Image source, EPA- That’s all from today’s live page – and this year’s Tour de France.
- As expected, the final stage was a slow-burner but it came to life in a thrilling finale. Who wants that new finishing format to return?
- Wout van Aert denied Tadej Pogacar a prestigious stage win, but Pogacar is still partying in Paris having retained his Tour title.
- That’s his fourth Tour triumph overall… now let’s see if he goes for the Grand Tour treble later this year. Until then, it’s ‘au revoir’ from the Champs-Elysees.
Matt Warwick- BBC Sport
- Well, Pog seemed a little tired in the last few days of this race – especially on Montmartre just then. But the race was won weeks ago.
- Possibly thanks to this Incredible Hulk sticker on his handlebars I noticed while trying to get a few words with him at the Grand Depart in Lille.
- Most other riders have an exhaustive list of nutrition and parcours info on their stems. Seems like the key is to keep it simple.
Image source, BBC Sport
Image source, BBC Sport
Image source, BBC Sport- Tadej Pogacar was also asked if he would try to complete the Grand Tour treble by racing at the Vuelta a Espana in August-September, having also won the Giro d’Italia as well as the Tour de France.
- “Let’s take one week easy now,” he said. “I want to enjoy some summer days. We did some heat acclimatisation training but in the end it wasn’t too hot here.
- “So I want some hot days, but without suffering on the bike. I will see next week.”
Image source, Reuters- Race winner Tadej Pogacar: “In the end, it was a nice race [for the stage]. It was great from the organisers to neutralise the GC times so nobody had to risk anything. It was fair play in the end. I gave it a go because I was at the front but Wout [van Aert] was incredibly strong at the top of the climb and he deserves this big, big win.
- “I’m super happy that it’s over but I must say, I quite enjoyed the whole Tour. I may already miss it next week but it was a pleasure to be here, to wear this yellow jersey.”
Image source, EPA- Wout van Aert may have prevented Tadej Pogacar going joint-fifth on the all-time list for Tour de France stage wins.
- But the Slovenian superstar has gone joint-fifth for all-time Tour titles, going level with British rider Chris Froome, with only Jacques Anquetil, Eddy Merckx, Bernard Hinault and Miguel Indurain above them.
- Tadej Pogacar becomes the first reigning world road champion to win the Tour de France since Greg LeMond in 1990.
- The Slovenian is only the fifth man to do so after Louison Bobet (1955), Eddy Merckx (1972), Bernard Hinault (1981) and LeMond.
Image source, Getty Images/Reuters- Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG) 76hrs 32secs
- Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) +4mins 24secs
- Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +11mins
- Oscar Onley (GB/Picnic PostNL) +12mins 12secs
- Felix Gall (Aut/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +17mins 12secs
- Tobias Johannessen (Nor/Uno-X Mobility) +20mins 14secs
- Kevin Vauquelin (Fra/Arkea-B&B Hotels) +22mins 35secs
- Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +25mins 30secs
- Ben Healy (Ire/EF Education-EasyPost) +28mins 2secs
- Jordan Jegat (Fra/TotalEnergies) +32mins 42secs
- Ben Healy has bagged the combativity award for this year’s Tour.
- The TV cameras have shown the Irish rider walking along the Champs-Elysees with his beloved dog, a gorgeous sausage dog called Olive.
- She’s almost stolen his thunder during this year’s Tour.
- Stage winner Wout van Aert: “It was really special to win here on the Champs-Elysees, and on the first occasion when we climb the Montmartre.
- “The rain made it quite sketchy but I managed to stay upright and had the full support of my team-mates. Without them, I could not control this race. I went into the last climb to leave it all out there. But that was our plan, and it worked.
- “Even yesterday, I didn’t feel good enough to reach the breakaway. We came to this Tour with the ambition to win the yellow jersey but the strongest and biggest rider in the world won it. But for sure we don’t go home without prizes. [Jonas] Vingegaard has second, we won the team classification. I have my stage win, Simon [Yates] too [on stage 10].”
Image source, Getty Images- Wout van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease a Bike) 3hrs 7mins 30secs
- Davide Ballerini (Ita/XDS Astana) Same time
- Matej Mohoric (Slo/Bahrain Victorious)
- Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG)
- Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike)
- Matteo Trentin (Ita/Tudor)
- Arnaud de Lie (Bel/Lotto)
- Kevin Vauquelin (Fra/Arkea-B&B Hotels)
- Mike Teunissen (Ned/XDS Astana)
- Dylan Teuns (Bel/Cofidis)
- Tadej Pogacar was the fourth rider to cross the line, with his hand in the air as he celebrates a fourth Tour de France triumph.
Image source, EPA- Wout van Aert takes a look over his shoulder and his hands off the handlebars before blowing a sigh of relief.
- His bike almost grinds to a halt as the Belgian rolls over the line to clinch victory on the final stage of this year’s Tour de France.
Image source, Getty Images- Wout van Aert is heading for his 10th stage win on the Tour – and his second on the Champs-Elysees having previously won there in 2021.
- He leads by 20 seconds.
- Wout van Aert now leads by 13 seconds, with the other breakaway riders having rejoined Tadej Pogacar.
- Jonas Vingegaard and Visma-Lease a Bike were unable to crack Tadej Pogacar in the mountains.
- But could Wout van Aert give them something to cheer at the end of this year’s Tour?
- Wout van Aert is first over the top and puts the pedal down on the ascent to stretch his lead to 10 seconds over Tadej Pogacar.
- Wout van Aert puts the hammer down. Not only has he droppped the rest of the breakway, he’s distanced Tadej Pogacar too.
- The versatile Belgian star is already six seconds clear.
- Tadej Pogacar is first on to the climb and pushes the pace, roared by thousands lining the street up to Sacre-Coeur.
- Matteo Jorgenson attacks, Matej Mohoric responds… the final ascent of the Cote de la Butte Montmartre begins with 7.2km of the stage left.
Image source, Getty Images
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- Wout van Aert (Bel/Visma-Lease a Bike)
- Matteo Jorgenson (US/Visma-Lease a Bike)
- Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG)
- Davide Ballerini (Ita/XDS Astana)
- Matteo Trentin (Ita/Tudor)
- Matej Mohoric (Slo/Bahrain Victorious)
- Wout van Aert is driving the six-man breakaway at the start of the final lap.
- They have a 25-second buffer over the chase group.
- The leaders now have an 18-second gap.
- Raining, I said… it’s now pouring in Paris!
- You can hear the screech of the brakes as the riders go into tight corners.
- Matej Mohoric joins the front group, with the chasers 10 seconds adrift.
- Tadej Pogacar leapfrogged Nicolas Frantz on the all-time list for Tour de France stage wins this year.
- Another today would put the Slovenian superstar joint-fifth with Andre Darrigade with 22.
- Victor Campeanerts leads the way on the second ascent of the Cote de la Butte Montmartre, but Tadej Pogacar then hits the front again. Of course he does.
- He’s goes over the summit with Davide Ballerini, Matteo Jorgenson, Wout van Aert and Matteo Trentin.
- Bastien Tronchon is caught, with a group of 27 riders now forming the lead group.
- By the way, it’s now raining on the cobbles of Paris.
- Bastien Tronchon attacks as Victor Campenaerts drives the chase, with Tadej Pogacar and Wout van Aert not far behind.
- Tadej Pogacar now has 21 stage wins at the Tour de France after winning four so far this year.
- Could he be challenging for another today?
Image source, BBC/EPA- Tadej Pogacar drives the chase, followed by Wout van Aert, and the yellow jersey hits the front to go over the summit first.
Image source, EPA- Tudor’s Julian Alaphilippe attacks on the first ascent of the Cote de la Butte Montmartre, with Lotto’s Arnaud de Lie on his wheel.
Image source, Reuters- Quinn Simmons and Florian Lipowitz are caught, four kilometres before the first ascent of Montmartre.
- As the peloton crosses the finish line for the fourth time today, Quinn Simmons and Florian Lipowitz are 10 seconds ahead of the peloton.
- The times for the overall standings have now been neutralised, before what promises to be a thrilling finale.
Image source, Reuters- Now Captain America Quinn Simmons makes a move, along with third-placed GC rider Florian Lipowitz.
- Perhaps Simmons does fancy it after all. He could win the combativity award, adding a stage win on the Champs-Elysees would do nicely.
- The trio are caught just before the peloton passes the finish line for the third time.
- Points leader Jonathan Milan then hits the front and beats Jonas Abrahamsen to take maximum points on the final intermediate sprint of the Tour, showing why the Italian is set to go home with the green jersey.
- The peloton reels in Alexis Renard, before Santiago Buitrago and Neilson Powless go clear, and Magnus Cort joins them to make it a five-second gap.
Image source, Getty Images- The final stage of last year’s Tour was staged in Nice because the 2024 Olympics were being held in Paris.
- Today, the world’s best cycling race is back where it belongs.
Image source, Reuters- Of the 184 riders that started the Tour, 160 have made it to Paris, including 2018 Tour winner Geraint Thomas.
- This is the 39-year-old Welshman’s final day in the saddle on the Tour de France before he retires.
- “It’s a mixture of relief and joy,” said the Ineos Grenadiers rider. “It’s just one last big day, but to get to Paris is always special, no matter what’s happened over the weeks before, so I’ll enjoy it with the guys.
- “The Tour’s been everything. You dream of competing once then to do it 14 times, and to be on every spot on the podium, is just phenomenal.
- On fans holding signs with his name on: “That’s been the nicest part, the support I’ve had back home has always been amazing, and from abroad too. That’s the thing I’ll remember most fondly.”
Image source, Reuters- OK, so now we’re racing!
- Magnus Cort of Uno-X Mobility makes the first attack, before Alexis Renard goes clear with Bean Healy in pursuit.
Image source, Getty Images- The riders are now right in the French capital, rolling through the Louvre and going past the finish line for the first time today, with the peloton letting UAE Emirates-XRG’s seven remaining riders go first.
- They are now facing three laps on the traditional circuit of the Champs-Elysees, before three more laps featuring the Cote de la Butte Montmartre.
Image source, Reuters
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Image source, Getty Images- Remco Evenepoel will be replaced on the podium and as the white jersey winner by Florian Lipowitz, who is making his Tour debut for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
- Primoz Roglic came in to the Tour as the team leader for Red Bull, with Lipowitz seen as a back-up option for GC having finished third behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard at last month’s Criterium du Dauphine.
- The 24-year-old German gradually improved in the GC standings and edged ahead of veteran Roglic before holding off a challenge from Scotland’s Oscar Onley for the final GC podium spot on stage 18.
- Red Bull are the only team with two riders in the top 10 of the GC standings yet over the past few days there have been several reports that Evenepoel, who is under contract with Soudal Quick-Step for 2025, has agreed a deal to join the German team. So, at the moment, who knows who will be Red Bull’s leader at next year’s Tour?!
- There are some beautiful TV shots now coming in with the peloton having reached the centre of Paris.
Image source, EPA- Tadej Pogacar’s UAE team-mate Pavel Sivakov takes the second mountain point on offer today on the Cote du Pave des Gardes climb.
- Remco Evenepoel won the time trial on stage five but was forced to abandon the Tour during stage 14 and the double Olympic champion revealed two days ago that he had been racing with a broken rib, which he suffered during the Belgian championships right before the Tour.
- The 25-year-old, who finished third on his Tour debut last year, suffered a crash on a training ride in December and although he seemed to regain full fitness in time for the Tour, he said “I never quite felt like myself”. He added: “I always felt like I was playing catch-up.”
- in a lengthy, emotional statement on Instagram,, external he also had a message to any young riders watching the Tour: “It’s OK to stop. It’s OK to feel tired. It’s OK to be human.
- “Sometimes stepping back is the strongest thing you can do. Now, I’m taking time to rest and recover for a while.”
Image source, Getty Images- Soudal Quick-Step have just been on the team radio, reminding their riders that this is a real stage and telling them to focus.
- They have already had three stage wins from four riders, namely Tim Merlier (two), Remco Evenepoel and Valentin Paret-Peintre. Clearly they want to go out with a bang.
Image source, EPA- The pace has picked up, with the peloton now just 20km from Paris, where huge crowds are already gathered on the Montmartre climb.
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- How about you guys? What were your favourite moments? The more random, the better…
- Let us know via the usual channels above.
Image source, Reuters- Want a recap of what’s happened on this year’s Tour?
- Then visit our stage guide to catch up on the key moments.
- Besides Tadej Pogacar’s brilliance and some thrilling breakaway wins, two of my personal favourite moments were Ben Healy waiting to see if he’d done enough to claim the yellow jersey after finishing third as Simon Yates won stage 10.
- And also Mathieu van der Poel’s gutsy effort to claim a solo win on stage nine, only to be caught less than a kilometre from the line. Was a gripping watch. I mean, who wasn’t screaming at the TV for the Dutch star to get the job done?!
Image source, EPA
Image source, Reuters- Ben Healy and Quinn Simmons have perhaps animated this year’s race more than any other riders.
- And for me, Simmons’ hair and jersey combo have been one of the highlights of this year’s Tour.
- Wearing a stars and stripes jersey as the American road champion, he looks more like Captain America.
- And then there’s that handlebar moustache and his long strawberry blonde hair.
- Generally speaking, when his hair has been tied up, he’s meant business in the breakaway. But today it’s flowing in the breeze so maybe the Lidl-Trek rider isn’t planning on battling it out for the stage win later.
Image source, EPA- There’s a maximum 50 sprint points available on today’s stage, so Jonathan Milan is set to add a Tour green jersey to the two he’s already won on the Giro d’Italia:
- Jonathan Milan (Ita/Lidl-Trek) – 352 points
- Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG) – 272 pts
- Biniam Girmay (Eri/Intermarche-Wanty) – 213 pts
- Jonas Vingegaard (Den/Visma-Lease a Bike) – 182 pts
- Anthony Turgis (Fra/TotalEnergies) – 169 pts
Image source, EPA- And here’s which riders are set to go home with this year’s coloured jerseys:
- Yellow jersey (general classification) – Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Emirates-XRG)
- Polka-dot jersey (mountain classification) – Tadej Pogacar
- Green jersey (points classification) – Jonathan Milan (Ita/Lidl-Trek)
- White jersey (best young rider) – Florian Lipowitz (Ger/Red Bull-Bora-Hangrohe)
Image source, Reuters- Tadej Pogacar needn’t worry. The race leader was assured of his third King of the Mountains title during yesterday’s stage.
- But since the yellow jersey takes precedence, Jonas Vingegaard is wearing the polka-dot jersey today.
- Flat stage, 132.3km, from Mantes-la-Ville to Champs-Elysees
Image source, EPA- There are five categorised climbs on the final stage of the Tour, although three of those will be up the same hill in Paris.
- We’ve just had the first of those climbs and Matteo Vercher, Benjamin Thomas and Mathis le Berre have a playful sprint to the summit, with Vercher taking the one mountain point on offer on the Cote de Bazemont.
- That was in stark contrast to Vercher’s mountain sprint with Thomas on the first stage, when Thomas edged out Vercher as he lunged for the line but slid to the deck and wiped out his fellow Frenchman.
- Vercher wasn’t too happy, I can tell you.
Image source, Getty Images- Ben Healy is also set for a top-10 GC finish, which was beyond the expectations of EF Education-EasyPost and their breakaway specialist.
- They had targeted stage six for a potential breakaway win and the 24-year-old did indeed manage to claim his first Tour victory.
- And Healy’s second Tour got even better as, on stage 10, he became the first Irish rider to claim the yellow jersey since Stephen Roche won the race in 1987.
- He’s certainly enjoyed being in the spotlight and mixing it with cycling’s big guns.
- Jordan Jegat snatched a spot in the top 10 of the general classification standings yesterday after getting into the breakaway, from which Kaden Groves claimed his first Tour win.
Image source, EPA- Out at the back of the peloton, the Australian contingent are catching up with each other.
- It’s been a great year for the Aussies, with Ben O’Connor and Kaden Groves both claiming stage wins over the past three days.
- O’Connor was unable to prevent French rider Jordan Jegat snatching a top-10 GC spot from him yesterday but the Jayco AlUla rider will still be pleased to have ended his four-year wait for a second Tour stage win.
- After three weeks of thrilling action, the first Tour to be held entirely in France since 2020 will conclude in the capital later.
- Flat stage, 132.3km, from Mantes-la-Ville to Champs-Elysees
Image source, EPA- The riders have pretty much gone full gas from the start of each and every stage of this year’s Tour, treating many of the flatter stages like one-day classics.
- But there’s none of that today.
- The stage is under way and Tadej Pogacar is rolling along at the front of the peloton, posing for pictures with his UAE Emirates-XRG team-mates.
- Back in the bunch, team-mates and rivals are nattering away, having a chuckle as they begin their leisurely ride into Paris.
- Flat stage, 132.3km, from Mantes-la-Ville to Champs-Elysees
Image source, ASO- The Tour returns to it’s traditional Paris finish after relocating to Nice last year due to the Olympics.
- However, it does so with a twist, given the cobbled climb up to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica on the Montmartre hill features three times in a throwback to the road race in the 2024 Paris Games.
- It’s a 1.1km ascent at a gradient of 5.9% added to the original finishing circuit in the French capital, designed to whittle down the field before a high-speed finish, albeit possibly without some of the pure sprinters.
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And welcome to the final stage of the 2025 Tour de France, when Tadej Pogacar is set to secure his fourth general classification win in cycling’s biggest and best race.
There is also a prestigious stage win up for grabs on the Champs-Elysees, before this year’s jersey winners are paraded in Paris.
So sit back and enjoy as we bring you all the action and look back on a thrilling three weeks around France.
