After ten straight stages of racing, the 2025 Tour de France
finally hits its first rest day, and it comes after an atypical stretch.
Instead of the usual nine-day block, organisers opted to extend to ten,
ensuring Bastille Day featured a marquee stage.
It’s been a lively opening act, packed with explosive
efforts from classics specialists, punchy terrain, and of course, the
ever-present threat of Tadej Pogacar, who remains a danger on every kind of
road. But perhaps most notable has been the resurgence of Mathieu van der Poel.
For the first time in four years at the Tour, the Dutchman appears to be
enjoying himself.
Van der Poel has said in the past that there is nothing
really for him at the Tour. This time, it’s a different story.
ASO’s Thierry Gouvenou, the man behind the route, is content
with how it’s all unfolded. “We are very satisfied,” he told Algemeen Dagblad.
“There were huge crowds everywhere, and we've heard enthusiastic reactions.
We're happy with how things have gone so far.”
Much of that comes down to how the stages were designed. “We
knew we had nine days on the flat, and we had to find something to avoid too
many bunch sprints,” Gouvenou explained. “Last year there were eight or nine
stages for sprinters. We evaluated that, and it was too many.”
The result? Fewer pure sprint finishes, more variety.
“Peace sprints are even more monotonous than before, because
the peloton blocks. Teams don't want to attack anymore because they know it's
pointless,” Gouvenou said. “Now there are five or six opportunities for the
sprinters, and I think that's a good thing.”
Still, it wasn’t all perfect. The race lacked a proper
mountain stage over the weekend, something Gouvenou would have preferred. “It
could have been better, because we prefer the tough mountain stages on the
weekend, but that didn't work out this time.”
Ben Healy leads the Tour after 10 stages
But the Bastille Day stage, won in dramatic fashion by Simon
Yates with Ben Healy taking yellow, delivered. “We did have a nice stage on the
French national holiday, the Fourth of July, which is very important in
France.”
Even with careful planning, Gouvenou knows there are limits
to what any race designer can control. “Even if I ever thought the Tour route
was ideal and we were to organize the Tour ten times, it wouldn't be a great
race ten times,” he said. “Because so many factors play a role: the weather,
the teams' tactics, the riders' willpower, and the presence of the top riders.
I can't control everything.”
Fin MajorCycling Journalist
Fin Major is a UK-based writer at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2024. He is the site’s main writer for FAQs and evergreen explainers and has written around 2,000 pieces for the platform. Alongside this work, he focuses on in-depth analysis and covers the biggest races on the calendar, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, providing clear context around performance trends, tactics, and key storylines.
In his reporting, Fin uses reputable data sources such as ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available. Outside of writing, Fin is an active cyclist, which supports his practical understanding of the sport and its demands.
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- great analysis thanks! appreciate you posting this. I didn't realize CX had a different standard for deviation. this is even more egregious it seems.mij10-11-2026
- As he isn't currently with Red Bull, I guess if he want to race for one more year he needs to find a team. He's 37 so this will be his last year I would guess, unless he wants to race for almost nothing like Froome did.awp10-11-2026
- I think some are making much ado about nothing. Even though Jonas is getting older, before his crash in the Tour, he looked like a solid 2nd all the way home. No one can really climb with Tadej until this year, Eric Mas showed himself which I think was a one off year for him and Paul Seixas has been able to be pretty close to him. Whatever stage race Jonas enters as long as Tadej is not there he is a favorite to win.awp10-11-2026
- Giro or not Giro, he won't win the Tour!MajorPayne10-11-2026
- Very true.awp10-11-2026
- Ciccone had a very strong end of season. Consistently attacking and livening up races. Hope he makes that last leap in progress and starts notching some significant wins. Great rider to watch.Occam10-11-2026
- Me too!!!!!Occam10-11-2026
- they can sign any 100 of top riders today but Pogi will win over Remco any time at the TDF unless something goes wrongabstractengineer10-11-2026
- the time for a GC rider to retire is when they cannot win stages, or have a significant level drop like from winner/podium into top 5/10 consistently. Roglic is still competitive and Froome raced even though he became pack fodder.abstractengineer10-11-2026
- He should be in a different team. It was detrimental. For them it does not matter if he does not develop. He should have gone to a team where they need him to succeed.abstractengineer10-11-2026
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