Iván Romeo may not have made it into the lead group on Stage 1 of the 2025 Tour de France, but it hardly mattered. Movistar Team executed their plan to perfection, with Iván García Cortina helping to position Enric Mas in the front group alongside Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. The result: Mas gained time on key general classification rivals, including Remco Evenepoel and João Almeida.
Speaking exclusively to CyclingUpToDate after the stage, Romeo reflected on his Tour debut: “It was a bit traumatic, I’d say. Not really nice. The crowds are incredible here in France — it’s super special to be here wearing the national jersey — but it was also really nervous and hectic. But yeah, that’s what we expected. Still, it was surprising.”
He added to our colleague Rúben Silva: “Enric was really focused on today, and once he gets through this first week, he’ll be okay. But yeah, if he can gain some time here — it’s something we probably didn’t expect, but we’ll take it.”
Later, speaking to Cope about his impressions of the stage, he said: “It was good and bad — pretty overwhelming. I’ve never seen anything like it. A lot of tension with the wind, added stress. But it turned out brilliantly for Enric, which is exactly what we wanted.”
Asked about being photographed next to Pogacar before the start, Romeo was clear that he hopes to earn more moments like that: “I hope to keep earning front-row spots — that would be a good sign.”
And on the impact of crashes, such as the one involving Filippo Ganna, and whether that opens up new opportunities ahead of the Stage 5 time trial, he commented: “Crashes are never nice — some of them were really bad. It can happen to anyone; that’s just how the Tour is. I hope to be up there with the best in the time trial.”
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- many people advise him to grow slowly and rather do giro and/or vuelta instead of tdf. but i can totally understand that he is not satisfied with taking over once pogi declines, but instead beat him in his prime. so if he goes for tdf again, i‘m all for it. let‘s hope that pogi recovers soon!Ketterechts07-11-2026
- So gracious to offer something no-one would be prepared to pay for. The Giro is not the Tour and doesn’t command the same interest or attract the same “elite” (those willing to pay to be a part of something they consider has ego boosting potential). Roadside viewing will always largely remain free for everyone outside circuits. Introduction of a symbolic entrance to mountain climbs is worthy of exploration. Asking 1-2€ isn’t going to repulse real fans (most will spend 50-100€ on their outing that day all things included) but will prevent a portion of the total knobhead thrillseekers who will join in any large gathering as long as it’s free, just because they’re attracted to crowds, without which it it difficult for them to work up their anti-social behaviour.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- How is radio going to help when someone went over a cliff or bridge or off the roadside into a forest unnoticed and is laying there unconscious?Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- Yep, next we’ll be accusing F1 drivers of avoiding Le Mans.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- But on what is that opinion based? Are you holding him to a different standard than others? Are you saying he should do learn to like something he doesn’t Are you saying he hasn’t achieved enough Are you saying he pretends to be better than his results? It’s actually a really strange opinion to oust if you consider it objectively or rationally. Try applying it to others or yourself by asking if not EVERYONE should then be doing more? Nobody in athletics or swimming gets criticism for not expanding their repertoire when a rival or someone else does. In fact, most who move to another event get accused of running from their rival. Opinions are boring, the reasons behind them are what count.Jumpyjohn07-11-2026
- for a medical chief to throw things like is just bad. There are already radios which were banned for spectacle. allow radios. Gps trackers are not a complete solutionabstractengineer07-11-2026
- Yeah man...PogiSloFans07-11-2026
- any rider less than 25 whether they are really ready for the position of leadership of GT is probably not the case. I think Pogi himself suffered when he was defeated by Jonas in the TDF twice. But that would be the team's job to ensure support so that they can bounce back. It requires a team and time to get back up and win after getting knocked down.abstractengineer07-11-2026
- I'm very glad he got the big late Quickstep Vuelta win and I hope he has a few left for Euskaltel-Euskadi.flyer07-11-2026
- My memories of Ivan Basso aren't good but I liked his sister Elisa ok.flyer07-11-2026
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