Rivals Ready To Rock As Fans Flood In For Tour de France 2025 Stage 1
Rivals Ready To Rock As Fans Flood In For Tour de France 2025 Stage 1
The best cyclist in the world, and the best rivalry in the sport, are ready to give fans a show during the TDF 2025 race.
Lille, France, July 5, 2025 (AFP) - A frantic fight for the first overall leader's yellow jersey will mark the start of cycling's Tour de France when the much anticipated 2025 edition races out of Lille in a carnival atmosphere on Saturday.
Title contenders Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were promising to steer clear of any scrapes to avoid picking up an early injury in the 21-day excursion around France.
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Instead sprinters such as Belgium's Jasper Philipsen and Italian Jonathan Milan are the men to beat on a flat but frenetic opening run around Lille, where partying fans have been gathering this week.
After starts in Florence, Bilbao and Copenhagen, and with upcoming editions in Barcelona and Edinburgh, cycling's most prestigious race has an old school itinerary this year raced exclusively in France and favouring climbers.
But with the race starting in the northern city of Lille, fans from cycling-mad Belgium have been flooding across the nearby border.
Remco Evenepoel: 'All In All The Way'
They have come to cheer on Remco Evenepoel in his bid to reach further than his third man billing. "I'll go all in all the way," promised the double Olympic champion.
Often described as the most beautiful stadium in the world, the Tour route roves across the north coast to the west of Brittany, before heading south through the Massif Central and the first mountain stage on day 10. "Everybody knows that's when the real race begins," said Evenepoel.
Team UAE's Pogacar starts as red-hot favourite with fans and bookmakers alike, and he can silence any remaining doubters by beating arch-rival Vingegaard of Visma. Pogacar has won three Tour de France and has 99 professional wins, so will almost certainly hit his century here, maybe in the first week.
"Jonas might be stronger in the mountains, so I'd better get ahead a bit early on with some bonus seconds," he said.
Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard 'Intense rivalry'
Glimpses of Pogacar and Vingegaard going head-to-head on the Alpine slopes or along the panoramic roads of the French Riviera provide tension, drama and sporting rivalry as enthralling as any involving the old-time legends.
Vingegaard tends to focus on a single-mission strategy, awaiting one big moment to spring a deeply considered killer move at a meticulously chosen spot.
Visma team boss Grischa Niermann insisted Friday his team had come to win, but both he and Vingegaard were keeping mum about what their plan was. "I'm on the highest level that I've ever been," said Vingegaard, the 2022 and 2023 winner. "If we didn't think we could win, we wouldn't be sat here," said Niermann.
Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard See-saw Title Struggle
Pogacar certainly seemed relaxed when he spoke to the press at the Lille opera house. "The last five years have been intense between me and Jonas," Pogacar said. "It's a great competition and rivalry and it will be interesting to see if the title changes hands again."
The volcanoes of the Puy de Dome present the first mountains as late as stage 10, with two more colossal climb days in the Pyrenees before the blockbuster final week in the Alps.
But before any dash towards the eventual finish line on the Champs-Elysees there is one final twist.
A last-minute addition to the 2025 route is a nod to the 2024 Olympic Games road race, which drew vast crowds to the old Parisian neighbourhood of Montmartre. On the final day a cauldron of noise up the narrow cobbled climb to the Sacre-Coeur Basilica provides one last obstacle, after which the winner will be crowned.
How To Watch The Tour de France 2025 In Canada
FloBikes and the FloSports app will provide exclusive streaming coverage of all 21 stages of the Tour de France 2025 in Canada. Subscribers will have access to the world broadcast feed, the same production used globally for premier cycling events.
In addition to the live broadcast, both platforms will feature daily highlights, full-stage replays and expert commentary and analysis from veteran cycling journalist Gregor Brown. His previews and post-stage breakdowns will provide valuable insight for fans following along with the General Classification battle and stage wins.
Coverage is available via desktop or mobile devices and can be streamed through smart TVs with the FloSports app.
2025 Tour de France Course And Key Stages
The 2025 Tour opens with a flat 184.9-kilometer circuit around Lille before heading west through coastal and rolling terrain.
The peloton will face its first time trial in Caen (Stage 5), followed by a punchy uphill finish in Mûr-de-Bretagne (Stage 7) and another time trial — this one a climbing challenge — at Peyragudes (Stage 13).
The decisive mountain stages begin with a summit finish at Hautacam (Stage 12), followed by a brutal climb to Superbagnères (Stage 14) in the Pyrenees.
After a rest day, riders take on Mont Ventoux (Stage 16), the Alpine queen stage to Courchevel (Stage 18) and a steep finish at La Plagne (Stage 19).
The race wraps up with a 120-kilometer ceremonial sprint into Paris on July 27.
2025 Tour de France Live Stream Schedule
All Times ET
- Stage 1 (Flat) – 7 a.m. Sat, July 5. : Lille Métropole > Lille Métropole – 184.9 km
- Stage 2 (Hilly) – 6:05 a.m. Sun, July 6.: Lauwin-Planque > Boulogne-sur-Mer – 209.1 km
- Stage 3 (Flat) – 7 a.m. Mon, July 7: Valenciennes > Dunkerque – 178.3 km
- Stage 4 (Hilly) – 7:05 a.m. Tue, July 8: Amiens Métropole > Rouen – 174.2 km
- Stage 5 (Individual Time Trial) – 7 a.m. Wed, July 9: Caen > Caen – 33 km
- Stage 6 (Hilly) – 6:25 a.m. Thu, July 10: Bayeux > Vire Normandie – 201.5 km
- Stage 7 (Hilly) – 6 a.m. Fri, July 11: Saint-Malo > Mûr-de-Bretagne Guerlédan – 197 km
- Stage 8 (Flat) – 7 a.m. Sat, July 12: Saint-Méen-le-Grand > Laval Espace Mayenne – 171.4 km
- Stage 9 (Flat) – 7 a.m. Sun, July 13: Chinon > Châteauroux – 174.1 km
- Stage 10 (Mountain) – 7 a.m. Mon, July 14: Ennezat > Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy – 165.3 km
- Rest Day 1 – Tue, July 15: Toulouse
- Stage 11 (Flat) – 7:05 a.m. Wed, July 16: Toulouse > Toulouse – 156.8 km
- Stage 12 (Mountain) – 7 a.m. Thu, July 17: Auch > Hautacam – 180.6 km
- Stage 13 (Individual Time Trial) –7 a.m. Fri, July 18: Loudenvielle > Peyragudes – 10.9 km
- Stage 14 (Mountain) –5:45 a.m. Sat, July 19: Pau > Luchon-Superbagnères – 182.6 km
- Stage 15 (Hilly) – 7:05 a.m. Sun, July 20: Muret > Carcassonne – 169.3 km
- Rest Day 2 – Mon, July 21: Montpellier
- Stage 16 (Mountain) – 6a.m. Tue, July 22: Montpellier > Mont Ventoux – 171.5 km
- Stage 17 (Flat) – 7:25 a.m. Wed, July 23: Bollène > Valence – 160.4 km
- Stage 18 (Mountain) – 6 a.m. Thu, July 24: Vif > Courchevel Col de la Loze – 171.5 km
- Stage 19 (Mountain) – 7:15 a.m. Fri, July 25: Albertville > La Plagne – 129.9 km
- Stage 20 (Hilly) – 5:55 a.m. Sat, July 26: Nantua > Pontarlier – 184.2 km
- Stage 21 (Flat) – 10 a.m. Sun, July 27: Mantes-la-Ville > Paris Champs-Élysées – 132.3 km
For full coverage and expert commentary, visit FloBikes.com or stream via the FloSports app.
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