The 112th edition of the Tour de France sets off from Lille on Saturday, 5th July 2025, with a route designed to test every type of GC contender across three demanding weeks. This year’s parcours splits neatly in two: the opening half favours sprinters and puncheurs across northern France’s flats and hills, while the second half dives deep into the high mountains of the Pyrenees and Alps, culminating in summit finishes at iconic climbs like Mont Ventoux and Col de la Loze. A reduced total of just 44 kilometres of time trialling – including a punishing 11km uphill race against the clock to Peyragudes – tilts the balance further toward the climbers. All 18 UCI WorldTeams will be on the startline, joined by five invited ProTeams following a change to UCI wildcard rules, including Uno-X Mobility, who field a genuine GC outsider in Tobias Johannessen.
The final stage will return to the Champs-Élysées on 27th July, but not before an Olympic-inspired Montmartre circuit adds a final sting to the tail. In a field stacked with former winners, rising talents and proven contenders, the fight for yellow promises fireworks. With defending champion Tadej Pogačar, returning rival Jonas Vingegaard, and podium threats like Remco Evenepoel, João Almeida, and Primož Roglič all lining up, this year’s race could be one of the most open – and brutal – editions in recent memory.
2025 Tour de France GC Contenders
There’s no rider under more scrutiny heading into this year’s Tour de France than the reigning champion and world champion, Tadej Pogačar. Racing for UAE Team Emirates, the Slovenian has three Tour victories already (2020, 2021, 2024) and is seeking his fourth in six participations. His 2025 form makes him the undisputed favourite: 11 wins, all at WorldTour level, including the overall and three stages at the Dauphiné, plus major Classics like Strade Bianche, Flanders, Flèche Wallonne and Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He’s also a two-time runner-up this spring, at Amstel Gold and Paris-Roubaix. Simply put, nobody has come close to matching his season.
Chasing a third yellow jersey, Jonas Vingegaard will lead Visma-Lease a Bike into his fifth Tour with high expectations, despite a disrupted build-up. A crash at Paris-Nice sidelined him for much of the spring, but his second-place finish behind Pogačar at the Dauphiné shows he’s returned to form just in time. The Dane hasn’t finished lower than second in any Tour he’s completed (wins in 2022 and 2023), though he hasn’t won a WorldTour race this season – his sole victory came earlier at the Volta ao Algarve.
Hoping to break a near 50-year Belgian drought at the Tour is Remco Evenepoel, racing for Soudal-QuickStep. After debuting with third place in 2024, he’s back with greater ambitions. In 2025, Evenepoel has collected three victories, including time trial stage wins at the Dauphiné and Romandie, where he finished fourth and fifth overall. A win at Brabantse Pijl and third at Amstel Gold are highlights, though middling Ardennes results (59th at Liège) hint that his climbing legs may need sharpening before he can challenge for yellow.
Photo Credit: GettyFew riders arrive in Lille with more question marks than Primož Roglič. The Slovenian veteran leads Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and is making his seventh Tour appearance, still hunting the title that eluded him most notably in 2020. A crash at the Giro forced his withdrawal, and he hasn’t finished the Tour since 2021. His only major success in 2025 came at Volta a Catalunya, where he won two stages and the overall, though there’s a sense his leadership role could come under threat from within his own team. Within the same squad, Florian Lipowitz has emerged as the most consistent GC performer for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe this year. While still just 24 and a Tour debutant, he has podiumed or finished just off it in every WorldTour stage race he’s entered – second at Paris-Nice, third at the Dauphiné, and fourth at Itzulia. Without a victory yet, Lipowitz has built momentum through reliability, and he’s now widely viewed as a white jersey contender and possibly more.
At UAE Team Emirates, João Almeida will likely start as support for Pogačar but could easily climb the GC ranks if given the opportunity. Fourth on debut last year, the Portuguese rider has been remarkably consistent this season. He’s won five stage races in 2025, all at WorldTour level – Suisse, Romandie, Itzulia, Catalunya and stages within. Podiums at Algarve and Valenciana only add to the picture of a rider who’s thriving across every terrain.
The American contender for Visma-Lease a Bike, Matteo Jorgenson, will return for his fourth Tour, looking to improve on his 8th place finish in 2024. His form this year has been solid, winning Paris-Nice outright and backing that up with sixth at the Dauphiné. While he’s primarily expected to support Vingegaard, he’s proven capable of assuming leadership if required. Jorgenson also picked up solid one-day results, including fourth at Dwars door Vlaanderen and ninth at E3. Back in the Grand Tour mix after winning the Giro in May, Simon Yates will join Jorgenson and Vingegaard at Visma-Lease a Bike for what is likely a domestique role. Yet the Brit knows how to win a three-week race and has said little about personal ambitions, though his Giro performance proves he’s still capable of matching the very best. Yates has also recorded a top-10 at Volta a Catalunya this season, adding to his quiet consistency.
Photo Credit: GettyFor EF Education-EasyPost, Richard Carapaz will once again be their mountain leader after a strong Giro showing, where he took third overall and a stage win. The 2021 Tour podium finisher also placed 10th in Catalunya and 18th at Tirreno-Adriatico, but otherwise, his season has been light on results. While he’s not hyping up GC ambitions, breakaway wins or another polka-dot jersey campaign could easily become his focus.
High expectations rest on Felix Gall as Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale races on home roads for the Grand Départ. Gall lit up the 2023 Tour with a queen stage win and eighth overall, and while his 2025 has had ups and downs, he was fourth at the Tour de Suisse and fifth at the Tour of the Alps. DNFs at Catalunya and middling placements elsewhere raise doubts, but on the right day, Gall can still climb with the best.
Making his fourth Tour appearance, Ben O’Connor joins the Australian Jayco-AlUla team off the back of a more muted season. His best Grand Tour result came at last year’s Giro, where he made the podium, but he hasn’t stood out much in 2025. He placed seventh at Suisse and 12th in Catalunya, with other spring appearances yielding little. That said, his climbing ability remains respected, and a top-10 is not out of reach.
Over at Movistar, Enric Mas comes into his seventh Tour with a mixed bag of form. His fifth-place finish in 2020 remains his benchmark, and this season he’s shown flickers of capability, notably seventh at the Dauphiné and ninth at Faun-Ardèche. Elsewhere, it’s been tough going, with a DNF at Flèche and 99th at Liège. Spain’s top GC rider will need to build on recent momentum if he’s to feature deep into the third week.
Carrying the GC hopes for Ineos Grenadiers, Carlos Rodríguez is one of the most consistent young riders in the peloton. He’s only raced the Tour twice before, but already boasts a fifth-place finish and a stage win from 2023. In 2025, he hasn’t finished outside the top 10 at any stage race he’s completed – sixth at Romandie and Valenciana, ninth at the Dauphiné. Though he hasn’t hit the top step, his calm progression marks him as a sleeper GC option.
Photo Credit: Amstel Gold Race2025 Tour de France GC Outsiders
For Lidl-Trek, Mattias Skjelmose arrives with a standout win at this year’s Amstel Gold Race and a season built on strong one-day rides. The Dane is only 24 but has already cracked the Vuelta top five and became the only rider this season to beat Pogačar head-to-head with the line in sight. While his only Tour result is a modest 29th from 2023, his sharp climbing and growing confidence make him one of the more intriguing outside bets.
Freshly turned 21, Lenny Martinez of Bahrain Victorious is France’s brightest GC prospect and celebrates his birthday during Stage 7. His 2025 season has been electric – three WorldTour stage wins (in Romandie, Dauphiné and Paris-Nice), plus second overall at Romandie and fifth at Catalunya. He’s also been sharp in one-day races, with fourth at Flèche Wallonne and podiums at the Tour des Alpes Maritimes and Classic Var. Despite finishing 124th in his Tour debut, a leap into the top ten feels likely.
For Bahrain Victorious, Santiago Buitrago remains a dual threat – a punchy climber capable of both top-10 GC rides and stage wins. He finished 10th on debut in 2024 and began 2025 on fire, winning the Volta Comunitat Valenciana with two stages. He also placed sixth at Flèche, 13th at Itzulia and second at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes. However, he’s since DNFed at Paris-Nice and the Dauphiné, clouding his GC prospects.
Preparing for one last dance at the Tour de France, Geraint Thomas will line up for his 14th and final appearance for Ineos Grenadiers. The 2018 champion hasn’t featured in the top 25 at any stage race this season, with a DNF at Suisse after a crash and finishes well outside the GC fight elsewhere. His best showing came with 28th at Romandie. Though a final GC run is unlikely despite any Brit bias wishing it could happen, the Welshman may look to mark his farewell with a stage win somewhere along the route.
Usually seen as a key mountain helper, Sepp Kuss enters his fifth Tour still carrying Grand Tour-winning pedigree from his Vuelta victory in 2023. The American will again play a crucial role for Visma-Lease a Bike and Vingegaard, though if he hangs on through the second week, GC relevance may beckon. His results this year have been quiet – 13th at the Dauphiné, 23rd in Catalunya, and a handful of DNFs.
Finally, Tobias Halland Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility may be from a ProTeam, but his form says otherwise. The Norwegian, now entering his third Tour, was fifth at the Dauphiné and dropped Evenepoel on the queen stage to Valmeinier 1800. He’s also podiumed at Milano-Torino and been solid in other spring races, including Tirreno and Strade Bianche. No Uno-X rider has ever finished top-10 at a Grand Tour, but Johannessen could change that this July.
