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Sunday, July 6, 2025

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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia

He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot. - Douglas Adams

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Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, 2019: A Year of New Faces is available in both Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• July 5 - 27: Tour de France

Upcoming racing:

• July 9 - 13: Tour of Austria

Latest completed racing:

• June 21 - 29: Most national road championships
• June 24: Giro dell'Appennino
• June 15 - 22: Tour de Suisse
• June 18 - 22: Baloise Belgium Tour
• June 8 - 15: Critérium du Dauphiné
• June 13: GP Kanton Aargau
• June 8: Brussels Cycling Classic
• May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia

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Tour de France stage one reports

We posted the race organizer's report with the results.

Here's the report from Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike got through the first stage of the Tour de France with flying colours. The Dutch team created a split in the crosswinds and had a lead of 39 seconds at the finish over several general classification rivals.

That a first Tour stage always brings nervousness is widely known by now. That was evident once again in the opening of the 2025 edition. Team Visma | Lease a Bike didn’t let it affect them and stayed attentively positioned at the front throughout. The team – and Vingegaard in particular – was so alert that along the way even a point for the mountains classification was picked up.

With just under twenty kilometres to go, Team Visma | Lease a Bike saw its chance when the wind turned into a cross-tailwind. The team didn’t hesitate for a moment and hit the throttle. That immediately caused a split. Several ambitious riders missed the move. Jasper Philipsen eventually won the stage and becomes the first wearer of the yellow jersey.

Jonas Vingegaard was first to the top of stage one's last climb.

“This was a good first day”, said Vingegaard after the finish. “The team supported me fantastically throughout the stage, and I want to thank them for that. A bit later, we managed to force a split. It was a very tricky moment. It was all hands on deck. We were well positioned and decided to give it a go. The fact that it worked out is just fantastic. This start gives us confidence for what’s to come.”

Matteo Jorgenson, eighth on the day and the best finisher of Team Visma | Lease a Bike, explained more about the pre-race plan: “We intended to force a split at kilometre 164. Luckily, we were grouped well at that moment. That was by no means guaranteed in the chaos, but we managed. The fact that the plan played out exactly as intended is just great”, said the American.

“The most important thing was to get through today’s stage well”, Head of Racing Grischa Niermann emphasised. “It was very nervous, but even so, we wanted to try something. In the end, things turned out well for us. Unfortunately, Simon Yates did lose some time. He had mechanical issues and said himself he wasn’t having his best day. Fortunately, we succeeded in our main goal and got this Tour de France off to a good start.”

Here's the Tour report from Team Soudal Quick-Step:

For only the third time in history, and for the first time in 31 years, Lille hosted the Grand Depart. Unlike three decades ago, when the time trial specialists fought for the yellow jersey on the opening day, it was the sprinters who should have been in the spotlight now at the finish, but everything changed with 17 kilometers to go.

Soudal Quick-Step rider Remco Evenepoel before the stage start.

Several teams decided to increase in the crosswinds, and in just a matter of seconds, they split the peloton. Our riders found themselves in the first chasing group and did their best to limit the losses as things became more and more nervous and the gap between the groups began going up. The stage was won by Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), while the Soudal Quick-Step boys came home around 40 seconds after doing their best on the long roads to Lille in order to erase the deficit as the kilometers ticked down.

The 112th Tour de France continues on Sunday with a hilly stage to Boulogne-sur-Mer, where the many short and steep climbs stacked in the final part promise to reshuffle the general classification.

Team INEOS Grenadiers posted this Tour update:

Filippo Ganna was forced to abandon the Tour de France following a crash on an opening stage which saw Sam Watson sprint to 10th.

Ganna was caught up during a tightening right-hand corner with 132 kilometres to go and would later be forced to depart the race.

Filippo Ganna abandons.

The 184.9km loop around Lille Metropole would prove to be a rapid and stressful day for the entire bunch, with the threat of wind and road furniture leading to a nervous peloton.

Connor Swift got through a lot of work to help position the team at the head of the race, but it would be Watson who was best-placed to latch on to a significant split in the bunch with 17km to go.

A reduced bunch sprint saw Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin - Deceuninck) prevail to claim the opening yellow jersey, while Watson secured a top-10 stage finish in his Tour debut.

Carlos Rodriguez and Geraint Thomas would finish safely in the chasing group, 39 seconds back, as the gap opened out on the run-in.

And here's the Tour report from Team Groupama-FDJ:

The 112th Tour de France is officially underway. The second Grand Tour of the season started on Saturday around Lille, and the riders experienced quite a nervous first day. This resulted in a big split with twenty kilometres to go, where Clément Russo, Cyril Barthe, and Paul Penhoët were not caught off guard. The three men were therefore able to compete in the final in a reduced peloton, and Clément Russo (6th) and Paul Penhoët (7th) both secured a solid top-10 finish. Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet crossed the line thirty-nine seconds later, as did a large part of the GC contenders.

On Saturday, a large loop made up the first act of the 2025 Tour de France. From Lille, the peloton first headed towards Lens, before going towards Cassel and its famous climb, then returning to the prefecture of the North department, after a 185-kilometer route. The day’s course looked rather easy on paper, but it proved, quite early on, conducive to constant tension.

Team Groupama-FDJ is presented before the stage start. Sirotti photo

Although a five-man breakaway went from kilometre 0, the peloton started to get nervous after just thirty kilometres of racing, and this nervosity almost never left the pack. The early breakaway was caught before entering the last hundred kilometres, Paul Penhoët (7th) took part in the intermediate sprint, then a duo of fugitives reformed at the front. “From the start, the feelings were quite odd with all that noise,” smiled Paul, a Tour rookie. “It even gave me a headache! It felt like being in a tunnel, with the car’s windows open. It’s really impressive, but day by day, I’ll get used to it.” As the halfway point approached, the first crashes occurred in the peloton, as did the first attempts of echelons after going through Cassel.

Everything got back together, but the peloton continued to be nervous in the final two hours of racing. Attentive, the Groupama-FDJ riders repositioned with about twenty kilometres to go, and a few moments later, a split occurred in the pack. Clément Russo, Cyril Barthe and Paul Penhoët found themselves in the right move. “We knew this could happen at that point, but I really have to thank Cyril who was essential,” said Paul. “He really put me in the right place at the right time, then we made a very strong acceleration, and that allowed us to be up there with Clément. It was ideal and I can really thank the guys.” “There were less than forty guys in front, we had three men, and I think we would have had four if Lewis hadn’t had a mechanical problem shortly before,” added Benoît Vaugrenard.

The first peloton gradually gained ground on the second, especially thanks to Jasper Philipsen’s squad, which was almost complete at the front. The Groupama-FDJ trio then kept up the pace perfectly and was able to look for a major result as the gap was thirty seconds with ten kilometers to go. It stabilized in the final, and it was therefore a reduced peloton sprint that was set to award the stage victory and the first yellow jersey.

In the last kilometres, Groupama-FDJ tried to lead Paul Penhoët out, but were unable to set him up as desired. “There were three of us, and we rode well to be there,” Clément said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t find a gap in the sprint. I wanted to bring up Paul on the right, but I couldn’t pass, and I saw him come up on the left in the wind. Then, he struggled a bit because he had to launch from a long way back.”

Paul Penhoët eventually finished seventh, while his teammate finished just next to him, but one place higher. “I think it was definitely possible to do better than that, especially since there were three of us,” Paul said. “It’s still the first day of a Grand Tour; you also have to find your bearings, especially since it’s completely different from the other races I’m used to riding. Personally, I’m a bit disappointed right now, but it’s still a good start and it allows us to give some really good momentum within the team.” “I think we deserved better and could have done better, but the positive thing is that we were in front, we were strong, and that bodes well for what’s to come,” added Clément. “There will be other opportunities.” Benoît Vaugrenard also drew a rather positive assessment of this opening day: “It’s a good start, and even if we always hope for better, we’re in the mix. There are some adjustments to make, but it’s always better for confidence to start this way. We’ll do better tomorrow.”

On Sunday, the peloton will head to Boulogne-sur-Mer, where the overall standings should change quite a bit. “There are three climbs in the final, and it will probably be a race between the punchers and the GC riders,” added Benoît. “Romain will be our best chance.”

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