2025 Tour route does not influence, man to beat remains Pogacar for Johan Bruyneel: "It's the strongest guy who wins"
Cycling
The 2025 Tour de France route reveal gave some great insight into what's to come next summer, and likely that includes a thrilling Tour de France with many explosive stages and tension before the GC riders arrive at the mountains. Spencer Martin and Johan Bruyneel have shared opinions on the route and how Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic fit in the equation.
"... You know stage 10 is a mountain stage, not a high mountain stage - but the real mountain stages start on stage 12, and a lot can happen until then. Specially the stress and the nerves racing the first week on those roads in north of France, Bretagne and Normandie," Bruyneel argues in 'The Move' podcast. "There's great opportunities for puncheurs like van der Poel, van Aert... Normally Alaphilippe, we will see if they are in the Tour with Tudor or not, who knows"..."
There will be no less than four hilltop finishes in the first week, excluding stage 10 which is a mix of hilly and mountainous stage. Alongside a few treacherous stages, it can lead to GC contenders shedding important time ahead of the key stages which could prove decisive for the race. In the mountains, the Tour did not look to innovate but instead insert a long summit finish into every single mountain stage.
"I can't see this being 'Anti-Pogacar'. Some people say 'yeah you know it's super long mountain stages, and mountains are better for Vingegaard'. It's good for him, but it's good for Pogacar too [...] There's a lot of debate of 'this is good for this guy, this guy', it's the strongest guy who wins, and the guy who has the strongest team," Bruyneel is clear.
Ultimately, with the difference between Tadej Pogacar and the rest, and how above Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel were also above all other riders who finished the Tour, the former pro and DS does not believe that there will be a very different outcome next year: "I personally think, looking right now, it's the same three guys we're gonna see: Pogacar, Jonas and Remco".
Primoz Roglic was indeed close to the trio until he abandoned the race this year. The Tour is his big remaining career goal, but we do not know whether he will indeed still aim for the yellow jersey or prepare for different goals: "Primoz we don't know yet if he's going to participatee or not because he said somewhere that he will focus on the races where Tadej didn't race which is not a bad idea actually."
"Pogacar also announced his schedule more or less, saying he'll do some classics in the beginning of the season, think he said Milano-Sanremo and Tour of Flanders for sure, and then no Giro, and Dauphiné as lead up for the Tour de France - a traditional preparation for the Tour, which I'm in favour of".
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Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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