Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Saturday, July 12, 2025
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary | Our YouTube page
2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness. - Dalai Lama
Les Woodland's book Dirty Feet: How the Great Unwashed Created the Tour de France is available in print, Kindle eBook & audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- July 5 - 27: Tour de France
- July 9 - 13: Tour of Austria
Upcoming racing:
- August 2: San Sebastian Classic
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
We posted the race organizer's report with the results.
Here's the report from stage winner and new GC leader Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:
With a magnificent display in Mûr-de-Bretagne, Tadej Pogačar roared to victory on stage 7 of the Tour de France, claiming his second win of the race and retaking the Yellow Jersey. With his supreme sprint proving too much for the second-placed Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Pogačar picked up his victory No.60 of the season for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Tadej Pogacar is back in yellow. Sirotti photo
Pogačar’s second win of the race was made all the sweeter by the exceptional work of his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates, who teed up the finale with a lightning combination of speed, power and determination.
Keeping the day’s five-man breakaway in check, both Nils Politt and Marc Soler commandeered the peloton with an iron fist, before the final ascent of the climb in Mûr-de-Bretagne reared its head. At this point, the polka-dot jersey wearer and Belgian national champion, Tim Wellens, came to the fore.
Lighting up the race with a huge turn of speed, the Belgian shredded the front of the field and ensured that every rider was near his limit as the climb began to bite. Well known for its steep slopes, the ‘wall’, or the Mur de Mûr-de-Bretagne, was the site of Dan Martin’s memorable Tour de France stage victory for UAE Team Emirates in 2018. This time around, the Emirati squad had one last pocket-rocket up its sleeve to deliver Pogačar to victory.
In the last 800m, the Ecuadorian national champion, Jhonatan Narváez, turned himself inside out in a bid to keep the pace high at the front of the race. Under Narváez’s steam, the race was drawn out into one long line as the riders approached the final 300m of the day. It was at this point that Pogačar made his bid for glory and opened up his acceleration.
Despite Vingegaard’s best efforts, Pogačar proved unstoppable before the line, allowing the Slovenian to post up and celebrate his second victory of the Tour. In doing so, the world champion retakes the race lead and now holds a 54-second advantage over the second-placed Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step).
Unfortunately for UAE Team Emirates-XRG, João Almeida hit the deck as part of a large crash inside the final 8km. The Portuguese climber was riding high in the general classification before the stage, but could do nothing to avoid the asphalt. Once he had taken a moment to gather himself, Almeida remounted his bike and rode on to finish stage 7.
Thorough checks and X-rays were carried out by the medical team beyond the finish.
Dr. Adriano Rotunno (Medical Director): “João suffered a heavy fall in the stage finale today.
“Thankfully, there was no serious injury and he was able to finish the stage.
“After clinical examination, we immediately took him for relevant radiological investigations. It’s confirmed he has an uncomplicated left-sided rib fracture, as well as some profound abrasions to his body. Fortunately, no concussion. We will be monitoring him carefully going forward. The next few days will be difficult for him, but at this point, he should be able to start tomorrow’s stage.”
As for Pogačar, the new race leader sent his best wishes to João in his post-race interviews, whilst heaping praise on his teammates for their efforts in the finale on Friday afternoon.
Pogačar: “I am super happy with the win, today. We did an almost perfect day. Unfortunately, João crashed and I hope he is ok. If he is ok, then it is a perfect day. If he is not, then this victory is for him.
“Of course, I think Mathieu [van der Poel] and I both know this finish really well. We both have nice memories from here, and we wanted more or less the same thing: to win on this iconic climb. I think maybe he left too much on the road yesterday so we couldn’t have this rematch, but for me this day went super and how we planned. The win is amazing.
“We did an amazing job today, all the teammates were perfect. It was a hot day, we spent a lot of energy to cool down the bodies and also it was a super fast, hard day. We had a plan and we stuck to it.
“Tim [Wellens] led me out to the bottom of the climb. Normally, João [Almeida] would be there but he crashed, so Jhony [Narváez] came through in the last kilometre and he did a super good job to keep it under control until the last sprint. It was perfect for me.”
Content continues below the ads
Here's the Tour stage seven report from second-place Jonas Vingegaard's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:
Jonas Vingegaard came close to a stage victory once again in the Tour de France. In the seventh stage, the 28-year-old Dane sprinted to second place atop the Mûr-de-Bretagne. Matteo Jorgenson crossed the line in fifth place. The stage win went to Tadej Pogačar.
The peloton rolled out from the coastal town of Saint-Malo for a stage just shy of 200 kilometres. The toughest section came at the end, with a double ascent of the Mûr-de-Bretagne awaiting the riders.
The finish, with Vingegaard just behind winner Pogacar. Sirotti photo
As in previous stages, a fierce battle unfolded for a place in the breakaway. Among those trying to get up the road were Wout van Aert and Victor Campenaerts, but the Team Visma | Lease a Bike riders were given little space. Later in the stage, both Belgians would prove invaluable in support of team leader Vingegaard.
During the first ascent of the Mûr-de-Bretagne, the last remaining escapee, Ewen Costiou, was reeled in by what had become a heavily reduced peloton — the result of the high tempo set by Team Visma | Lease a Bike. A compact group then prepared for the decisive finale on the climb.
At the foot of the final ascent, Vingegaard, Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel briefly managed to break clear, but the chasers — including Jorgenson — quickly bridged the gap. In a powerful uphill sprint, Pogačar narrowly beated Vingegaard, with Jorgenson finishing just behind in fifth.
“I felt good today”, Vingegaard said afterward. “Thanks to the great work of my teammates, I stayed out of trouble once again. I can live with second place, although maybe there was a little more in it for me today. It’s been a tough first week of the Tour, with several stages already fought out between the GC contenders. The mountains are coming — I’m really looking forward to them. We have a strong team, and we’re going all in.”
Content continues below the ads
Here's the Tour de France report from Remco Evenepoel's Team Soudal Quick-Step:
Stage seven of the Tour de France took the peloton through lovely Bretagne, the land of Asterix and Obelix, but also of the great Bernard Hinault – the only man to have won each Grand Tour multiple times – whose hometown of Yffiniac was visited by the riders during the stage.
On the menu, a double ascent of Mûr-de-Bretagne (2km, 6.9%), which returned as a finish for the first time in history. There, a searing pace pushed by some of the GC teams quickly reduced the peloton to some 20-odd riders, who continued at this fast tempo on the descent. Thanks to the excellent job of his Soudal Quick-Step teammates, Remco was well positioned at the start of the last climb, having avoided a crash that took place in the second part of the bunch, just as they were approaching the early ramps of the Mûr-de-Bretagne.
Remco Evenepoel remains the owner of the Best Young Rider's white jersey. Sirotti photo
One kilometer and a half from the line, the white jersey wearer moved to the front of the group to control the pace and still had something left to sprint for a good result, taking sixth at the end of the stage won by Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). For his effort, Evenepoel was rewarded by returning to second place on the general classification of the Tour de France ahead of the weekend, which should be one for the sprinters.
Content continues below the ads
And here's the Tour report from third-place Oscar Onley's Team Picnic-PostNL:
Friday’s racing saw the Tour de France peloton return to Bretagne roads, with local hero Warren Barguil given a rapturous reception at the sign-on in Saint-Malo. Ahead of the bunch was a 197 kilometre route that finished with two ascents of the famous Mûr-de-Bretagne, and from the flag drop it was an intense start. Multiple teams and riders looked to make the breakaway, so the attacks continued to pepper the front of the race. Team Picnic PostNL looked to mark out those moves, with ambitions of positioning Oscar Onley to go for it in the finale from the peloton. The team did a brilliant job at that with Sean Flynn and Tim Naberman particularly active in doing that.
In the end a five-rider group went clear and the peloton began to set tempo behind them, ensuring the gap didn’t grow out too far. Coming into the last 30 kilometres the break was only one minute ahead, while the team’s sprint group of Niklas Märkl, Tobias Lund Andresen and Pavel Bittner did a great job to keep the rest of the team well towards the front of the peloton, as the fight for position was on.
Over the first ascent of the Mûr-de-Bretagne, Frank van den Broek and Barguil made it over alongside Onley in a reduced peloton of around 40 riders; keeping Onley safe. Unfortunately on the descent there was a crash which saw Barguil go down, but he was able to remount his bike and continue to the end of the stage – where he required stitches.
Back in the drastically reduced yellow jersey group, Van den Broek guided Onley through the finale and dropped him off on a good wheel going into the last three kilometres and the final ascent to the line. A fierce pace was set from the bottom and the group was strung out immediately, braking apart in several places. The trio of Pogacar, Vingegaard and Evenepoel pushed on and opened up a gap but Onley rode at his own pace in a group just behind and over the steepest sections they came back to the front of the race.
From there, things were set-up in a lead-out for a very lactate-filled sprint from nine riders; with Onley giving everything to the line to take an exceptional third place finish – his first ever stage podium at the Tour de France. A well-deserved result for not only Onley but the whole team, with every Team Picnic PostNL rider playing their part in the final result come the end of the stage. With some riders going down in the crash and gaps in the final, Onley and Team Picnic PostNL also move up to seventh on GC in the race.
The stage gets started in Saint-Malo. ASO photo
Speaking at the finish Onley said: “The guys and team once again did a super job to protect me and look after me throughout the stage. It meant I could just focus on the final as much as possible and not have to worry about anything else; and they positioned me for the first time up the Mûr perfectly. I wouldn’t say I was thinking too much tactically on that final climb, but when you have the legs it’s easier to make the right decisions when you’re on the limit. It was cagey for the first three, but behind I think everyone was on their limit from the start of it as it was a really strong pace into the bottom of the climb. It was just all-out sprint to the line in the end and we can be pleased with the third place. Of course to get a win would be nice, but there’s a long way to go in this Tour de France.”
Team Picnic PostNL coach Matt Winston continued: “The team did a really good job to look after Oscar throughout the day. Then you could see on the TV images how they were working hard on the front to keep him in position and bring him into the closing lap in good shape. On the last climb Oscar could show again just how strong he was. It was a really nice third place after some great teamwork, and something we can continue to build on. The only downside for us today was Warren’s crash, which was a shame, especially after he did a really nice job today looking after Oscar.”
And here's the Tour de France stage seven report from Team Groupama-FDJ:
The finish of stage 7 of the Tour de France in Mûr-de-Bretagne proved rather harsh for Groupama-FDJ on Friday. Unfortunately for Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, this meant a hard crash just six kilometres from the finish. The French climber managed to resume the race but lost two minutes at the finish. As for Romain Grégoire, he was unable to compete with the very best this time and finished thirteenth. The peloton now heads into two sprint stages.
Four years after its last visit, the Tour de France returned to Mûr-de-Bretagne on Friday for the seventh stage of the “Grande Boucle”. And as in 2021, the iconic Breton climb featured twice in the final part of the race. Another battle between the punchers and climbers was expected, but some also considered the possibility of a victorious breakaway. This is why the first hour of racing, covered at a very high pace, offered a proper fight.
The peloton on the Mûr-de-Bretagne. Sirotti photo
The Groupama-FDJ cycling team joined in the various attacks, but it was ultimately a group of barely five men that broke away after around fifty kilometres. “We quickly understood that Pogacar wanted to win the stage, that UAE wanted to control it, so we didn’t push too hard either,” commented Benoît Vaugrenard. “The guys still tried, because you never know, but there was no point wasting too much energy joining the breakaway today”. Indeed, the fugitives were then kept within short distance throughout the day, and never enjoyed a two-minute lead.
In the final thirty kilometres, the pace increased both in front and in the back, and the peloton approached the final climbs at full speed. “The goal was to gather around Romain and Guillaume because we knew it would go very fast on the first ascent of Mûr-de-Bretagne,” added Benoît Vaugrenard. The confirmation came quickly enough, and barely forty riders made the cut at the top of the first climb, including Romain Grégoire, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet, and Quentin Pacher. “It was another ultra-fast final and day,” said the youngest of them.
Controlled by the leaders’ teams, this reduced peloton then headed toward the final climb after a downhill of a few kilometres. Unfortunately, a collision at full speed caused a significant crash with six kilometres to go, and Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet was unable to avoid it. “It’s the day’s bad news“, said Benoît. “He changed bikes and was able to finish. Considering the crash he suffered, it looks ok for now, but the proper answer will only come tomorrow. It’s a pity.”
In a leading peloton reduced to around thirty men, Quentin Pacher kept on working for Romain Grégoire. However, the young man’s hopes didn’t last long. “It went flat-out from the bottom, and that was at the advantage of the best climbers,” he said. “You needed to withstand this first effort in the first kilometre of the climbing, but it was going a little too fast for me and I wasn’t able to hang on. It’s a shame, because if I had held on until the red flame, it would have been possible to stay in the wheels afterward. I did what I could with the legs I had, but I didn’t have the super legs today.”
“It climbed very fast, and we only find GC guys in the first seven positions,” added Benoît. “Romain did his best, but it was a bit too hard. The only regret today is Guillaume’s crash.” While Romain Grégoire ultimately took thirteenth place, twenty-one seconds behind Tadej Pogacar, who got back in yellow, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet lost 2’17 on the line. He now sits 20th overall, 8’13 behind the Slovenian, as a weekend dedicated to sprinters comes. “Tomorrow, the finish will be slightly uphill near Laval, and that could suit Paul,” concluded Benoît.
Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary