Key events
Our live blog readers are having a lovely time in Lille, if my emails are anything to go by!
Luke writes:
Having a lovely time strolling round Lille for today’s stage sampling the local food and drink.
I cycled to Dover from my home in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, over the course of eight days and 780km, we only caught a glimpse of the rollout and the finish will be even quicker but it has all been worth it to finally get to see the Tour in France for the first time!
Ben from California is in Lille with his wife, Yian. He says:
We caught the team presentations earlier on the Champs de Mars and stopped in the old town for a pouchin after that.
Now we’re waiting at the barriers for the race to roll in on the Rue de Turenne, about one km from the finish. Looking forward to my dinner of Welsh complet – a Lilloise speciality that apparently resembles a French rarebit – tonight!
8km to go: Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) accelerated. Lidl-Trek drive the chase group. There have been several attacks at the front but all have been shut down. It’s getting pretty fast and furious now.
9km to go: Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain Victorious) are with Remco Evenepoel.
13km to go: Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quick-Step) and Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick-Step) are in the second group and are trailing the front bunch by 28secs.
Major split in the peloton
16km to go: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) has been taking a turn at the front of the bunch. The peloton has split, with 30 to 40 riders in the front group. Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) are in there.
21km to go: Jake Stewart (Israel Premier Tech) needs to stop for a mechanical. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) has been repositioning and doesn’t seem to have any teammates around him at the moment.
Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies) are off the back of the peloton.
24km to go: We’re getting to the business end soon. The commentators on ITV4 are worrying about the stretch coming up which they think could be “violent” with a straight, exposed road and crosswinds.
Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) has been dropped again.
Rick from the US has been following today’s blog and emailed in to say:
Amy, here in the USA enjoying your commentary on the Tour de France.
Glad to see Phil Liggett back on the broadcast too. Now if we just get Peter Sagan back in top form all would be right with cycling. He made past tours very exciting. What a once in a generation talent he was.
Thanks for all your emails. It’s fun to hear how and where you’re following the Tour and blog from. I am in my living room being fuelled by Crunchy Nut Cornflakes (other nut-based cornflake cereals are available).
31km to go: Turns out that was the first time Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) has finished first in a category four climb.
The EF Education-Easypost directeur sportif has been on the team radio telling the riders that the “wind is still blowing” and that “there can still be splits”.
At the moment the rider are together in the peloton and pushing hard, by the looks of it.
Postcard from Evie in Lille:
Hello from Lille where we waited two hours at the barrier for the riders to come past during their rollout (around 300m after the Porte de Paris) I’m here with my husband, Ben, (we [got] married six weeks ago today) and in-laws, Jacki & Dave.
I’m not a huge cycling fan but Ben is and I can say the atmosphere in the city is great!
Thanks for the feed and explanation of what’s happening out there, we will be heading to the finish soon for another two hours of waiting for a few seconds of fun …
Waiting on the side of the road to see your favourite riders speed past in a blink of an eye … welcome to the world of cycling fandom Evie! It is fun though, I promise.
Stefan Bissegger withdraws from the Tour
Swiss rider Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale), who also crashed earlier today like Filippo Ganna after about 50km, has withdrawn from this year’s Tour de France.
45km to go: Interestingly, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) pushed to the front and took that final KOM point on Mont Noir.
46km to go: It looks as if the riders are all in the peloton now as they head towards the final categorised climb of the day: the 1.3km Mont Noir with an average gradient of 6.4%.
There’s one KOM point up for grabs at the summit. Obviously, Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) already has two KOM points in the bag from today.
56km to go: Pavel Sivakov and Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) have been driving the pace at the front of the peloton, which is again speeding up.
Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike) dropped off the bunch and is 35secs behind.
Jem has got in touch to say she’s reading this blog in Cassel with her family (hello!):
Following your coverage from Cassel! Travelled over from the UK yesterday morning in our van; me (Jem), husband Mark, sons Harrison (seven) and Austin (five) and my dad, Derek!
Went to the Tour for the first time last year, happy to be back for the weekend this year. Merched up after the caravanne
Headed to see stage two tomorrow before back home and back to school!
62km to go: The riders are upping the pace, they’re now travelling at about 50km/h say TNT Sports. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) has been riding alongside medical assistance car to get some spray on his leg after crashing earlier on Mont Cassel.
There’s a short headwind section now and then soon the riders will have a tailwind and perhaps some crosswinds.
Filippo Ganna withdraws from the Tour de France 2025
Such a shame but I’m just hearing that Italian rider Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) who crashed 52km in to today’s stage has withdrawn from the Tour de France 2025.
Wind is the topic of the day. James from the “windswept flat plains of the Netherlands” has emailed in:
For those of us who live in the windswept flat plains of the Netherlands, the promise of crosswinds and echelons (known as ‘waaiers’) is as sexy as a mountaintop finish or a bunch sprint.
Watching a strong team or group assemble on the front, rotate diagonally and blow the peloton apart is absolutely brilliant. Pretty much all the Dutch ‘spring classics’ races are specifically designed to produce this spectacle early in the race and the best Dutch riders are brilliant at knowing when the bunch is going to go ‘op de kant’ (single file on the very edge of the road) and when you need to be at the front in the diagonal rotating group.
Speaking from miserable personal experience, being one of the riders in the single file of riders grovelling in the crosswind is incredibly tiring and disheartening. Basically, in order just to not to go backwards, you have to constantly match the power output of the guy on the front taking his ‘few seconds’ turn in the wind before rotating off.
No one can hold this, so the line breaks and in a matter of minutes there are several groups on the road, seperated by a good few seconds.
Thomas and Vercher crash fighting it out for KOM point
75km to go: Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) took that KOM point, but Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies) did not look happy being knocked down on the line. Fair enough.
The pair are up and back on their bikes but have been caught by the peloton.
78km to go: Crash for Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies) who were furiously fighting it out for that one KOM point. Looks as if Thomas’s wheel bounced and spun out, taking Vercher down too.
Filippo Ganna has been dropped. He’s about 1min behind the peloton.
79km to go: The riders are averaging 46.2km/h. The beakaway – now consisting of Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies) -have upped their lead to 1min 3secs as they head towards the 1.6km category 4 Mont Cassel. And there are cobbles!
84km to go: Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies) are being joined by Arnaud De Lie (Lotto). The gap between this group and the peloton now sits at 55secs.
Thank you all for the emails. They’re coming in thick and fast now!
Shane has been in touch from Ireland:
Enjoying the commentary from beautiful Dungarvan, County Waterford, Ireland which famously hosted a stage of the Tour in 1998.
Just did my first 75km, at around half the average speed that the fastest Tour winner achieved over 3400km!!!
Will from Scotland is out on the stage route and sends this report of the atmosphere and wind conditions:
I’m on the Mont Noir climb after cycling down from Scotland. The route touches the Belgian border and they’re here in their thousands. It’s packed!
Mega windy here, the run in to the finish will be pretty sketchy, fingers crossed everyone stays upright.
94km to go: Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies) has attacked again and he’s been let go by the peloton. Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), after a moment, follows him. They have a very slender gap on the pack but it won’t last (I’m pretty sure, but they could amaze me).
Milan wins first intermediate sprint
97km to go: Lidl-Trek’s Jonathan Milan beat Jasper Philipsen, Biniam Girmay and Bryan Coquard on the first sprint. Milan has taken 20 points to put him in the green jersey.
Results of the intermediate sprint of La Motte-aux-Bois
1. Milan, 20 pts
2. Coquard, 17 pts
3. Girmay, 15 pts
4. Philipsen, 13 pts
5. Turgis, 11 pts
6. Meeus, 10 pts
7. Penhoët, 9 pts
8. Lund Andresen, 8 pts
9. Consonni, 7 pts
10. Cattaneo, 6 pts
11. Evenepoel, 5 pts
12. Ballerini, 4 pts
13. Merlier, 3 pts
14. Van Wilder, 2 pts
15. Valgren, 1 pt
102km to go: The breakaway have been caught. There’s a group that dropped off the peloton and are 33secs behind. Apparently that group includes: Mauro Schmid, Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Louis Barré (Intermarché-Wanty), Frank Van den Broek (Picnic PostNL), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bul-Bora-Hansgrohe), Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) and Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale).
My lovely pals Nick and Lucy, who have travelled over to Lille – cycling from Calais after a train and a ferry – have sent a note to share on this blog:
Bonjour Amy!
Greetings from a very excitable Lille, where we jostled around the slightly bizarre fan park where people exchanged personal data for a wide array of what my dad has always described as ‘cheap tat’. A truly sustainable enterprise, Le Tour …
Anyway, French Glasto is in full swing and it was a genuine thrill to see the riders come through the streets during le depart fictif. We cycled up through Cassel and Mont Noir yesterday and they were OK on a touring rig so I expect the sprinteurs won’t mind too much.
My pick? Tim Merlier. Boring but likely.
Bon courage!
107km to go: The attackers’ lead is down to 15secs. There’s been a mechanical for Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) – he’s just had a front wheel change.
The riders who crashed – Bissegger, Ganna, Nys, Flynn – have come back to the bunch after about 20 kilometres of chasing.
Here are some pictures of the riders:
114km to go: The gap between the breakaway and peloton has been reduced to 36secs.
Adam Blythe on the TNT Sports commentary is adamnt that the high pace (45.1km/h) will continue to the finish. He says the peloton are not particularly bothered about catching the breakaway (they assume they will), but the teams are instead prioritising positioning and trying to stay out of trouble by being up at the front.
122km to go: Thibau Nys (Lidl-Trek) has also crashed but it sounds as if he’s back up. The official Tour updates attribute the spate of crashes to a hard pace, tension in the bunch and the peloton riding through wind-exposed sections.
The pace is up and the peloton are eating away at the gap that the five riders out front created in the first part of this race. UAE Team Emirates are driving hard to bring the advantage down. It now stands at less than a minute for the breakaway.
129km to go: Sean Flynn (Picnic PostNL) also went down with Filippo Ganna but seems to be OK and back on his bike.
Stefan Bissegger (Decathlon-Ag2R La Mondiale) has also crashed and is having a concussion check, which is now mandatory before a rider is allowed to move on.
133km to go: The peloton have descended and pushed to reduce the gap between them and the breakaway. The advantage for the five out front has dropped to 1min 40secs.
Filippo Ganna from Ineos Grenadiers has crashed on a corner! But he is standing and speaking to his team.
138km to go: While the peloton tackled the first climb, the breakaway group pushed the gap to 2mins 25sec. It’s settled to about 2mins at the moment.
For those interested in their speed, the front five have maintained a pace of about 44.1km in the first hour of this stage.
143km to go: Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) takes the first King of the Mountains (KOM) point of the Tour de France 2025 on the 1km long Côte de Notre-Dame-de-Lorette (with an average gradient of 7.6 %). Well done Thomas!
144km to go: The five in the break – Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty), Matis Le Berre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies) – are on the climb.
Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) attacks early but Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) also has his eyes on the first KOM.
Peter and Flo have emailed in to say they travelled over from Sheffield to Lille last night to watch the Grand Départ.
Great crowds and atmosphere here in Lille. Sat by the Notre-Dame with ‘une petite biere’ following you coverage. Thanks!!
Their note has made me a little envious, I have to admit. It sounds as if they’re having a brilliant time. I was in Lille earlier this year to watch Paris-Roubaix and it is a great place to visit. Enjoy!
148km to go: The first climb is in sight. The five riders in the breakaway are heading towards the category four Côte de Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
There are another category four climbs on today’s route, with Mont Cassel and Mont Noir. Who’ll take the polka dot jersey after this stage?
Kurt has emailed in asking whether there are any Americans who have a chance to win the Tour De France this year?
From a quick scan of the starting riders list, there are five US cyclists in the peloton: Matteo Jorgenson and Sepp Kuss for Visma-Lease a Bike, Neilson Powless (EF Education-Easypost), Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), William Barta (Movistar).
What do you think? What are the best chances for these riders?
John has emailed in about the winds on the course. It’s definitely going to be a concern for the riders, with some strong gusts and crosswinds anticipated:
I’m watching ITV4’s coverage, with infill from Discovery+ during the advert breaks.
David Millar and Ned Boulting made the point that the very strong wind will be a cross/tailwind on the run-in back to Lille. Two things from that:
i) if the breakaway still has a gap with, say, 10km to go, they will believe that they have a chance, especially with Armirail and Thomas in the group.
ii) the wind looks strong enough for echelons to form, so there’s a chance that one of the GC favourites might get stuck behind the front group and lose time.
161km to go: Over on the team radios, riders have been warned about speedbumps, which are often in place at the entry and exit of French towns.
The breakaway’s gap stays steady at 2mins 14secs.
One of my favourite things during the Tour de France is seeing the creative and fun ways that fans come out to support the race. Here’s a few pictures that have come in so far:
168km to go: It looks like Cofidis’s Bryan Coquard is back in the peloton. The breakaway have increased their lead to 2mins 19secs. Here’s a picture of the five men in that group:
Also, dare I ask what people think of the new kits?
174km to go: The group-of-five breakaway have just over 2mins on the bunch. Jonathan Milan’s Lidl-Trek and Jasper Philipsen’s Alpecin-Deceuninck are driving the drive the peloton. Cofidis’s Bryan Coquard is dropping off the back and is 15secs behind.
178km to go: The gap has grown to 1min 38secs, but the peloton behind are yet to act on the breakaway.
182km to go: Already a group of five have opened up a gap of 25secs. The riders are: Jonas Rutsch (Intermarché-Wanty), Matis Le Berre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Mattéo Vercher (Total Energies). The peloton behind seem pretty chilled about it at the moment.
The racing has begun!
184km to go: The race is on and the first attack comes from perennial underdog French squad, Total Energies.
According to TNT Sports’ viewer predictor poll for today’s stage winner, Jonathan Milan is the favourite, followed by Jasper Philipsen.
My first email! Thanks Guy.
Bonjour Amy, Le Tour est ici! If the Giro was anything to go by, this could be a vintage year for Grand Tours. Though it’s obviously hard to see past Pogačar for the GC in France, there should be subplots aplenty and opportunities for teams to attack him and go for the other jerseys.
My money is on Jasper Philipsen today (and not just because he’s in my fantasy team) but we’ve all seen plenty of chaos in opening sprint stages so I’m also hoping everyone stays upright.
I’m looking forward to seeing what the subplots might be this year too.
Here is a clip of the riders starting stage one:
Also, there’s been some discussion on the live coverage about the wind conditions today. According to the official TdF updates, there is a south-westerly wind, with gusts of up to 45 km/h, which the riders will face for the first 40km. After that, they should have the wind in their favour for the next 70km. Oh, and there’s a chance of rain in the afternoon.
TNT Sports spoke to Jonas Vingegaard before stage one and asked him about the wind today. The Danish rider spoke about growing up in the wind and says he remembers well riding into a headwind often, which he admits is “annoying”. On another note, he happily told the interviewer he’d had a good nine and a half hours sleep, which he said he doesn’t often get these days due to his children.
According to the Tour’s live coverage, the peloton has stopped at Porte de Paris, one of Lille’s city gates, where an orchestra is playing the Marseillaise, the French national anthem.
Today’s rollout has begun
And the Tour de France 2025 is off! Well, the controlled, 11km slow rollout before the official race starts is on. There are 184 riders taking part and the TV coverage is showing quite a few smiling faces as they parade around during the neutralised start in Lille.
The rollout should begin in just one minute. The riders, such as three-time Tour de France stage winner Biniam Girmay, can be spotted waiting at the start line:
Earlier I mentioned that all eyes will be on sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen, Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier. Here’s a little bit about each of them:
Jasper Philipsen
Part of Alpecin-Deceuninck, Philipsen has one plan: the green jersey. On the flat stages, team mate Mathieu van der Poel uses his explosive power and superlative bike handling to lead out Philipsen, who has won nine stages in the last three Tours and the green jersey in 2023.
Jonathan Milan
After a prolific spring for Lidl-Trek, July is all about stage wins, with Milan for the flat finishes. The Italian sprinter with four stages in the Giro to his name shines when the roads are the lumpy side of flat.
Tim Merlier
In early June, Soudal-Quick-Step nudged past 1,000 wins since their foundation; they will add to that in the next few weeks, targeting sprint stages with the European champion, Merlier.
Ahead of the stage one rollout, the Tour de France have posted a plea to those coming out to watch the race to respect the riders. “Don’t run alongside them, don’t touch them and don’t throw anything at them.” There’s a video clip showing some previous incidents too.
Here’s the profile of stage one of the Tour de France 2025:
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Here’s an interesting fact for you all: the last time a Tour de France stage finished in Lille was 11 years ago and it was won by Marcel Kittel.
Jeremy Whittle
My colleague Jeremy Whittle has written about Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard’s rivalry – sure to be a key theme again at this year’s TdF:
The pair, whose rivalry is becoming one of the Tour’s most longstanding, will be locked in battle again this month with Pogačar widely expected to hammer home the supremacy of the past 18 months with another win.
The UAE Team Emirates leader says he is “confident and ready”. Certainly his team, memorably bushwhacked by Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike teammate Simon Yates on the penultimate stage of this year’s Giro, will want payback.
In a tricky and tortuous opening to the Tour that will test every rider’s mettle, the biggest threat to Pogačar will be crashing. He has already ended up in a ditch this year, during the Italian gravel race Strade Bianche. Even then, he went on to win.
“The first week of the Tour is one of the most intense and nervous weeks,” he said. “You can quite easily lose the race in the first 10 days to the first rest day.
A lot can happen in such a long race, but I’m looking forward to racing against Jonas again. He’s in great shape. It will be a great month for people in front of the TV and beside the road.
Stage one: Lille Métropole to Lille Métropole, 184.9km
Here’s a look at today’s stage, Saturday 5 July: Lille Métropole to Lille Métropole, 184.9km, with William Fotheringham’s preview:
The climbs of Mont Cassel and Le Mont Noir won’t be enough to split the peloton, so this is almost guaranteed to be a bunch sprint, unless it gets windy. A strong westerly would make this a nightmare with more than 140km of crosswinds, but if it stays calm it’s a first big test for Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and the other fast men. For the favourites, a first day of trying to stay upright.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the Guardian’s live coverage of the Tour de France 2025, starting with stage one in Lille.
Today, the peloton will roll out from the northern French city at 1.10pm CEST (12.10pm BST) and tackle 184.9km on a flat stage that will loop back into Lille for what will most likely end in a bunch sprint. So, all eyes will be on sprinters such as Jasper Philipsen, Jonathan Milan and Tim Merlier. I’d love to hear your predictions though, so please email them over.
While we wait for the live TV coverage to kick off, here’s some reading from our sports team who have been previewing this year’s Tour:
Tadej Pogačar v Jonas Vingegaard – The battle for the yellow jersey
Who’s who?
Your stage-by-stage guide
The Tour de France’s version of VAR?
Fifty years of finishes on Champs-Élysées
#Tour #France #stage #heads #finish #battle #yellow #jersey #live #Tour #France
