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Saturday, July 5, 2025
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2024 Tour de France | 2024 Giro d'Italia
Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul. - Douglas MacArthur
Bill and Carol McGann's book The Story of the Tour de France, Vol 2: 1976 - 2018 is available in print, Kindle eBook & Audiobook versions. To get your copy, just click on the Amazon link on the right.
Current racing:
- July 5 - 27: Tour de France
Upcoming racing:
- July 9 - 13: Tour of Austria
Latest completed racing:
- June 21 - 29: Most national road championships
- June 24: Giro dell'Appennino
- June 15 - 22: Tour de Suisse
- June 18 - 22: Baloise Belgium Tour
- June 8 - 15: Critérium du Dauphiné
- June 13: GP Kanton Aargau
- June 8: Brussels Cycling Classic
- May 9 - June 1: Giro d'Italia
Here’s the team’s post:
For the first time ever, Tudor Pro Cycling will line up at the Tour de France, the most iconic race in professional cycling. What began as a dream has become a reality.
From our roots as a Development Team to standing on the start line of the world’s biggest stage, this moment is the result of years of relentless hard work, passion, and belief. Tomorrow, our riders won’t just race for victory, they’ll race for everyone who believed in this project from the very beginning: our staff, our fans, and our partners.
Yesterday, the atmosphere in Lille was electric. The city center turned yellow to celebrate the Team Presentation, creating a buzz that could be felt by all. Our eight riders paraded from the Opera to the main square, greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. Among them, Julian Alaphilippe received a thunderous ovation, a testament to his place in the hearts of cycling fans.
Julian Alaphilippe at the teams presentation ceremony on Thursday, July 3. Sirotti photo
Today, the final touches were made. While the riders reconned the opening stage, our staff was hard at work, making sure every detail was perfect. The excitement is undeniable, the Grand Départ is almost here.
Julian Alaphilippe shared his thoughts ahead of the race: “I’m really happy to be back at the Tour de France, and especially to experience it with Tudor Pro Cycling for the very first time. It’s a special moment for us. Some of our riders and staff are discovering the Tour for the first time, and you can feel the energy.” Surrounded by cameras and microphones, he spoke about the challenges ahead: “The first week suits me well, but I haven’t studied the stages in depth. It will be chaotic, so staying well-positioned to avoid crashes will be key. The wind could also play a big role.” Fresh off a strong performance at the Tour de Suisse, Julian is focused and determined: “I’m here to win a stage, for myself, and for the team. That would mean a lot.”
Alongside Julian is Marc Hirschi, eager to make his mark after a three-year absence from the Tour that catapulted him to fame in 2020: “I have amazing memories of the Tour de France, so I’m really excited to be back. My goal is to win a stage, either early in the race or later on through a breakaway.”
Another person who is making a return to the race after a few years if Team Owner Fabian Cancellara. “My last time at the Tour was in 2016 when I was still a rider. I am back here as the proud and happy Team Owner.” When asked about the Team’s ambitions, Fabian answered “We will race with our Born To Dare approach but I am not the one setting the tactics here. I am surrounded by a great group of professionals who I fully trust to make this Tour de France a great moment.”
Matteo Tosatto, Sports Director is then given the word to talk about ambitions. “We are here to win a stage. We have different cards to play: Julian and Marc for the hilly stages, Michael (Storer) for the mountain stages and Alberto (Dainese) for the sprints. We have a strong team of both experience and young riders, all highly motivated to compete and make the Tudor shield shine.”
The stage is set. The riders are ready. The Team is ready. The journey begins tomorrow.
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Here’s the post from Powless’ Team EF Education-EasyPost:
Neilson Powless has big dreams for the 2025 Tour de France.
After a superb spring, highlighted by victories at Dwars door Vlaanderen and the GP Gippingen, the Californian is coming into his own. This could be his year to win a Tour de France stage.
Neilson has always had the talent to compete with the best riders in the Tour de France. In 2022, he nearly rode into the yellow jersey on cobbled farm roads from Paris-Roubaix. He finished fourth on l’Alpe d’Huez. Now, in his eighth season as a pro, he is no longer the wide-eyed kid who just wanted to jump into every break he could and ride the front all day. Neilson has honed his race craft and been rewarded with big wins in one-day classics from Spain to Japan to Belgium. Now, he is determined to turn his string of Tour de France almosts into a career defining stage win.
Neilson Powless winning the 2025 Dwars door Vlaanderen. Sirotti photo.
Before the start of his sixth Tour de France, we spoke to Neilson about his journey from California youth triathlon and mountain biking leagues to this Grand Départ in Lille.
What are your first memories of the Tour?
Growing up in California, it would be 6:00 AM or 7:00 AM, with the sun just coming up and my dad drinking coffee in the living room. I would walk in smelling coffee, see that morning light, and on TV, there would be these absolutely shredded athletes flying up mountains. I was like, ‘Man, how are they doing that?’
I was probably eight or nine years old by the time I could really understand what my dad was watching on TV all those summer mornings. I wanted to be one of those guys, so I started chasing that dream from a very young age. Obviously, I had no idea how to get there or how it was going to happen, so I just stuck with the sports that I was doing. I was riding my bike, doing triathlons at the time, so running, swimming, biking, but I always knew that the Tour was going to be the end goal. And I tried to work my way towards that from the age of eight or nine.
From where did you get that belief that you could make it to the Tour?
I was watching the Americans on TV at the time, and I figured that if there were Americans on TV doing that, there had to be a way for me to do it. I learned about development teams in America that supported young riders. There were a handful at the time. Then, I just started trying to find a way to get onto one of those development teams.
Luckily, there were a few options to pick from, so I started putting my resume out there and trying to get on one of those teams. I figured I would take it one step at a time. At the age of 12 or 13, I was thinking, ‘I don’t need to worry about getting that WorldTour contract right now; I just need to figure out how to get on a team that's going to get me a bike to race.’
So, I reached out to every development team – mountain bike, road, all of them – that I could. I ended up on this Whole Athlete mountain bike team from California and worked my way up through the grassroots ranks.
For a teenager from the States, what were the biggest challenges on your journey to the pro ranks?
The first challenge was getting noticed in America and getting selected for the national team, so that I could show myself in Europe. The next challenge was surviving my first season of racing in Europe with the drive to continue. Development happened at such a quick pace in Europe. When I first got there, I was 10 steps behind, but it only took one to two years before I was feeling competitive.
That first year, I felt like I was in the wrong sport. I was just filling numbers in the pack, getting dropped, bonking, crashing. I never finished inside the top 30. I thought that bike racing wasn’t going to be for me, to be honest.
But I liked the life, cycling, and just Europe in general so much that I kept going with it.
I told myself, I'll just go back for one more trip, and then one more trip. Eventually, I started racing the finales of a few races, and getting in some breakaways and finding more success. At that point, I was like, ‘You know what? I think I can do this.’ I started thinking I could actually win some races.
In 2016, I won my first race in Europe. From then on, I was just thinking, ‘This is going to be my pursuit.’ I was going to be able to do it.
What was it like to finally turn pro?
As soon as you get a contract in the WorldTour, which is an extremely hard barrier to pass, then you think, ‘Now that I've made it here, they think I'm good enough, so that means that I should be good enough in two to three years to make a Tour de France team.’ A couple of years down the road, you realize how hard it is to even make your team’s Tour de France team.
You go through some crazy personal growth periods as a cyclist, because you are always reinventing yourself to fit a role in a team or adapting your training or your lifestyle to improve on the bike and put yourself in a better position to try to win races or even just make some final selection that you've been hoping to make for years. It is a good sport for self-exploration.
I feel like my perspective is constantly changing and growing with lots of eye-opening experiences along the way.
In 2020, you rode your first Tour de France. What was it like to finally reach this pinnacle of our sport?
My first Tour was pretty emotional. It just felt like this wave crashing down on me. It was all happening, all of the things that I'd been working towards. As soon as you're in it, you can feel the difference compared to every other race. I was really proud that I stuck with it and was able to get myself there. I was so motivated to do something at that event, because there are so many eyes on it and everybody lets you know how many eyes are on this race, while you are in it.
I got in four or five breakaways or something. It was pretty fun, but exhausting. I crushed myself.
In the years since, you have had some great times at the Tour. You had a good run in the polka dot jersey and have come close to winning a couple of stages. What are your best memories so far?
My best memory from the Tour de France so far was probably the cobblestone stage in the 2022 Tour de France, when I realized I was fighting for the yellow jersey. I've been chasing that feeling ever since. It is so hard to get into that position.
That has been the thing that has motivated me for years now, just that feeling of being within reach of the maillot jaune, even if just for a day.
What are your goals for this year's race?
I want to win a stage. That would definitely make my career feel complete. I've gotten to the point where I've won some big races, and I've raced at the front of a lot of big races, and a lot of Monuments, but I must say that a win at the Tour de France, or wearing the yellow jersey, is still just the thing that's missing. Honestly, it's getting to the point where it feels like that's all that matters. I am trying to do everything I can to make that happen.
What is the game plan?
I’ve come to realize that I can rely on my race craft a lot, even in the third week, when I’m getting tired. I've become the type of rider that's quite opportunistic and punchy and strong, even if I am not the strongest in the race. I can lean on the tools that I've been developing over the last eight years as a professional and still find a way to race for the win. That is really going to come in handy at the Tour de France.
For me, winning a stage is obviously the goal, so I'll be looking for breakaways, probably in the first week, or, if I feel up for it, even racing from the favorites to try to win a stage early, because I think the course suits me really well. That first week looks really good for the type of rider that I am, so I will be looking for opportunities there. The course is super hard in the second half, but the first half is nice and open, so it'll be really exciting. They did a really nice job of making it an open, exciting race.
I also love being a teammate, especially when I know my teammate has a good chance to win. So, I’ll be bouncing back and forth between going for some chances for myself, and then helping out the other guys.
What other lessons have your learned from your Tours?
I have learned that you have to choose your days wisely. I tend to get in quite a few breakaways at the Tour, but if I'm in five, it’ll only be two of those that I really feel like I have the energy to go for the win.
You have to be careful, because you don't have unlimited bullets, not for each day, or over the course of the three weeks. It takes a lot out of your system to go in the break. So, you have to be smart about it. As fun as it is to get in as many breaks as possible, you definitely have to think about it a little bit and choose your day.
You live in Nice, France during the season. What is it like to be a Tour de France rider there?
It is nice to race in the country where you live. It makes you feel a bit more at home. A lot more people recognize me here while I am out training, so it definitely makes me feel like I'm under the spotlight more than when I'm in the States where there are cycling fans, but it’s nothing like here. It just makes you feel like you are a part of something really big.
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Here’s the post from Lipowitz’s Team Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe:
A few simple words are enough for Florian Lipowitz to sum up his expectations ahead of his first Tour de France.
For him, one thing stands above all: reaching Paris and gaining experience – step by step, race by race. The current season has been extremely solid and focused for the young German rider. With a clear plan in mind, Florian strategically selected three of the toughest WorldTour stage races in the first half of the year to prepare for his next major career step: Paris-Nice, Basque Country, and the Critérium du Dauphiné.
Florian Lipowitz in the best young rider's white jersey after stage 6 of the 2025 Critérium du Dauphiné. Sirotti photo
Each race was approached with precise focus and a clear goal: arriving at the Dauphiné in peak form. In March, he already made a strong impression by finishing second overall and winning the young rider’s jersey at Paris-Nice. In April, he followed up with an impressive fourth place in the Basque Country. Afterwards, Florian sharpened his form further with a targeted time trial test in England and an intensive altitude training camp in Sierra Nevada.
At the Dauphiné, Florian stepped up as a clear team leader for the first time—and delivered impressively, finishing on the podium and securing the coveted white jersey as the best young rider. It was a clear sign that meticulous preparation pays off. This successful performance ultimately secured his place in the Tour de France team.
After a challenging start to the 2024 Grand Tour season, having been forced to abandon the Giro d’Italia due to illness after five stages, and later playing a supporting role in Primoz Roglic’s winning team at the Vuelta a España, Florian is now set for his Tour de France debut. For him, this is primarily an opportunity to gain valuable experience in one of cycling’s most demanding challenges.
With growing public attention, Florian remains humble and focused. His role at the Tour is clearly defined: riding alongside Primoz Roglic to learn and develop step by step. This participation in the Tour de France marks a significant milestone in unlocking his considerable potential.
Florian Lipowitz: “The Tour de France has always been a huge dream of mine. Actually being part of this race now feels incredibly special. I'm really looking forward to it. My goal is clear: reaching Paris. For my first participation, I’m not setting any big personal objectives, and the team isn't placing any pressure on me either. My main focus is simply to enjoy the race and perform my role as best as I can—supporting Primoz in the mountains.”
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Here’s the team’s update:
Team Visma | Lease a Bike heads into the 2025 Tour de France with a clear mission: to claim the yellow jersey with Jonas Vingegaard, just as they did in 2022 and 2023. The team knows that the road to Paris may be steeper and more unpredictable than ever this year, but they possess a major asset: collective strength.
The Tour starts on Saturday with a flat stage in and around Lille, but the first week already includes treacherous stages with short, steep climbs. On day five, a time trial of over thirty kilometers is on the menu.
Jonas Vingegaard at the 2025 Tour de France's teams presentation ceremony. Sirotti photo
Team leader Vingegaard sums up the situation: “It’s been a crazy season so far”, he says. “My crash in Paris-Nice changed my build-up, but it only makes me more motivated to go for it here. We have a strong team, so we’re ready and we’ll do everything we can to achieve the highest possible result.” After regaining race sharpness at the Dauphiné and completing multiple altitude training camps, the Dane hopes to return to his top level. “Hopefully, I’ve improved a bit compared to the Dauphiné. I think time will tell.”
This year’s Tour features a few unique challenges that the team must approach strategically. The mountain time trial to Peyragudes at the end of the second week could prove decisive. “But the first time trial can already create big gaps,” says Vingegaard. “Personally, I prefer the mountain time trial—that’s where I can really play to my strengths. I feel stronger than ever. Last year, I was also at a high level, but I had just returned from a serious injury. This year, I’ve gained a bit of muscle strength. The toughest part of this Tour comes in the second half, and I hope to be at my best there to defeat my rivals”, he says, referring to the finishes on climbs like Hautacam, Col de la Loze, and La Plagne.
Freedom for Van Aert, but all eyes on yellow
Alongside Vingegaard, Team Visma | Lease a Bike is counting on Wout van Aert. The versatile Belgian, after a disrupted preparation due to a stomach bug, is primarily focused on stage wins without losing sight of the team’s bigger goal. “I’ve recovered well, but of course it wasn’t ideal”, he says. Still, he sees plenty of opportunities. “The team gives me the freedom to go for stages I’m targeting. The green jersey? I’m putting that aside this year. I enjoy winning individual stages more. I hope to achieve my tenth Tour stage win this year.” Whenever the terrain becomes rolling or selective, Van Aert can be the perfect card to play for a stage victory.
“Fighting as a collective from day one”
The strength of Team Visma | Lease a Bike lies in the collective, stresses Head of Racing Grischa Niermann. “With these eight very strong riders, we believe in the plan we’ve crafted for the Tour de France. From day one, we need to be there as a team to support Jonas in the general classification,” he says. “There will also be opportunities for different riders to go for stage wins. We’re deliberately focused on ourselves and our own plan. We’ve had a solid preparation and believe that gives us the best chance of achieving our goals.”
Super-domestique
Matteo Jorgenson, on the eve of his second Tour de France with the Dutch team, shares his perspective: “My main role is to help Jonas. While doing that, I can also aim for a good position in the general classification myself, although that’s secondary”, says the American.
“I think, like Jonas, I’m also in the form of my life", Jorgenson continues. “In the future, I want to compete for overall victory in a Grand Tour. Every participation is a learning experience. It’s insightful to see how much pressure comes with it. Expectations around me are much lower than for Jonas. I’ll do my job and hope to stand on the top step of the podium with the team at the end. Hopefully, we can really challenge the competition.”
With a strong squad, a carefully crafted plan, and the belief that only collective strength can bring them to Paris in yellow, Team Visma | Lease a Bike is ready for the fight in France.
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