Stage 10 of the 2025 Tour de France delivered a proper mountain slugfest across the Auvergneโs volcanic spine, with relentless attacks, a breakaway packed with talent, GC fireworks on the final ramps, and a new leader in the general classification. Simon Yates claimed a brilliant solo win atop Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy, while Ben Healy did enough from the same early move to prise the yellow jersey off Tadej Pogaฤar after an all-or-nothing ride in the break.
From the drop of the flag in Ennezat, it was clear this wasnโt going to be a day for the sprinters or the faint-hearted. With eight categorised climbs crammed into just 165km and over 4,400 metres of elevation gain, the parcours was a constant up-and-down through the volcanic ridges of the Massif Central. Aggression started early. Julian Alaphilippe, in trademark fashion, launched the first major move on Bastille Day and was joined by several French compatriots eager to animate their national holiday. But that move was brought back. Eventually, a decisive 29-rider break established itself with representation from EF Education-EasyPost, Ineos, Visma-Lease a Bike, UAE, Jayco-AlUla and more.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersAmong them were key names: Ben Healy, Simon Yates, Thymen Arensman, Lenny Martinez, Ben OโConnor, Michael Storer and Victor Campenaerts. With UAE content to control rather than chase, the group quickly built a five-minute advantage. EF had the numbers, with Healy, Baudin, Powless and Sweeny all present. Healy, who started the day 3:55 down in GC, was already in the virtual yellow jersey by the time the race hit the Cรดte de Berzet around 70km from the finish. From there, the dynamics within the break shifted from collaborative to combative.
Healy was omnipresent. He took KOM points, dragged the group up climbs, and covered attacks. His attack came with 45km remaining on the Col de la Croix-Morand, a similar point to where he launched on stage 6. Although it didnโt stick, it split the group and reduced it to a select five by the time the race hit the final climb: Healy, Yates, Arensman, Storer and OโConnor.
Yates had already shown signs of intent, looking comfortable on the earlier climbs and quietly marking moves. As the group hit the final ascent of Puy de Sancy – 3.3km at 7.7% – it was Healy again setting the tempo, but it was Yates who made the decisive move. With 3.5km to go, the Brit attacked hard at the base, taking advantage of the others marking each other. Arensman followed but couldn’t close the gap. Yates extended his advantage on the steepest sections, cresting the final 500m with five seconds in hand and finishing nine seconds ahead of Arensman. Healy, who had already conceded the stage win to focus on yellow, crossed the line third at 30 seconds, after doing much of the work in the final kilometres to keep his time buffer intact.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersBehind, Visma-Lease a Bike lit up the GC group in the final 15km. Jorgenson tested the waters on the penultimate climb, before Sepp Kuss launched a decoy move. On the final climb, Pogaฤar attacked midway up, but Vingegaard followed effortlessly. The pair distanced everyone else briefly, but couldnโt extend a significant margin. Remco Evenepoel led a small chase group home just six seconds later, limiting his losses on a day when Healyโs threat went unchecked. Kevin Vauquelin, however, had a tough day, dropping to sixth overall after losing nearly a minute and arriving solo, visibly suffering.
It left Healy standing in the finish area, helmet off, watching the seconds tick by as the GC favourites came in. When Pogaฤar crossed the line at 4:20 back, the confirmation came: Healy would wear yellow into the rest day.
Just four days on from winning his first Tour de France stage in Vire, Ben Healy now becomes the fourth Irishman to wear the maillot jaune, joining Shay Elliott, Seรกn Kelly and Stephen Roche. Itโs the first time since Rocheโs 1987 triumph that an Irish rider has led the Tour.
โI wasnโt really sure it was going to happen,โ Healy said after a tense wait. โIt wasnโt until Pog and Jonas crossed the line that I knew it was enough. I just rode hard all day – that was the only plan really.โ
At just 24 years old, Healy continues to rewrite his own narrative at this Tour. From a solo stage win to yellow jersey in less than a week, heโs now firmly in the spotlight. The question now is whether he can hang on as the Tour heads towards the Alps after the rest day.
Photo Credit: Thibault Camus/AFP2025 Tour de France Stage 10 result
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Main photo credit: Getty
