"I think it'll be brutal" - Tadej Pogacar reacts to Tour de France 2025 profile including return to Col de la Loze

After reclaiming the Maillot Jaune in 2024, Tadej Pogacar now knows what awaits him and his rivals for next summer's edition of the Tour de France. With plenty of climbing involved, arguably the most intriguing stage includes a return to the slopes of the Col de la Loze, the scene of Pogacar's biggest ever crack.

"It starts with a long first week in the north of France. That'll be interesting because there are tricky stages, there's also the 33 km time trial, which looks pretty nice," an upbeat Pogacar previews in conversation with L'Equipe. "We then cross France towards the Pyrenees, with the first rest day in Toulouse, before attacking some nice stages. I especially like the Peyragudes time trial, I've never done that climb in a time trial before. It'll be interesting to see what happens but I've had good results in the Pyrenees in the past."

In an iconic moment of modern Tour de France history, Pogacar was dropped on the climb by Jonas Vingegaard's Jumbo-Visma team, leading to the infamous radio message from the Slovenian: "I'm gone, I'm dead." Given all that has happened between then and now though, the UAE Team Emirates is likely to return to the Col de la Loze a much more improved version of himself. "The Alps are always hard. The stage to the Col de la Loze is perhaps the Queen stage because it has such a high amount of climbing," Pogacar says of the daunting task. "I think it'll be brutal."

Another mammoth task on the menu in 2025 is a return to Mont Ventoux. "The stage to Mont Ventoux is mostly flat but the climb is very hard, it is for the pure climbers," Pogacar looks ahead. "I love that climb, it's different to anything else. It'll be even more interesting to see what happens as it comes after the second rest day."