Stage 7 of the 2025 Tour de France delivered both the expected fireworks on the uphill finish in Mûr-de-Bretagne and a grim reminder of how quickly fortunes can unravel. Tadej Pogačar reclaimed the yellow jersey with a powerful sprint at the summit, but his team was left counting the cost after João Almeida suffered a heavy crash just six kilometres from the line. It was also a nightmare day for Bahrain Victorious, with Jack Haig abandoning and Santiago Buitrago tumbling out of GC contention.
The 197km stage from Saint-Malo was always going to be shaped by the iconic Breton climb, but the opening phase was defined by the sheer length of the fight to get into the breakaway. It took nearly 60 kilometres before a group was finally allowed to go, after repeated but unsuccessful efforts by riders like Wout van Aert and Neilson Powless. Eventually, five riders slipped away, though the peloton kept them on a tight leash, with the gap never allowed to grow beyond two minutes.
By the time the race reached the Mûr for the first of two ascents, the early attackers were fading and the bunch was ramping up. UAE Team Emirates controlled the pace alongside Alpecin-Deceuninck, but it was Visma-Lease a Bike who took over approaching the climb, signalling Jonas Vingegaard’s intentions. The first time up, Ewen Costiou was the only breakaway survivor, briefly holding on to a slim advantage. Mathieu van der Poel, still in yellow, began to show signs of fatigue after his breakaway exploits the day before.
Photo Credit: GettyThe stage, however, turned on its head with a high-speed crash just as the peloton began positioning for the final climb. With 6.5km remaining, a touch of wheels brought down around a dozen riders. Haig stayed on the ground and was eventually taken away by ambulance. Buitrago remounted, bloodied and shaken, but lost over 13 minutes. Almeida sat stunned on the grass before remounting and riding to the finish nearly ten minutes down. Early indications from the team were that he had fractured a rib and was in significant discomfort, casting doubt over his role as Pogačar’s key climbing support heading into the high mountains.
At the front, the battle for the stage and the yellow jersey resumed. Pogačar, Evenepoel and Vingegaard opened up a slight gap over the rest of the GC group inside the final 1.5km, but the steepest part of the climb saw Oscar Onley and Matteo Jorgenson claw their way back. With the final 200 metres flattening slightly, it was Pogačar who made the first decisive move. Vingegaard, in his wheel, hesitated for a moment, and that was all the Slovenian needed. He surged ahead to take the win, with Vingegaard trailing home two seconds behind. Onley once again impressed by finishing third, the best of the rest behind the dominant pair of Tour favourites.
There was little celebration back at the UAE team bus, where the mood was far more sombre. Almeida arrived by car rather than bike, bruised and bandaged, before quickly disappearing inside. “He crashed really badly,” Pogačar said afterwards. “So it was not a perfect day. I just hope he is ok.” Team staff confirmed that he’d suffered an uncomplicated rib fracture and had road rash across his back and arm. He was expected to start the next stage, but the impact on UAE’s mountain plans could be significant.
For Bahrain Victorious, there was little consolation at all. Haig’s Tour is over, and Buitrago, who had started the day 14th overall, saw his GC hopes end in an instant. “It’s all gone to hell,” said Matej Mohorič after the stage, summing up the mood in the team. “That’s cycling.”
The yellow jersey now returns to Pogačar, who leads Evenepoel by 54 seconds and Vingegaard by 1:17. Onley moves up to seventh overall after another composed ride in elite company. With two sprint stages ahead before the first summit finish on stage 10, riders and teams will be desperate to avoid further drama, but as stage 7 made painfully clear, the Tour rarely follows the script.
2025 Tour de France Stage 7 result
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Main photo credit: Getty
