Is Felix Gall set to follow Ben O'Connor's Vuelta template at 2025 Tour de France? "That’s how you chase success when you don’t have Pogacar, Vingegaard or Remco"

Measuring what is a successful 2025 Tour de France for those secondary and tertiary GC contenders is a bit difficult. The Maillot Jaune seems to be for either Tadej Pogacar or Jonas Vingegaard, with the remaining podium place for the likes of Remco Evenepoel, Primoz Roglic and Joao Almeida. As such, Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team's Felix Gall could be set for a different tactic.

“In a traditional setup, where you're just trying to hang in there with the favourites day after day, it's extremely difficult – you end up losing time every stage. But that’s not the way we should be racing," explains Gall's teammate Oliver Naesen in conversation with Cyclism'Actu. "Ideally, we’ll lose just enough time to be given freedom to get in the breakaways that make it to the finish. Then it’s up to Felix – and the team – to claw back as much time as possible, to climb back up the GC that way, and then hang on until Paris to secure the best overall result we can."

This is a tactic that has already proven successful for the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team. At the Vuelta a Espana in 2024, Ben O'Connor lost time early, then got up the road in the breakaway, took control of the Red Jersey and eventually finished 2nd overall - his career best Grand Tour result. From this, Gall can take inspiration according to Naesen. "That’s how we’ve always done it – it’s how Ben finished second at the Vuelta last year. That’s how you have to chase success when you don’t have Pogacar, Vingegaard or Remco on your team," explains the experienced Belgian.

As for his own Tour de France hopes, Naesen is looking to make an impact where he can. “This is my tenth Tour de France in a row. I’ll be Felix Gall’s bodyguard. This year, I just hope we don’t lose too much time before we hit the high mountains – that’s when he won’t need me at all anymore," he says. "The Tour is still something really special. I’m feeling good, but then again, it’s the start of the Tour – everyone feels good."

"In a few days, it’ll start to feel very different: some riders will have had a very close look at the tarmac, and there are always a few who fall ill. Energy management and risk management – those are the key things during the first week,” he concludes, addressing the new and updated stage 21. "As for the Montmartre climb... yeah, I’d let out a sigh – I don’t think it’s going to be much fun. It’ll look great on TV, but it’s not going to be your typical Tour de France finale at all.”