PREVIEW | Tour de France 2025 stage 5 - Pogacar, Vingegaard and van der Poel fight for yellow jersey... But can Remco Evenepoel win key time-trial?

Stage 5 of the Tour de France is it's first individual time-trial and the only flat one. It will be an important day for the overall classification contenders who find a relatively long solo effort against the clock that will create differences. We preview an important stage for Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel... Can Mathieu van der Poel hold on to the yellow jersey however?

The race's sole flat time-trial and it comes in very early on, in what should be the first serious GC battle of the race. In Caen, the GC riders will have 33 kilometers to make the difference.

A very simple out-and-back effort into town, over 30 minutes in duration which won't be easy for all riders. By the end of the day there will be meaningful gaps in the overall classification and perhaps less tension in the following days of the race.

The wind has died down, finally for the relief of many riders. There should be a regular sunny day for the riders, where the weather won't play a role in the outcome of the stage.

Remco Evenepoel - The Olympic and World Champion remains the big favourite to win the stage. With no Filippo Ganna at the start, it is Evenepoel who will be the man to beat. He did lose some seconds today, but there will be no climbing on this effort. In a flat time-trial he is above his GC rivals here and today he showed a very strong level. He will be eager to take the victory.

Tadej Pogacar - At the Dauphiné Pogacar lost some time on his rivals in the time-trial. On paper he would be at the same level as Vingegaard here but somehow I do trust Visma have nailed the TT down perfectly and the World Champion will be defending himself. However I do think his chances of taking the yellow jersey are good, I expect them to be very equal and 8 seconds won't be easy for Vingegaard to gain back.

Jonas Vingegaard - But the Dane did look very good at the Dauphiné and his form here is currently as sharp as he could hope for, as shown today. A heavier Vingegaard should be a little stronger against the clock than last year, he could also potentially take the yellow jersey.

Mathieu van der Poel - However, can van der Poel keep it? He is a classics rider and not a time-trialist in any way, but remember that in 2021 he finished fifth at the Tour's time-trial in yellow; and the next year he also finished fifth in the initial time-trial. Recently he was sixth at the Dauphiné challenge against the clock which is the most accurate test for what to expect of him here. He's not a specialist in the same way but has the pure watts in his advantage, and will want to stay close to the race lead so he can perhaps get there again in the next few stages. Keeping yellow is also not impossible!

GC fight - The level is simply so incredibly high however... You have Matteo Jorgenson starting the day in fourth and I expect a great time-trial from him; only he has the absolute best in the world ahead of him. Kévin Vauquelin, João Almeida and Mattias Skjelmose are inside the Top10 and should also havee a good day here. Primoz Roglic, starting the stage in 13th, could climb into the Top10 but thus far he has been under the radar quite a lot. Florian Lipowitz on paper should also climb up the GC quite a lot however today he lost meaningful time in what was a bad day.

The GC riders will take the absolute headline on the day but a few riders may be able to perform well, potentially chasing a Top10 result - something to be proud of in this field. Ben O'Connor, Wout Van Aert, Tobias Foss, Nelson Oliveira, Kasper Asgreen, Jonathan Milan (aiming for a few points for the green jersey), Andreas Leknessund, Edoardo Affini, Mattia Cattaneo, Bruno Armirail, Iván Romeo and Luke Plapp make for an interesting mix of riders of different types that can be up there.

*** Remco Evenepoel
** Jonas Vingegaard, Tadej Pogacar, Matteo Jorgenson, João Almeida, Mathieu van der Poel
* Kévin Vauquelin, Mattias Skjelmose, Primoz Roglic, Florian Lipowitz, Wout van Aert, Edoardo Affini

Pick: Remco Evenepoel