Chaos, Rivalry, and Relentless Pace Define Opening Stage of 2025 Tour de France
A frenetic start to the 2025 Tour de France saw crashes, fierce competition, and high tension, with Jasper Philipsen taking victory in Lille Metropole.
The Belgian sprinter, who claimed three stages in 2024, outpaced Eritrea’s Biniam Girmay and Norway’s Søren Wærenskjold to secure the first yellow jersey.
Eighteen kilometers from Lille, strong crosswinds proved decisive as a leading group, including Philipsen, broke away. Among the frontrunners were favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard.
Behind them, the peloton fractured repeatedly, forcing dropped riders to sprint desperately to regain position. Those left behind included Olympic road race champion Remco Evenepoel and five-time Grand Tour winner Primoz Roglic.
The chaotic stage, ridden at relentless speed through gusting winds, brought multiple crashes, punctures, and struggling riders. Among those affected were Filippo Ganna, Simon Yates, former world champion Julian Alaphilippe, Lenny Martinez, and Florian Lipowitz.
Martinez and Yates, both expected to fare better, were left fighting alone to rejoin the main group. Eventually—aside from Ganna, who abandoned the race—all managed to catch up, albeit shaken after a punishing start.
The route swung southwest before turning north through Pas de Calais, then back toward Lille near the Belgian border as the peloton raced for the finish.
An early five-rider breakaway lasted for 70 kilometers before being caught just ahead of the first intermediate sprint, won by Jonathan Milan ahead of Bryan Coquard and Girmay.
A temporary calm followed, with French riders Benjamin Thomas and Mattéo Vercher briefly seizing the initiative. The peloton allowed them space as they approached two short climbs, Mont Cassel and Mont Noir, where they built a narrow lead.
But in a moment that seemed to reflect France’s struggles, the duo collided during the sprint for mountain points on the Cassel climb. Thomas’s rear wheel slipped on the cobbles, sending a furious Vercher crashing as they reached the summit.
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