“We’re very satisfied” – ASO reflect on opening 10 stages of the 2025 Tour de France

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.”

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.”