ANALYSIS | One month to go! Find out what to expect from the Tour de France 2025

1 month. That’s all we have to get through, before the 2025 Tour de France gets underway. Yes, we’re 31 days away from the best sporting event in the world getting underway on July 5th.

So, now we can officially started getting excited about the Tour, let’s take a look at all the elements of this year’s race that we can get excited about. But first, what happened last year?

Last year’s Tour de France delivered plenty of drama and a resounding champion’s comeback. Tadej Pogacar reclaimed the maillot jaune, winning the 2024 Tour by a commanding 6 minutes 17 seconds over his chief rival, Jonas Vingegaard.

It was Pogacar’s third Tour de France title (after 2020 and 2021) and a return to the top step after two years as runner-up behind the Dane. In a stunning display of form, the Slovenian superstar won six stages including the final time trial. Vingegaard, the Tour winner in 2022 and 2023, had to settle for second, while Tour debutant Remco Evenepoel of Belgium rode impressively to complete the podium in third.

Of course, what we all remember is that Pogacar achieved a feat not seen since Marco Pantani in 1998 by winning both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year. But it wasn’t just the Pogacar show last year was it?

The 2024 edition also served up historic moments beyond the yellow jersey. Eritrean sprinter Biniam Girmay became the first Black African rider to win a Tour stage and went on to clinch the green jersey as winner of the points classification. Girmay and Jasper Philipsen were the sprint kings of last year’s race, each taking three stage victories in hotly contested bunch finishes, and we expect the same this year.

With one month to go until the Grand Départ in Lille, all eyes are on the looming showdown between cycling’s biggest stage race talents. Defending champion Tadej Pogacar and his arch-rival Jonas Vingegaard have traded Tour victories over the past four years, developing one of modern cycling’s great rivalries.

Pogacar’s blazing form in 2024 wrested back the title, but you can be sure Vingegaard is plotting his comeback. The Danish climber has reportedly been honing his condition and “feels like a completely different person,” eyeing a new performance peak to take on Pogacar.

Still, there is no doubt that Pogacar has been in better form in 2025 so far. Whilst Vingegaard hasn’t been seen since March, where he crashed out of Paris-Nice, Pogacar has won both the Tour of Flanders and Liege. Ominous form? Oh yes, as always.

Then there’s Remco Evenepoel. The 25-year-old Belgian is already a Vuelta a Espana winner and world champion, and in his first Tour last year he proved he can hang with the best by finishing third overall. Now Evenepoel is hungry for more, but can he close the gap to the top two?

The Tour isn’t just about the climbers of course, and the 2025 edition could actually be all about the sprinters.

Last year’s points classification (green jersey) contest was thrilling, with Biniam Girmay looking to defend his title this year. However, he’ll once again face stiff competition from Jasper Philipsen, the Belgian speedster who also grabbed three stage victories last year.

But it’s not just about Philipsen vs Girmay this year. No, as Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier will both be on the start line in Lille, and the incoming duo are in better form than last year’s top two. One legendary sprinter who won’t be in the mix is Mark Cavendish. the Briton hung up his wheels after finally seizing that record-breaking 35th Tour stage win last year.

Step forward Mathieu van der Poel. If there’s ever going to be a year where he wins more Tour stages, it is this year.

In fact, the 2025 route offers a perfect opportunity for him: Stage 7 finishes atop the short, steep Mûr-de-Bretagne, a climb where van der Poel famously attacked to victory in 2021 and pulled on the yellow jersey. With that Breton climb back on the menu this year, you can bet van der Poel has it circled, he’d love to repeat his feat and don the maillot jaune once again.

It’s a shame that Mads Pedersen won’t be at the Tour to try and stop him. But, Wout van Aert will be, and if he is fresh off the back of a stage win and delivering Simon Yates to the Maglia rosa at the Giro.

The 2025 Tour de France route promises a bit of everything, and notably, it stays 100% within France’s borders, the first fully domestic Tour since 2020. The race will span 3,339 km over 21 stages, covering 11 regions and 34 areas of France. It all kicks off on July 5th in Lille Métropole, in the cycling heartland of northern France.

In the first week we already get a mix of tests. Notably, Stage 5 in Caen is an individual time trial could we see Evenepoel in yellow? This 33 km solo race against the clock will shake up the GC pecking order before the mountains even arrive.

Following the first rest day, Week 2 plunges into the Pyrenees. Stage 12 ends on the legendary Hautacam climb in the Pyrenees, sure to produce major GC fireworks as one of five summit finishes this year. The very next day, the organizers have arranged a unique challenge: a mountain time trial from Loudenvielle to the ski resort of Peyragudes.

The final week brings the Alpine showdown and one very famous mountain en route to Paris. Stage 16 resumes in Montpellier and races north to Mont Ventoux, where a summit finish awaits atop one of cycling’s most infamous climbs.

This is the first time Mont Ventoux has appeared in the Tour since 2021, when Jonas Vingegaard dented Pogacar’s armour for the first time by dropping him there.

On July 27th, Stage 21 will bring the peloton to Paris, restoring tradition after last year’s finish in Nice. Unusually, the route into Paris includes the Montmartre climb (1.1 km at 5.9%) seen in the Olympics, so a bunch sprint is not guaranteed.

So, there you have it. A short snapshot of what is now just a month away. Let us know in the comments below what you are most looking forward to in this year’s Tour de France!