Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Monday, July 28, 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

Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see. - Arthur Schopenhauer

---

Les Woodland's book Tour de France: The Inside Story - Making the World's Greatest Bicycle Race is available in print, Kindle eBook and audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.

Current racing:

• July 26 - July 30: Tour de Wallonie

Upcoming racing:

• August 2: San Sebastian Classic

Latest completed racing:

• July 27: Vuelta a Castilla y Leon
• July 5 - 27: Tour de France
• June 21 - 29: Most national road championships
• June 24: Giro dell'Appennino
• June 15 - 22: Tour de Suisse
• June 18 - 22: Baloise Belgium Tour
• July 9 - 13: Tour of Austria
• June 8 - 15: Critérium du Dauphiné
• June 13: GP Kanton Aargau
• June 8: Brussels Cycling Classic
• May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia

---

Tour de France stage 21 team reports

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

Here's the report from Tour winner Tadej Pogacar's UAE Team Emirates-XRG:

Finishing fourth on stage 21, Tadej Pogačar became a four-time Tour de France champion on Sunday afternoon. The world champion was able to celebrate the incredible achievement with his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates in Paris, all of whom have been instrumental in helping the Emirati squad secure its fourth title in six years.

For Pogačar, his fourth Tour success has perhaps been his most resounding yet, with the Slovenian not losing a single second on the road to any of the top five in the general classification between stages 1-20. He becomes only the second rider in Tour de France history, after Maurice Garin in 1903, to do so.

That's four Tour wins for Tadej Pogacar. Sirotti photo

Along the way, Pogačar has taken four memorable stage victories and held his great rival Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) at arm’s length. The Danish two-time Tour champion left no stone unturned in his bid to dethrone Pogačar in the Grand Boucle, including an all-or-nothing siege on stage 18, but was unable to repeat his victories of 2022 and 2023. For his efforts, Vingegaard was rewarded with second place in the overall, as Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe’s Florian Lipowitz rounded out the podium in third.

For UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Pogačar led the line in style but did so with the unwavering support of his teammates, from Lille to Paris via the Pyrenees and the Alps. The Emirati squad ends its ninth Tour de France with five stage victories, including four from Pogačar and Tim Wellens‘ superb stage 15 win from the breakaway. It takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG to 26 stage wins on the sport’s grandest stage.

Sporting the hallowed Yellow Jersey through 13 stages and on the final podium in Paris, Pogačar also vanquishes the polka dot jersey as the winner of the King of the Mountains classification. It is the third time that the Slovenian has won both classifications in his career, and comes courtesy of his dominant displays in mountain stages.

After the race, Pogačar spoke with reporters to reflect on another Tour de France title, and analyse where the race was won.

Pogačar: “I am just speechless. To win a fourth Tour de France and finish six years in a row on the podium, this one feels especially amazing. I am super proud that I can wear this Yellow Jersey.

“I think it all started with how we started to ride with the team. We had a great atmosphere, great team, great spirit. We went fighting from day one, and then after stage 5 and Mûr-de-Bretagne, I knew that I had good legs to compete for the victory.

“We just kept on fighting, and then I think the second week was the decisive moment. We took the advantage and we went more comfortably into the third week.”

“Myself and Jonas [Vingegaard] talked in the neutral zone about how much has changed in the last five years of us racing against each other. We raised the level of each other much higher, and we push ourselves to the limit to try to beat each other. I must say that battling against Jonas was again a tough experience, but I must say respect to him, and a big congratulations for his fight."

To celebrate his achievements at the 2025 Tour de France, Pogačar rode aboard an all-yellow Colnago Y1Rs on stage 21, with a matching helmet and sunglasses from MET and Scicon, respectively. His teammates, meanwhile, sported custom-designed, yellow-infused kits from the historic Italian brand, Pissei. After three weeks of from-the-gun racing around France, Sunday offered a welcome moment of celebration for those who had worked tirelessly to land the top step in Paris.

João Almeida was unfortunately forced to abandon this year’s Tour after a nasty crash late in the first week, but his efforts are roundly appreciated, notably for his assist in Pogačar’s victory on stage 4. Down a man through the final two weeks, Wellens, Marc Soler, Nils Politt, Adam Yates, Jhonatan Narváez and Pavel Sivakov each stepped up to the mark and delivered assured performances as the pressure came from Pogačar’s rivals.

The tale of this Tour de France, as was expected ahead of the race, is one of three weeks. From the moment that the flag dropped in Lille at the Grand Départ, Pogačar and his teammates got stuck into the all-action racing which stretched across Brittany and Normandy. Over a series of Classics-style stages, the 26-year-old won a blockbuster affair to Rouen on stage 4 before vanquishing the climb to Mûr-de-Bretagne on stage 7.

Heading into the first rest day down a teammate, UAE Team Emirates-XRG bounced back in style through the race’s second week, as the Tour de France headed into the Pyrenees. Of the five stages before the second rest day, Pogačar claimed back-to-back victories on Hautacam and Peyragudes, before Wellens rounded out the week with his sensational win on stage 15.

Through the third and final week of the race, Vingegaard’s Visma-Lease a Bike squad looked to attack Pogačar on battlegrounds they had previously conquered, Mont Ventoux and the Col de la Loze, but this time around, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader was more than up to the fight.

In the last mountain stages of the race, Pogačar produced a series of gritty displays in defence of Yellow, ensuring that he would ride into Paris with an advantage of almost four and a half minutes in the general classification.

Draped arm in arm with his teammates as they posed for a celebratory photo at KM0, Pogačar was wearing the 53rd Yellow Jersey of his career, moving him up to fifth in the all-time standings. On Saturday, the Slovenian had drawn level with Jacques Anquetil’s tally of 52 days in Yellow from his illustrious career, but now only Chris Froome, Miguel Induráin, Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx stand ahead of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG man.

Pogačar now draws level with Froome on four Tour de France victories, and at just 26 years of age, eyes will slowly turn to the record holders Merckx, Induráin, Hinault and Anquetil, all of whom ended their careers with five Tour wins. Moving to over 100 career victories during this year’s race, Pogačar continues to define sporting excellence, and UAE Team Emirates-XRG remains at his side all the way.

All eight riders and the countless staff on the road in France stepped up when it mattered, making this Tour de France victory one that must be dedicated to all, both riders and staff.

• It’s a win for João, who demonstrated our fighting spirit in earnest.
• For Marc, whose tireless work can never be taken for granted.
• For Pavel, who battled illness to be there for the team no matter what.
• For Jhonatan, who produced perhaps the best performances of his career across these three weeks.
• For Tim, who guarded the Yellow Jersey as only he can do, and joined the Grand Tour stage-winning ‘treble club.’
• For Adam, who went above and beyond in the mountains, particularly in the all-important final week.
• For Nils, whose trademark pain face could be seen on the front of the peloton for most of July.
• For Tadej, whose extraordinary talents only continue to make history for UAE Team Emirates-XRG.

And, of course, for all the staff who kept things ticking behind the scenes and in the team car, without whom none of it would have been possible.

In the biggest race of the season, UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Tadej Pogačar are four-time Tour de France champions. The history books might remember this success as the best yet.

Here's the TDF stage 21 report from stage winner Wout van Aert's Team Visma | Lease a Bike:

Team Visma | Lease a Bike wrapped up the 2025 Tour de France in style with a stunning victory by Wout van Aert. The Belgian attacked on the final ascent of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre and crossed the finish line solo, earning his tenth career stage win in the Tour. Jonas Vingegaard finished on the overall podium for the fifth year in a row, taking second place in the general classification.

“This was a very special day”, said Van Aert. “Winning again on the Champs-Élysées is incredible, especially with the Montmartre climb featured in the finale for the first time. Conditions were tough in Paris with the rain making things tricky, but the team never stopped believing in me. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

Wout van Aert wins stage 21. Sirotti photo

In the closing laps, Van Aert received crucial support from teammates Matteo Jorgenson and Victor Campenaerts. On the final ascent of Montmartre, the Belgian launched a decisive attack after responding to an earlier acceleration by Tadej Pogačar.

Speaking shortly after his win, Van Aert reflected on the effort. “We kept trying every single day this Tour. Even today, the team had full confidence in me. We managed to control the stage, and on the last climb I just went all out. That was the plan from the start, and it worked. I wanted to do this in other stages too. I came close a few times, but also had some days where I was far off. The hardest part was keeping faith in myself, but everyone around me continued to believe. Today, it finally paid off”, said the Belgian, celebrating his second win of the season. Van Aert’s triumph marked Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s 23rd victory of the year.

CEO Richard Plugge expressed pride in his team after three intense weeks of racing in France. “Of course, we aimed to be here with the yellow jersey, but we came up against a rider who was stronger this year. Still, we finish this Tour on a high note. Wout delivered something truly special today. With Jonas on the podium, Simon’s stage win, victory in the team classification, and the fighting spirit we’ve shown, we can look back with satisfaction.”

Head of Racing Grischa Niermann echoed those sentiments. “We raced well and gave everything as a team. We didn’t achieve our main goal, but we leave this Tour with our heads held high. The strongest rider won. Congratulations to Tadej Pogačar.”

And here's the Tour stage 21 report from GC 4th place Oscar Onley's Team Picnic-PostNL:

The final stage of this year’s Tour de France looked quite different from the traditional parade into Paris. The route had been significantly reworked, with the peloton now facing three ascents of the short but steep Côte de la butte Montmartre before the finish on the iconic Champs Elysees. As tradition dictates, the day began with celebration. Riders and teams took their time to enjoy the moment, take photos, and reflect on their achievements over the past three weeks. But once the race entered the streets of the French capital, the tempo quickly lifted. Attacks started flying from the peloton, and Team Picnic PostNL was active throughout, represented in several early moves. Still, the bunch wasn’t giving anyone much freedom.

Due to wet conditions in Paris, the general classification times were neutralised at the third crossing of the finish line. From that moment on, the final 50 kilometres were all about the stage win – and staying upright. The first real selection came on the opening ascent of Montmartre, with Tobias Lund Andresen and Pavel Bittner making it over the top in a front group of around 25 riders. On the second passage, however, Pogacar turned up the pressure. As the pace soared, both Lund Andresen and Bittner had to let go of the wheels.

A group of six would eventually go on to contest the stage win, with Van Aert proving strongest in the streets of Paris. Lund Andresen led the team home in 12th place, while the rest of the squad crossed the line safely as well. With that, Oscar Onley and Team Picnic PostNL officially secured fourth place overall in the general classification — a phenomenal result for the 22-year-old in his first attempt at riding for GC in the Tour.

Oscar Onley racing in stage 19. Sirotti photo

After the stage, Onley looked back on an unforgettable experience: “It was a pretty crazy circuit, but it was really nice. On the final climb of Montmartre, I was able to soak it all in and look around a bit, which was quite special. And then riding down the Champs Elysees… that was amazing. It’s been a really special three weeks with the whole team. This is a huge moment in my career. I don’t think it’s fully sunk in yet, but just from what other guys in the bunch have said to me, I realise this is something to build on, a big step for the future. It’s definitely sparked a big dream. To be honest, I had never even considered finishing top five in the Tour. So to do it in my first go at the GC, that’s pretty incredible.”

Back to news and opinion index page for links to archived stories | Commentary