovering at a dangerous 1’50”. Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), that most reliable of domestiques, maintains tempo for his leader Pogačar, but the controlled expression on the Slovenian’s face betrays nothing of his intentions.

The Glandon’s opening kilometers pass in relative harmony, but climbing at over 25 km/h leaves no room for weakness. Will Barta (Bahrain Victorious) cracks first, his American dreams evaporating in the thin air. Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech), the Canadian who harbors stage ambitions, finds himself distanced as Bruno Armirail drives the pace with metronomic precision.

Lenny Martinez manages to take the 20 points at the summit, claiming the crucial King of the Mountains points—his 25.5 km/h ascent on the 21.7-kilometer climb (5.1% gradient) earning him crucial markers in his duel with Pogačar, a small but significant blow to the yellow jersey’s hopes of claiming the polka-dot jersey. Behind him, Arensman collects 15 points, Jorgenson 12, with Mühlberger earning 10 points and Armirail 8 to complete the top five. The peloton trails by 1’50″—close enough to maintain control, far enough to allow the drama to unfold naturally on the climbs ahead.

For O’Connor, the Glandon becomes a revelation and a torment in equal measure. “I tried a lot,” he reflects later, “but it came back and I was feeling in the box.” The Australian sees Felix Gall and Roglič make their moves and thinks simply: “Just do it, get yourself there.” But cycling’s cruelest lesson is that effort alone guarantees nothing—sometimes the harder you try, the deeper you sink into the quicksand of your own limitations.

Visma Changes the Script on the Madeleine

On the descent from the Glandon, Jorgenson and Arensman break clear, their technical skills and tactical awareness opening a dangerous gap over their former companions. The Jorgenson-Arensman duo descends at over 62 km/h to escape the breakaway, their move seeming audacious, perhaps foolhardy—but it proves prescient.

The Col de la Madeleine—19.2 kilometers at 7.9%—announces itself with typical Alpine brutality. Here, where the gradient bites deeper and the air grows thin, cycling’s harsh arithmetic plays out without sentiment. But the configuration changes again on the approach to the 29th ascent to Col de la Madeleine in Tour history (the last rider to go first at the summit was Richard Carapaz in 2020), where Martinez—the young Frenchman who starts the day tied with Pogačar for the mountains classification lead—finds himself no longer in contention.

Enric Mas (Movistar), the Spanish climber who enters the Tour with podium ambitions, tries to attack early in the stage but drops rapidly, lasting barely three kilometers before abandoning the race entirely. His Movistar teammate Pablo Castrillo follows soon after, their Spanish dreams dissolving in the mountain mist. At the front of the race, the breakaway begins to fracture under the Madeleine’s relentless pressure.

Some 11 kilometers from the Madeleine’s summit, the Jorgenson-Arensman duo gets reeled in by a regrouped chase featuring Roglič, O’Connor, Rubio, Gall, Armirail, and Alex Baudin (EF Education-EasyPost). Their advantage swells to 2’30” over the peloton, but behind them, Visma-Lease a Bike prepares to change the entire complexion of the race—preparing Vingegaard’s attack.

With 72 kilometers still remaining to the Col de la Loze—an eternity in Tour de France terms—Vingegaard launches an attack 5 kilometers from the Madeleine summit that splits the race like lightning through dark clouds. The shake-up becomes radical, with only Pogačar remaining on the Dane’s wheel. The move’s violence proves immediate and devastating—suddenly, the two protagonists of cycling’s greatest rivalry find themselves isolated together, chasing down a breakaway that no longer seems so dangerous at all.

The shake-up becomes radical in its simplicity: where once there exists tactical complexity, now there is only the pure arithmetic of power and will. The leading duo in the general classification catches up with the rest of the breakaway 4 kilometers from the Col de la Madeleine and finishes the climb with this group, their arrival transforming what has been a stage-hunting expedition into something far more significant.

Vingegaard’s pace up the 19.2-kilometer climb (7.9% gradient) at an average speed of 21 km/h becomes a statement of intent. When he goes first at the summit—collecting 20 precious points and the psychological advantage of leading Pogačar over a major climb, ahead of Pogačar (15 points), Jorgenson (12 points), Gall (10 points), and Roglič (8 points)—he merely joins the leaders rather than distances his greatest rival.

More ominously for Danish hopes, Pogačar matches every acceleration with apparent ease, his face betraying no sign of the suffering that etches itself into every other rider’s features. The Slovenian shows no signs of the distress that marked his 2023 capitulation. If anything, he appears to bide his time, waiting for the moment when the Col de la Loze will reveal its true character.

The Valley of Decision

Back in the valley between the Madeleine and the final ascent, the pace drops as both leaders wait for their teammates to rejoin them. This tactical lull proves costly—not for the protagonists themselves, but for their chances of controlling what happens next. Between the Madeleine and the final ascent lie 15 kilometers of deceptive terrain on the flat—rolling roads that appear benign but serve as cycling’s most ruthless sorting ground.

Here, where tactical acumen matters as much as raw power, Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) writes his name into Tour de France legend. The 29-year-old Australian, whose previous Grand Tour victories have each come via audacious long-range attacks, studies the group dynamics with the calculating gaze of a predator. O’Connor has won stages in all three Grand Tours: 17 kilometers solo to Tignes in the 2021 Tour, 28 kilometers alone to Yunquera in the 2024 Vuelta, 8 kilometers clear to Madonna di Campiglio in the 2020 Giro. His signature writes itself in kilometers of solitude, in the art of measuring suffering against the ticking clock.

With 41 kilometers remaining, O’Connor strikes. The Australian sets off as the pace drops in the valley, his acceleration not explosive but inexorable, the steady pressure of a man who understands his own limits and calculates the risk precisely. Jorgenson follows him, then Rubio joins them. The others look at each other, their hesitation fatal to their chances of maintaining control.

“On Glandon and then at the bottom of Madeleine, I was really close to pulling the pin,” O’Connor admits later. “But these are days that you have to be mentally resilient and trust yourself. I really needed self-belief today, from myself and from the team.”

Behind the three leaders, Lipowitz seizes the opportunity to return and attack with 34 kilometers remaining, his white jersey a blur of ambition against the alpine backdrop. The young German’s move creates yet another tactical situation ahead of the final ascent of the day, but by now the race fragments beyond anyone’s ability to control. race was fragmenting beyond anyone’s ability to control.

At the bottom of the Col de la Loze, the mathematics become stark: the three attackers lead by 1 minute over Lipowitz, while a strong group of chasers—with the likes of Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), and Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility)—get back to the Pogačar-Vingegaard group. They start the climb with a gap of 3’50” to the leaders—manageable for riders of their caliber, but only if O’Connor’s strength proves finite.

Into the Crucible of La Loze

The Col de la Loze via Courchevel presents a different challenge than its infamous Méribel incarnation. This marks the third time that the Tour de France visits the Col de la Loze, and the third different version of this colossal climb. In 2020, the Méribel slope was climbed (21.5 kilometers at 7.8%, with the final four kilometers a veritable wall, averaging around 10% and with gradients of 24%), while in 2025 it climbs via Courchevel. The 2023 climb (28.1 kilometers at 6%) mixed both slopes: riders climbed through Courchevel to Le Praz (1,258 meters above sea level) and then connected with the Méribel slope at Mussillon (1,378 meters above sea level) and finished with those final four kilometers of impossible ramps.

At 26.4 kilometers with an average gradient of 6.5%, but with sections above 10% that can shatter dreams in moments, this version proves less steep but longer—a sustained test of will that separates the merely talented from the truly great. As O’Connor begins the ascent, his gap to the chasers already at 45 seconds, the weather begins to deteriorate exactly as forecast. Gray clouds press down from above, and the first drops of rain begin to fall. The temperature plummets with each meter of elevation gained, transforming breath into vapor and making every gear change an act of faith.

O’Connor and Rubio dropped Jorgenson with 21 kilometers remaining, their collaboration suddenly transformed into a two-man pursuit of glory. But with 16 kilometers to the summit, O’Connor made the decision that would define his Tour de France. He went solo, his acceleration subtle but decisive, leaving Rubio to contemplate the cruel mathematics of professional cycling: sometimes, being very good simply isn’t good enough.

At that point, Lipowitz trails by 1’50”, while Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) drives the GC group with a gap of 3’05”. O’Connor, climbing at 22.5 km/h—a pace that breaks most professional cyclists—looks neither left nor right, his focus absolute. The Australian doesn’t look back while UAE Team Emirates-XRG takes control of the GC group with Jhonatan Narváez and then Adam Yates, whose pace prevents further attacks until the last kilometer.

Behind him, the chase disintegrates with brutal efficiency. Rubio, his earlier enthusiasm for the breakaway now a liability, cracks at 13 kilometers from the summit. Jorgenson, despite his evident class and the support of his Visma-Lease a Bike teammates below, cannot sustain O’Connor’s relentless rhythm.

By 10 kilometers from the finish, the Australian rides alone—a solitary figure ascending through the mist toward cycling immortality, his advantage growing with every pedal stroke. The mathematics become stark: O’Connor climbs at a pace that suggests he will finish the 65-kilometer solo effort—from his initial attack to the summit—in around 1 hour and 15 minutes. It represents a masterclass in pacing, a display of climbing prowess that belongs in cycling’s pantheon of great solo performances.

Behind them, the chase organizes with ominous efficiency, their deficit holding steady as UAE Team Emirates-XRG begins to mobilize their resources. First Narváez, then Adam Yates take up the pace-setting duties, their rhythm designed to prevent further attacks while gradually eroding O’Connor’s advantage.

For the Australian climbing alone through the Alpine air, the final kilometers become an exercise in controlled suffering. “Once Rubio was gone, I just didn’t want to be caught by the Yellow Jersey group in the final 5km,” he explains later. “When I heard it was still 3 minutes with 3 kilometres to go, it felt so good.”

The Champions’ Final Dance

Three minutes and 20 seconds behind O’Connor, in what remains of the general classification group, the real race for the Tour de France reaches its climax. Pogačar, showing the tactical maturity that defines his ascension to cycling’s summit, waits with the patience of a master. Vingegaard, desperate to claw back time before Paris, pushes the pace, but the Slovenian champion remains unmoved.

The group whittles down to its essential elements: Pogačar and his lieutenant Soler; Vingegaard with Kuss and Simon Yates working in support; Roglič, isolated but dangerous; Onley, the young Briton fighting for his first Tour podium; and a handful of others clinging to relevance by their fingernails. The gap to the group with Onley, as well as Michael Storer (Tudor) and the Yates brothers, stands at 1’50″—a reminder that even the most tactical of races can splinter into fragments when the mountains bite deep.

At 9 kilometers from the summit, Simon Yates cracks and gets distanced. Johannessen and Sepp Kuss follow, their Tour hopes evaporating in the thin air. Felix Gall, the 2023 stage winner on this very climb (who took off from the breakaway to take his maiden stage win in the Tour, ahead of Simon Yates and Pello Bilbao), finds himself fighting just to stay within a minute of the leaders and is about to suffer the same fate.

But it is with 5 kilometers remaining that Pogačar finally shows his hand. The acceleration becomes sudden, violent, and immediately decisive. Only Vingegaard can follow initially, the Dane’s face a mask of concentration and pain. Behind them, Onley responds gamely but clearly suffers, while Roglič—that master of late-race surges—finds himself with nothing left to give.

As the gradient steepens to 15% in the final three kilometers, cycling’s cruel hierarchy asserts itself with mathematical precision. O’Connor, still alone at the front, climbs through clouds now, his red and black Jayco AlUla jersey a beacon in the gathering gloom. His time splits show no signs of weakness—if anything, he climbs faster as the finish approaches, the psychological boost of certain victory propelling him toward his greatest triumph.

Behind him, cycling’s brutal hierarchy asserts itself with mathematical precision. Vingegaard tries again, but he cannot resist when Pogačar pounces in the final 500 meters—flying past Rubio to take second place. The Dane’s capitulation becomes total. Where once he could match Pogačar’s every acceleration, now he can only watch as the yellow jersey pulls away with what appears to be contemptuous ease. It represents the kind of moment that defines Tours de France—not the gap itself, but the manner of its creation, the visible breaking of a champion’s will.

The Slovenian faces his demons on the Col de la Loze and emerges not just unbroken, but strengthened.

The Summit’s Truth

At 17:24 local time, after 5 hours, 3 minutes, and 47 seconds of racing, Ben O’Connor crossed the line atop the Col de la Loze with his arms raised in triumph. At 2,304 meters above sea level, as storm clouds gathered around the highest point of the 2025 Tour de France, his margin of victory—1’45” over Pogačar, with Vingegaard another 9 seconds back—represented more than just a stage win. It was vindication for a career built on calculated risks and audacious solo efforts.

The Australian’s celebration was brief but heartfelt—a man who understood that such moments are rare and precious in cycling’s unforgiving arena. He had ridden the race of his life on the Tour’s hardest day, and the mountain had rewarded his audacity with immortality. His average speed of 22.5 km/h up the final climb on the 26.4-kilometer ascent (6.5% gradient), achieved while carrying the weight of a 65-kilometer solo effort, represented climbing of the highest order. It was his second Tour de France stage victory and arguably the finest performance of his career.

“It’s special to do it again here in the Tour de France,” O’Connor reflected, his voice thick with emotion and exhaustion. “The last time in Tignes was a complete shock but this time I got to enjoy much more. I had a super day today, I was finally back to being me after struggling for the past 17 days. My knee is absolutely screwed now, it’s really painful. It’s lingering there and it’s not going to stop until the end of the race. But to finally get it done… I chased that win on day 10, it was a lot of frustration when Simon [Yates] won. Having that moment today is absolutely massive. You always want another win at the Tour and you can’t get enough of these. I was afraid behind they would be dropping bombs and I would explode in the final kilometres. They closed the gap in the finale but I had enough. Once Rubio was gone, I just didn’t want to be caught by the Yellow Jersey group in the final 5km. When I heard it was still 3 minutes with 3 kilometres to go, it felt so good. On Glandon, I tried a lot, but it came back and I was feeling in the box. I saw Felix Gall and Primož Roglič go and I thought: ‘Just do it, get yourself there.’ On Glandon and then at the bottom of Madeleine, I was really close to pulling the pin but these are days that you have to be mentally resilient and trust yourself. I really needed self belief today, from myself and from the team.”

Pogačar followed 1 minute and 45 seconds later, close enough to Vingegaard—who trailed by another 9 seconds—to reclaim the lead in the mountains classification. The Slovenian’s performance had been masterful in its control: he had waited while others attacked, responded when necessary, and struck when it mattered most. His return to the polka-dot jersey was the cherry atop a comprehensive display of championship cycling. After climbing the Col de la Loze at 23.3 km/h, Pogačar took the opportunity to retake the lead in the mountains classification, dethroning Martinez.

For Pogačar, the stage represented a different kind of victory—the conquering of psychological demons that had haunted him since 2023. “To be honest, I wanted the stage win today but our clear priority was staying in the overall lead,” he explained with characteristic honesty. “This side of the Col de la Loze is easier than the one we did in 2023—that was much worse. Whenever we climb that side again, I’ll definitely go for the win. As for today, when Visma accelerated in the Madeleine I thought we may get a good shot to play for the stage. We were quite fast on the downhill, but then the group got super small and there was no cooperation whatsoever in the valley, so I waited for my teammates to come back and it took a long time. At the bottom of the climb, my guys started to pull and I was hoping we would bring the break back—yet Ben O’Connor was very strong and managed to defeat us. I’m happy I had good legs and kept the Yellow Jersey. It was difficult to make any difference today. I was a bit scared of this stage, but it turned out to be a beautiful day. I expect tomorrow to be another big day, similar to today. Visma will try everything, yet we are strong as a team and I hope we will survive so we can reach the Champs-Élysées in yellow on Sunday.”

But perhaps the day’s most significant development occurred in the battle for third place overall. Onley’s fourth-place finish, just 1’58” behind O’Connor, allowed him to gain 1’37” on Lipowitz, narrowing the gap for the final podium spot to a mere 22 seconds. Right behind them, Onley gained 1’37” on Lipowitz and narrowed the gap to the third place in the overall standings to just 22″. The young German, who had shown such promise earlier in the Tour, was left to confront the harsh reality of his limitations.

“The stage was super hard. I felt quite good and when I joined the group with Jonas [Vingegaard] and Tadej [Pogačar], they were looking at each other,” Lipowitz explained, his disappointment evident. “I tried to pace myself but I ran out of energy on the final climb. Onley and Johannessen were strong. Tomorrow will be another day. I hope I can recover well and then we go again. I gave my best today so I don’t think I can change anything. We have to see tomorrow. Primož [Roglič] also showed that he was strong. We’ll make a plan for tomorrow and then we’ll see what happens.”

Einer Rubio (Movistar) completed the top five at 2’00”, his early aggression earning a place in cycling history.

The Devil’s Due

In the thin air atop the Loze, as O’Connor savored his moment and Pogačar pulled on the polka-dot jersey once again, the race’s hierarchy had crystallized with brutal clarity. Lipowitz, the young German, had finished 3’37” behind O’Connor but retained his white jersey and third place in the overall standings, though his advantage over Onley had shrunk to a precarious 22 seconds—the battle for third place and the white jersey now extremely close.

The time cut, calculated at 31 minutes and 30 seconds after O’Connor’s victory, had been generous enough to keep 137 riders in the race—17 minutes and 7 seconds after O’Connor’s triumph marked the time since the finish for the last riders. But numbers told only part of the story—this had been the kind of stage that separates Tours de France from mere bike races, the kind of day that lives in cycling’s collective memory long after the statistics have been forgotten.

As the last riders crossed the line in the gathering dusk, the Col de la Loze had rendered its verdict with characteristic brutality. O’Connor had claimed his second Tour de France stage victory, matching his 2021 triumph at Tignes with another masterpiece of long-range attacking. His victory was a reminder that in cycling’s grandest theater, audacity and calculation can still triumph over pure power.

But it was also a footnote to a larger story—Pogačar’s psychological resurrection on the climb that had once broken him. The Slovenian’s lead over Vingegaard now stood at 4’26”, with only one mountain stage remaining before the ceremonial procession to Paris. Heading into the final mountain stage to La Plagne on Friday, the yellow jersey had emerged not just unbroken but strengthened. The demons of La Loze had been faced and conquered, not through domination, but through the quiet confidence of a champion who had learned to dance with the devil and lead the dance himself.

Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t—Pogačar had been marked for life by this ascent, but last week he had shown at Hautacam that he could turn the tables at venues that had seen him crumble. And while everyone considered he wanted to win at La Loze as well, he had insisted his main ambition was to keep the Maillot Jaune all the way to Paris for a historic fourth triumph. Unlike in 2023, when it had witnessed Pogačar’s greatest defeat, this time the mountain had confirmed his supremacy.

Tomorrow would bring La Plagne and one final chance for Vingegaard to overturn the inevitable. As for Vingegaard, he had said he was ready to do everything to regain supremacy in the Tour, but the sequence of HC climbs on stage 18—with the Col du Glandon and Col de la Madeleine ahead of La Loze—had given him the perfect terrain to dance with the devil, and still he had come up short.

But as the Alpine air grew thin and cold around the Col de la Loze’s summit, one truth had crystallized with brutal clarity: sometimes the greatest victories come not from winning, but from surviving the places where you once feared to tread.

The devil shows many faces on this July afternoon, but only one man faces them all and emerges with his dreams intact. For Tadej Pogačar, the road to Paris has never looked clearer—even as Ben O’Connor soars above the clouds, reminding the cycling world that greatness comes in many forms, and sometimes the most beautiful victories belong not to the inevitable champion, but to those brave enough to risk everything for a moment of transcendence.

The Australian eagle had soared magnificently, claiming the stage with a performance that belonged in cycling’s pantheon of great climbing displays. But the sun still belonged to Slovenia, and the road to Paris had never looked clearer for the man in yellow. The essential truth of this Tour de France—Pogačar’s inexorable march toward a third title—remained unshaken by even the most audacious of attacks.

By the Numbers

4: O’CONNOR LIKE VAN DER POEL AND MERLIER
Mathieu Van der Poel, Tim Merlier, and Ben O’Connor have one thing in common since today. All three won their first Tour stage in 2021, then had to wait 4 years before winning again. After the Dutchman and the Belgian a few days ago, the Australian raised his arms for the 2nd time in the race. He won in Tignes 4 years and 20 days ago.

4/5: FROM SPRINTERS TO CLIMBERS
Since Caleb Ewan won 5 Tour sprints in 2019/2020, Australians conquered 4 of their 5 wins in mountain stages: Ben O’Connor in Tignes 2021, Col de la Loze 2025; Michael Matthews in Mende, 2022; Jai Hindley in Laruns, 2023. The exception is Simon Clarke winning the cobbled stage in Arenberg, 2022.

9: POGAČAR ALWAYS AHEAD OF VINGEGAARD
Since his victory at Le Lioran last year, Jonas Vingegaard has not beaten Tadej Pogačar in the mountains. The Slovenian has finished ahead of the Dane in the last 9 mountain stages, often arriving one place ahead of his rival (8 out of 9 times).

22: SO TIGHT BETWEEN THE YOUNG RIDERS!
Florian Lipowitz saved his white jersey, but Oscar Onley stands only 22 seconds behind. This is the first time the young rider classification is so tight after 18 stages since the Tour 2006, 19 years ago! At the time, 5 seconds were separating Damiano Cunego and Markus Fothen.

750: THE END OF THE AUSTRALIAN DROUGHT
The Tour 2024 was the first without an Australian victory since 2018; it will not be the case in 2025. Ben O’Connor claimed Australia’s 39th victory, the first since Jai Hindley at Laruns in 2023, 750 days ago. The Australian drought hasn’t been this long since the 1,080 days separating the stages of Prato Nevoso 2008 (Simon Gerrans) and Mûr-de-Bretagne 2011 (Cadel Evans).

22: SPAIN LOSES TWO OUTSIDERS
Carlos Rodriguez and Enric Mas, respectively 10th and 18th in the general classification yesterday, have withdrawn. The former wasn’t at the start this morning, the latter abandoned during the stage. The leading Spaniard is now Cristian Rodriguez in 22nd place. A Tour without a Spaniard in the top 20? It would be a first in the 21st century.

23: POGAČAR LIKE HINAULT
Tadej Pogačar retains his polka-dot jersey thanks to his two 2nd-place finishes at the Col de la Madeleine and the Col de la Loze. This is his 23rd, equal to Bernard Hinault, whom he ties for 6th place among the riders with the most polka-dot jerseys. He will catch Lucho Herrera (5th, 26 times) if he keeps it until the end.

151: THE BIGGEST COLLECTION
Tadej Pogačar now has 151 Tour distinctive jerseys (51 Yellow Jerseys, 2 green jerseys, 23 polka-dot jerseys, 75 white jerseys). The Slovenian is the first to reach the 150-jersey mark. Among his contemporaries, he is ahead of Peter Sagan with 148 jerseys (4 Yellow Jerseys, 130 green jerseys, 14 white jerseys).

5,450: THE CLIMBERS’ KINGDOM
The 5,450 meters of elevation gain climbed today is the highest total for a Tour 2025 stage! This is due to the three HC climbs (Col du Glandon, Col de la Madeleine and Col de la Loze). This is the 14th time that a stage has included three HC climbs, the highest number ever achieved. The last time was on stage 12 of the Tour 2022 between Briançon and L’Alpe d’Huez.

2,304: HIGHER THAN HIS NATIONAL SUMMIT
The Col de la Loze stands at 2,304 meters, and never before has an Australian won this high in the Tour. By doing so, Ben O’Connor also triumphed at an altitude higher than his country’s highest point, Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 meters). This is only the second time an Australian has won at over 2,000 meters… and that was O’Connor’s first victory in Tignes in 2021 (2,089 meters)!

VALENCE, France (23 July 2025) — In the sweltering heat of the Rhône Valley, where the mistral winds carry whispers of autumn and the vineyards stretch toward distant Alps, cycling’s fastest men gathered for what many believed would be their final communion with glory in the 2025 Tour de France. Stage 17, a seemingly innocent 160.4-kilometer jaunt from Bollène to Valence, represented more than mere geography—it was the last altar upon which the sprinters could offer their prayers before the high mountains would claim the race’s soul.

The mathematics were stark, the arithmetic unforgiving. With Montmartre’s cobbled ascent lurking in the final stage like a malevolent specter over the Champs-Élysées, this sun-baked stretch through the Drôme department offered the peloton’s fastest finishers their ultimate reprieve. The Boulevard Franklin Roosevelt in Valence had witnessed the coronations of Mark Cavendish, Peter Sagan, and André Greipel in years past—only the Colombian “Chepe” González’s audacious breakaway victory in 1996 stood as testament to the boulevard’s occasional appetite for surprise.

The Gathering Storm

As the sun climbed over Bollène’s ancient ramparts, 164 riders assembled for what promised to be a day of reckoning. Missing from their ranks was Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), whose priorities had shifted overnight to life’s greater victory—the birth of his child mere hours before the stage began. In his absence, the sprint trains reshuffled their calculations, their chess pieces repositioned for the final gambit.

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and his devoted domestiques understood the weight of expectation pressing upon their shoulders. After three stage victories in the previous year’s Tour, the prospect of returning to Eritrea empty-handed gnawed at their collective conscience. The team’s tactical blueprint for Valence carried the desperation of the condemned and the precision of the converted.

Meanwhile, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) faced his own crucible. The Italian powerhouse, making his Tour debut with the swagger of youth and the hunger of the uninitiated, needed every available point to fortify his green jersey against the omnipresent threat of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates). For Milan, Valence represented not just opportunity but necessity—a chance to transform his maiden Tour from promising debut into legendary arrival.

Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) brought his own narrative to the boulevard. The Belgian speedster sought to extend the sunshine that had finally broken through the storm clouds surrounding his team, following Aurélien Paret-Peintre’s triumph on Mont Ventoux and the painful memory of Remco Evenepoel’s withdrawal. In cycling’s theater of dreams and nightmares, redemption often arrives wearing racing colors and spinning at 50 kilometers per hour.

The supporting cast read like a directory of speed: Australia’s Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Belgium’s Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Dstny) and Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Germany’s Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and Pascal Ackermann (Israel-Premier Tech), France’s Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels). Each carried dreams calibrated in watts per kilogram and measured in the milliseconds that separate glory from anonymity.

The Early Mathematics

The stage profile appeared deceptively benign—1,650 meters of elevation spread across 160.4 kilometers, with the final categorized climb, the Col de Tartaiguille, positioned more than 40 kilometers from the finish line. Yet in the Tour de France, topographical statistics merely provide the stage upon which tactical drama unfolds. The morning’s first act began predictably, with Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) launching himself into the void, seeking another chapter in his breakaway anthology.

Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) responded with the mechanical precision of a Swiss timepiece, his role clearly defined by directeur sportif’s pre-stage briefing: contain but do not suffocate, control but do not kill. At kilometer five, Abrahamsen had gathered accomplices—Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ), and Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Energies)—forming a quartet of ambition that would define the day’s early narrative.

The gap reached its zenith at 2’50” by kilometer 23, a margin that suggested the peloton’s sprint teams had calibrated their response with mathematical precision. Too close, and the break would wither; too distant, and panic would set in. The buffer represented cycling’s perpetual tension between risk and reward, between the known quantity of a bunch sprint and the chaotic variables of a long-range attack.

The Col du Pertuis Revelation

Racing’s truths often emerge on the climbs, and the Col du Pertuis (category 4, summit at kilometer 66.3) served as the stage’s first confessional. As Ineos Grenadiers applied pressure to the front of the peloton, reducing the breakaway’s advantage to a mere 35 seconds at the summit, the race’s dual narrative crystallized with stark clarity.

In the vanguard, attackers launched themselves with the desperation of the condemned, only to find Simmons playing the role of tactical executioner, neutralizing each surge with the efficiency of experience. Behind, a more dramatic subplot unfolded as the climb’s modest gradients proved sufficient to fracture the sprint field. Milan and Merlier, the day’s two most fancied finishers, found themselves hemorrhaging time, their support riders scrambling to orchestrate damage limitation.

Dylan Groenewegen (Team Jayco-AlUla) and Démare joined the growing group of dropped sprinters, their earlier confidence evaporating in the heat of competition. The sight of cycling’s fastest men struggling on what amounted to little more than a geographical speed bump served as reminder of the Tour’s unforgiving nature—even on stages designed for sprinters, survival precedes success.

The Resurrection

Yet cycling’s capacity for redemption often matches its appetite for destruction. By kilometer 85, through a combination of teamwork, determination, and the peloton’s natural elasticity, the dropped sprinters had clawed their way back to contention. Teams like Tudor (Alberto Dainese), Alpecin-Deceuninck (Groves), and Intermarché-Wanty (Girmay) had invested heavily in the recovery operation, their domestiques burning matches with the profligacy of the desperate.

The gap to the breakaway had been trimmed to 30 seconds, then allowed to expand again to 1’10” as the race entered its final 50 kilometers. This tactical breathing space provided the perfect prelude to the day’s final examination: the Col de Tartaiguille at kilometer 117.

Van Aert’s Gambit

As the peloton approached the day’s final climb, Wout van Aert (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) launched an attack that carried the hallmark of desperation disguised as inspiration. The Belgian powerhouse, seeking to salvage something from a Tour that had promised much but delivered frustration, bridged to within 25 seconds of the leaders before reality intervened.

Van Aert’s 12-kilometer solo effort represented cycling’s eternal optimism—the belief that individual brilliance can overcome collective strength. His eventual reabsorption by the peloton served as tactical punctuation, confirming that this day belonged to the sprinters and their carefully orchestrated machinery.

The Final Reckoning

As the race entered its final 12 kilometers, nature added its own dramatic flourish. Rain began to fall across the Rhône Valley, transforming road surfaces from predictable to treacherous, adding an element of chaos to what had been a carefully choreographed finale.

The sprint teams responded with increased urgency, their lead-out trains forming with military precision. Abrahamsen, the day’s final breakaway survivor, maintained his doomed resistance for another eight kilometers before the inevitable mathematics of the bunch sprint claimed their victim.

With four kilometers remaining, the Norwegian’s lonely adventure ended, and cycling’s fastest men began their final preparations for combat. The boulevard beckoned, its wide expanse promising both glory and heartbreak in equal measure.

Chaos and Triumph

The final kilometer delivered cycling’s cruelest irony—a crash that removed several key protagonists from contention just as victory appeared within reach. Eight riders emerged from the chaos to contest the stage victory, their numbers reduced by circumstance rather than selection.

 
In that moment, Milan proved why youth often trumps experience when combined with raw power and perfect positioning. The Italian’s sprint carried the authority of destiny, his second stage victory in his debut Tour confirming his transformation from promising newcomer to established star.

Meeus, the Belgian powerhouse, claimed second place ahead of Denmark’s Tobias Lund Andresen (Team Picnic PostNL), their podium positions representing both personal triumph and collective heartbreak for those caught behind the late crash.

The Aftermath

“I’m really happy, I’m without words I have to say,” Milan reflected after his victory celebration, his joy tempered by awareness of the chaos that had enabled his triumph. “I didn’t survive alone, I survived with the help of my teammates and I have to appreciate this. Without them, I would still be on one of the climbs, I wouldn’t be here!”

The Italian’s gratitude extended beyond mere politeness—it represented acknowledgment of cycling’s fundamental truth that individual victories emerge from collective effort. “They help me every single day and today was a really tough stage. We controlled from the beginning, of course with the help of other teams. Then my teammates helped me when I was dropped and they put a good pace on the second climb.”

For Milan, the victory carried additional significance in the context of the green jersey competition. “There’s a bit more of gap now in the points standings. I’m a bit more relaxed. I will keep fighting and trying to achieve as many points as I can.”

Meanwhile, race leader Pogačar navigated the stage’s dangers with the calculating patience of one who understands that Tours are won in the mountains, not on the boulevards. “It has been a fairly quiet day, but not an easy one as it was fast and there was some bad weather in the end,” the Slovenian reflected. “I’m happy that the stage is over and we all managed to stay safe. The goal is to keep the Yellow Jersey, and nothing else.”

His thoughts had already turned to the approaching high mountains, where his rivals would make their final desperate attempts to dethrone him. “As for tomorrow, we can expect Visma to try and go in the breakaway, and ride every climb full gas. Later, at the Col de la Loze, they will try everything they can to drop me. I’ll be ready for everything that may come my way.”

The Greater Narrative

As the sun set over Valence, casting long shadows across the Boulevard Franklin Roosevelt, the 2025 Tour de France’s penultimate sprint stage entered the record books as both ending and beginning. For the sprinters, it represented their final moment in the spotlight before the mountains would claim the race’s narrative. For Milan, it confirmed his emergence as a force in cycling’s fastest discipline.

But perhaps most significantly, it served as prelude to the Tour’s final act—the high mountain stages that would determine the race’s ultimate victor. As Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) noted, “Mountains are awaiting us now. Both stages 18 and 19 will be super hard. I expect Jonas [Vingegaard] and Visma to try something, and I’ll try to be up there with the best.”

The Tour de France’s eternal rhythm had reached another crescendo—speed giving way to suffering, tactics yielding to raw endurance, the boulevard surrendering to the mountaintop. In Valence, the sprinters had claimed their final kingdom. Tomorrow, the mountains would crown their own king.

For Pacher, who had animated the day’s early breakaway, the philosophical truth remained unchanged: “It’s good to show yourself, but you have to do it intelligently, with the aim of getting a result.” In cycling, as in life, the margin between glory and disappointment often measures no more than the width of a wheel, the duration of a heartbeat, the difference between being in the right place when fortune smiles and being caught behind when chaos strikes.

The road to Paris would continue, but the sprint era of the 2025 Tour de France had reached its conclusion on the sun-soaked streets of Valence, where Milan’s power had proven superior and cycling’s eternal drama had written another chapter in its infinite story.

The road to Paris would continue, but the sprint era of the 2025 Tour de France had reached its conclusion on the sun-soaked streets of Valence, where Milan’s power had proven superior and cycling’s eternal drama had written another chapter in its infinite story.

By the Numbers

2: MILAN MAKES IT TWO
Having already won in Laval (stage 8), Jonathan Milan claimed his 2nd Tour. He is the first Italian to win two stages in the same Tour since Vincenzo Nibali in 2014, 11 years ago (four wins and the Yellow Jersey). He is also the first “neo” to win twice since Tadej Pogačar in 2020 (three wins)

1997: PODIUM FOR THE LANTERNE ROUGE!
Jordi Meeus is the general classification’s lanterne rouge (164th and last ranked), but today he finished 2nd. It’s the first stage podium for the lanterne rouge since 1997, 28 years ago, when Philippe Gaumont finished 3rd in the Disneyland Paris time trial (stage 20).

50: YELLOW HERO
General classification leader Tadej Pogačar collects his 50th Yellow Jersey. He is the 6th rider to reach this total after Eddy Merckx (111), Bernard Hinault (79), Miguel Indurain (60), Chris Froome (59), and Jacques Anquetil (52), whom he can overtake by the finish of the Tour 2025. At 26 years and 305 days, Pogačar is the 2nd youngest rider to have 50 Yellow Jerseys, behind Merckx (26 years and 20 days when he did so in 1971). Including the 20 pink jerseys from the Giro 2024, this is his 70th Grand Tour leader’s jersey.

22: YOUNGEST EVER FOR DENMARK
Tobias Lund Andresen (3rd) is the first Dane under 23 to finish on a stage podium. The Team Picnic PostNL rider, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday on August 20, beats the record of his compatriot Jesper Skibby, who finished 3rd at Futuroscope in 1987 (10th stage) at 23 years, 3 months, and 19 days.

3/6: ITALY, LOVELY ITALY
With Jonathan Milan (1st), Davide Ballerini (5th), and Alberto Dainese (6th), Italy has placed 3 riders in the top-6 for the first time since the 17th stage of the Tour 2014, which finished in Saint-Lary-Soulan (Giovanni Visconti 2nd, Vincenzo Nibali 3rd, Alessandro De Marchi 5th)

9: FRENCH FIGHTER
In the breakaway for 147 kilometers, Quentin Pacher was awarded his 3rd combativity prize after Carcassonne 2021 (stage 13) and Villeneuve-sur-Lot 2024 (stage 12). This is the 9th time a French rider has been awarded the prize this year (Mattéo Vercher x2, Bruno Armirail x2, Lenny Martinez x2, Ewen Costiou, Mathieu Burgaudeau, Quentin Pacher). France has not been so honored since the Tour 2008 (10 combativity prizes)

72: GREEN GIANT
Jonathan Milan’s 72-point lead over his runner-up in the points classification (Tadej Pogačar) represents the biggest gap between first and second place since the start of the Tour. The last two winners in Valence, Peter Sagan (2018) and Mark Cavendish (2021), then kept the green jersey until Paris. A good sign for the Italian?

8: THE PELOTON’S MOST ADVENTUROUS RIDER?
29 riders have won an intermediate sprint since Jonas Abrahamsen’s Tour debut in 2023. Frequently present in breakaways, the Norwegian has won the most of these sprints: 8, including today’s in Roche-Saint-Secret-Béconne! Following him are Bryan Coquard, Jonathan Milan, and Mads Pedersen, winners of 5 intermediate sprints since 2023.

24: FROM RECORD TO RECORD
Yesterday’s stage podium (Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ben Healy, Santiago Buitrago) was the youngest of the Tour 2025, with an average age of 25 years and 30 days. This record was beaten by today’s top-3 (Jonathan Milan, Jordi Meeus, Tobias Lund Andresen), who have an average age of 24 years and 346 days.

9: WHEN WILL DE LIE’S TIME COME?
Fourth today, Arnaud De Lie finished in the top-5 of a stage for the 9th time since joining the Tour in 2024, and the 4th time this year. The Belgian is still chasing his first victory, his best result being a 3rd-place finish on three previous occasions.

Stage 17 Results

1. 1. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) – 3h25’30”
   2. Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +0″
   3. Tobias Lund Andresen (Team Picnic PostNL) – +0″
   4. Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) – +0″
   5. Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana Team) – +0″
   6. Alberto Dainese (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – +0″
   7. Paul Penhoët (Groupama-FDJ) – +0″
   8. Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS Astana Team) – +0″
   9. Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ) – +0″
   10. Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) – +0″

General Classification After Stage 17

1. 1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) – 61h50’16”
   2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) – +4’15”
   3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +9’03”
   4. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – +11’04”
   5. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – +11’42”
   6. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – +13’20”
   7. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) – +14’50”
   8. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – +17’01”
   9. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) – +17’52”
   10. Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) – +20’45”

Jersey Leaders after Stage 17

• • Yellow Jersey (Overall Leader) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • Green Jersey (Points Classification) – Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
  • Polka Dot Jersey (King Of The Mountains) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • White Jersey (Best Young Rider) – Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)

MONT VENTOUX, France (22 July 2025) – In the cathedral of cycling suffering that is Mont Ventoux, where legends are forged and dreams are shattered against the white limestone ramparts, it was the smallest man who stood tallest. Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step), all sinew and determination, carved his name into the immortal mythology of the Giant of Provence with a victory that crackled with the electricity of pure French passion.

The numbers tell only part of the story: 15.7 kilometers at 8.8% gradient, 165 riders departing Montpellier under the Mediterranean sun, one pneumonia-stricken Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) absent from his team’s ranks. But statistics cannot capture the poetry of what unfolded on these sacred slopes, where five Frenchmen have now tasted glory and where the 2025 Tour de France’s first victory for the host nation bloomed like a desert flower.

The Storm Before the Calm

From the gun, the peloton writhed like a serpent sensing danger ahead. Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), the last man to conquer Ventoux in Tour colors back in 2021, fired the opening salvo—a reminder that reputation carries weight in the currency of cycling warfare. Yet the Belgian’s early thrust was merely a feint, absorbed by a peloton that understood the day’s true reckoning lay miles ahead on the moonscape summit.

The real battle began at kilometer 11, when Marco Haller (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Marc Hirschi (Tudor) and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck) slipped the leash. Behind them, Nils Politt (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) transformed into a human shield for his team, his massive frame cutting through the wind as he attempted to cork the bottle of attacking ambition. But pressure, like water, finds its way through the smallest cracks.

What followed was cycling chaos at its most beautiful—a two-hour ballet performed at nearly 50 kilometers per hour that eventually saw 35 riders clear the field. Among them, like actors gathering for the final scene of a Shakespearean tragedy, were the day’s protagonists: the elfin Paret-Peintre, the irrepressible Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), and a supporting cast that read like a who’s who of stage hunting nobility.

The Filtering of Dreams

Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Tiesj Benoot (Visma-Lease a Bike), Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike)—the names rolled off like an incantation as the breakaway swelled to include cycling’s eternal optimists. But it was Tudor who provided the first act of selection, Matteo Trentin’s acceleration at kilometer 105 splitting the group like a blade through silk.

Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), that mercurial master of the unexpected, joined the move alongside Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious), Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Enric Mas (Movistar Team), Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana), Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), and Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step). Eight riders, temporarily united in their pursuit of glory, though Eenkhoorn’s tactical withdrawal to rejoin his teammates hinted at the deeper chess match being played.

At Châteauneuf-de-Pape—a name that carries its own weight in French culture—Abrahamsen claimed the intermediate sprint, the leading septet holding a gossamer-thin 25-second advantage over their pursuers and a more substantial 4’55” cushion on Politt’s peloton. When Wright punctured with 36 kilometers remaining, it was as if fate itself was refining the cast for the final drama.

The Yellow Jersey Under Siege

As the first ramps of Ventoux bit into tired legs, Alaphilippe did what Alaphilippe does—he attacked with the sudden violence of a thunderclap. Mas and Arensman responded, but it was the Spaniard who pressed on solo with 13 kilometers of suffering remaining, his Movistar jersey disappearing into the heat haze that dances perpetually above Ventoux’s lower slopes.

Behind, in the chasing group, Paret-Peintre began his relentless acceleration campaign, each surge a small hammer blow against the cohesion of his companions. Only Healy could match the Frenchman’s pace, the Irish climber’s lean frame cutting through the thinning air with metronomic precision.

But the real theatre was unfolding in the yellow jersey group, where Visma-Lease a Bike had transformed into an instrument of tactical precision. When Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) launched his first attack with 8.5 kilometers to the summit, it was with the methodical violence of a surgeon’s scalpel. Again and again the Dane surged, supported by the Herculean efforts of Benoot and Campenaerts, turning the screw on Tadej Pogačar’s (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) ambitions.

Yet the Slovenian champion, yellow jersey tight across his shoulders, responded to every thrust with the composure of a master swordsman. This was not the broken Pogačar of previous Ventoux encounters—this was a rider reborn, his legs carrying the confidence of overall victory within their sinews.

The Dance of Death

With four kilometers remaining, the convergence was complete. Healy and Paret-Peintre reeled in the fading Mas, their partnership a study in controlled aggression. Behind them, Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) and Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) clawed their way back into contention, the Belgian’s tactical acumen evident as he took control of the group in the final kilometer—a human dam preventing the yellow jersey group from making contact.

What followed was pure cycling theater. Healy and Paret-Peintre traded accelerations like boxers feeling for an opening, each attack met with a counter, each surge answered with steely resolve. The headwind that plagued the final sections added another layer of tactical complexity—timing would be everything.

In those final hundred meters, as the gradient pitched skyward one last time, Ben Healy made his move. The EF Education-EasyPost climber had chosen his moment perfectly, his sprint opening with the precision of a Swiss timepiece. For a heartbeat, victory seemed within his grasp.

But Paret-Peintre, that slight figure who had climbed with such metronomic excellence, found something extra in his reserves. His final surge, timed to perfection in the closing meters, was a masterclass in race craft—waiting, watching, then striking with the venom of a coiled serpent.

A French Renaissance

As Paret-Peintre crossed the line, arms raised to the Provençal sky, it was impossible not to feel the weight of history settling on his shoulders. The fifth Frenchman to conquer Ventoux in Tour colors, he joins Richard Virenque, Marco Pantani, Jean-François Bernard, and Eddy Merckx in cycling’s most exclusive club—though only the French names truly matter on this most French of mountains.

“As a Frenchman, it’s crazy to win a stage in the Tour de France,” Paret-Peintre would later reflect, his voice still thick with emotion. “This morning I didn’t really believe I could win, but you have to take your chances anyway. On Ventoux it’s even more unique. It’s a legendary place in cycling, even internationally, everyone knows Mont Ventoux.”

His tactical brilliance in the finale was evident in every word: “I knew the last few hundred meters were very steep, so I chose to wait for Healy to launch the sprint first and then try to overtake him.” It was the calculated gamble of a rider who understood that on Ventoux, patience is often rewarded.

The Battle Continues

Behind the stage winner, Buitrago completed the podium ahead of Van Wilder, while Pogačar crossed the line 43 seconds back—crucially, still ahead of his Danish nemesis. The time gaps were minimal, but in a Tour de France where every second carries the weight of destiny, Pogačar’s defensive masterclass spoke to his growing maturity as a Grand Tour champion.

“Jonas really tried today,” Pogačar acknowledged with the magnanimity of a champion secure in his position. “They rode quite well as a team, but luckily I had better legs than in 2021 and could cope with Jonas’ acceleration. My big focus was Jonas, and nothing else. Jonas and I will race each other until Paris.”

Vingegaard’s relentless attacks had found no chink in the yellow jersey’s armor, but the Dane’s tactical aggression served notice that the final week would be no procession. With Benoot and Campenaerts providing the kind of mountain support that wins Tours, Visma-Lease a Bike had demonstrated they remain a force capable of changing the race’s trajectory.

For Healy, the runner-up spot carried both satisfaction and the sting of what might have been. “I tried to get the jump on Valentin before that right-hand turn into the line,” he explained. “I managed to do that, but those last hundred metres are so hard… He had a better kick and beat me to the line.”

The Road to Paris

As the peloton rolled away from Ventoux’s summit, the 2025 Tour de France had found its French hero in the most unlikely of packages. Paret-Peintre, initially omitted from Soudal Quick-Step’s Tour roster before being called up to support Remco Evenepoel, had transformed disappointment into triumph on cycling’s most demanding stage.

“At first, I wasn’t scheduled to do the Tour de France, so I was very disappointed,” he admitted. “But then they brought me in to help Remco, so I had absolutely no goal of winning a stage. Then we had to regroup within the team and during the rest day, we said to ourselves that it was already good to have won stages and that we could keep going.”

The Giant of Provence had made its choice, anointing the smallest rider in the bunch as its 2025 champion. In a sport where the mountains never lie, Valentin Paret-Peintre had spoken the truth that all climbers understand: on the steepest slopes, it is not the size of the rider that matters, but the size of his heart.

With Paris still days away and the yellow jersey battle intensifying, the 2025 Tour de France had found its rhythm—a symphony of suffering, strategy, and sublime human achievement played out against the most beautiful backdrops in sport. The road ahead promised more drama, but for one magical afternoon on Mont Ventoux, France had its hero, and cycling had its poetry.

By the Numbers

 
27: FRANCE IS BACK!
Valentin Paret-Peintre is the first Frenchman to win in this Tour. He ends a 27 stages and 380 days drought, since Anthony Turgis won the 9th stage of the Tour 2024 in Troyes. Paret-Peintre claims his 3rd professional victory, again on an uphill finish after his triumphs at Bocca della Selva (Giro 2024) and Jabal Al Akhdhar (Tour of Oman 2025).

60: FROM POULIDOR TO PARET-PEINTRE
Valentin Paret-Peintre claims the 5th French victory at the legendary Mont Ventoux, 60 years after Raymond Poulidor’s first in 1965 (stage 14, already starting from Montpellier). Then came Bernard Thévenet (1972, stage 14), Jean-François Bernard (1987, stage 18, time trial), and Richard Virenque (2002, stage 14).

3: SOUDAL QUICK-STEP CAN WIN EVERYWHERE!
It’s Soudal Quick-Step’s 4th win this year, something the team hasn’t achieved since 2021. Valentin Paret-Peintre is also the team 3rd different winner, a first since the Tour 2015. Perhaps most impressive is that the team has managed to win two sprints (Tim Merlier in Dunkerque and Châteauroux), a time trial (Remco Evenepoel in Caen) and a mountain stage (Paret-Peintre today). This had never happened before!

4: HEALY THE FIGHTER
At just 24 years old, Ben Healy has been awarded a 4th combativity prize (Saint-Lary-Soulan last year; Vire Normandie, Le Mont-Dore,and Mont Ventoux this year). Only one rider of the peloton, Wout Van Aert, has more (5). Second today, Healy secured his 3rd podium finish in this Tour after his victory in Vire Normandie and his 3rd place in Le Mont-Dore. He is the first Irishman to achieve such a feat since Sam Bennett in 2020.

2002: QUICK-STEP, WHAT A STORY!
Valentin Paret-Peintre triumphed on the slopes of Soudal Quick-Step’s first victory, having achieved it here in 2002 with Richard Virenque. It was the team’s only success on a HC summit to date! The Frenchman also achieved the team’s first mountain stage victory since Julian Alaphilippe’s triumphs in Bagnères-de-Luchon, Le Grand-Bornand (2018), and Nice (2020), but each of those times, the finish was on the flat.

25: YOUNGEST VENTOUX PODIUM
Valentin Paret-Peintre, Ben Healy, and Santiago Buitrago have an average age of 25 years and 30 days. This is the youngest stage podium of the Tour 2025, and also the youngest in the history of stage finishes at Mont Ventoux! The previous record dates back to 1970 (26 years and 20 days for Eddy Merckx, Martin Van den Bossche, and Lucien Van Impe).

3: HAT-TRICK OF NEW WINNERS
Valentin Paret-Peintre becomes the 862nd different Tour stage winner. After Thymen Arensman (stage 14) and Tim Wellens (stage 15), he is the 3rd new winner in a row! Such a run hasn’t occurred since stages 11 to 13 of the Tour 2022, won by Jonas Vingegaard, Tom Pidcock, and Mads Pedersen.

3-7: COLOMBIA AND SPAIN IMPROVING
Santiago Buitrago (3rd) secured Colombia’s first stage podium since the start, the last being Fernando Gaviria’s 3rd place in Dijon last year. A little further back, Enric Mas equaled Spain’s best result, finishing 7th like his compatriot Ivan Romeo in Caen. The Spanish have not won in 44 stages, since Carlos Rodriguez’s victory in Morzine in 2023.

21: POIS-GACAR
Tadej Pogačar takes the polka-dot jersey from Lenny Martinez, who will wear it tomorrow since the Slovenian also holds the Yellow Jersey. He once again becomes the rider in the peloton with the most polka-dot jerseys, 21 compared to 20 for his teammate Tim Wellens.

4: VAN WILDER HIGHER THAN EVER
Ilan Van Wilder played a decisive role in his teammate Valentin Paret-Peintre’s victory, accompanying him for part of the stage and the final climb. Finishing 4th, the Belgian recorded his first top-5 finish in a Grand Tour road stage. His only top-5 finish at this level came was in the Vuelta 2022, but in a time trial.

Stage 16 Results

• • 1. Valentine Paret Peintre (Soudal Quick-Step) – 4h 03′ 19”
  • 2. Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost) – 4h 03′ 19”
  • 3. Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) – +0′ 04”
  • 4. Ilan van Wilder (Soudal Quick-Step) – +0′ 14”
  • 5. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – +0′ 43”
  • 6. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | lease a Bike) – +0′ 45”
  • 7. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) – +0′ 53”
  • 8. Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) – +1′ 17”
  • 9. Primož Roglič (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) – +1′ 51”
  • 10. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) – +1′ 53”

General Classification After Stage 16

• • 1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) – 58h 24′ 46”
  • 2. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | lease a Bike) – +4′ 15”
  • 3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) – +9′ 03”
  • 4. Oscar Onley (Team Picnic PostNL) – +11′ 04”
  • 5. Primož Roglič (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) – +11′ 42”
  • 6. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) – +13′ 20”
  • 7. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) – +14′ 50”
  • 8. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – +17′ 01”
  • 9. Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost) – +17′ 52”
  • 10. Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) – +20′ 45”

Jersey Standings after Stage 16

• • Yellow Jersey (Overall Leader) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • Green Jersey (Points Classification) – Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
  • Polka Dot Jersey (King Of The Mountains) – Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
  • White Jersey (Best Young Rider) – Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)