Cycling: Jasper Philipsen won the opening stage of the 2025 Tour de France, claiming the yellow jersey. The day's losers included Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, who probably didn't expect to lose time on the first stage. Numerous crashes and even an initial abandonment overshadowed the otherwise very entertaining first day of the Tour.
Philipsen wins, hectic pace dominates the start of the tour
The 112th edition of the Tour de France was characterized by hectic activity. Breakaway riders attacked, were caught again, crashed, and were left behind. Riders fell and gave up. And in the final kilometers, the wind decided between joy and sorrow. After a total of 184,9 intense kilometers with start and finish in Lille, the pleasant temperatures Jasper Phillipsen (Alpecin – Deceuninck) were not only happy about the stage win, but also about the yellow jersey. It was also a good day for the top favorites. Tadej pogacar (UAE – XRG) and jonas vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike). The Slovenian and the Dane were attentive during the wind relays and were in the first group. Things went worse for Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick Step) and Primois Roglic (RB – Bora – hansgrohe). They've already lost valuable time today.
Moment of shock for Florian Lipowitz
With Mathis LeBerre (Arkea – B&B Hotels), Bruno Armirail (Decathlon – AG2R La Mondiale), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), Matteo Vercher (TotalEnergies) and Jonas slip (Intermarché – Wanty), five strong pros formed the first breakaway group of this year's Tour de France. However, this didn't calm the field, as the constant threat of wind edges kept the pace high. Filippo Gana (Ineos Grenadiers), Stephen Bissegger (Decathlon – AG2R La Mondiale) and Thibau Nys (Lidl – Trek) fell, but were able to reconnect, as were the suspended lenny martinez (Bahrain – Victorious) and Florian Lipowitz (RB – Bora – hansgrohe). The German suffered a flat tire at an unfortunate time. For Ganna and Bissegger, the 2025 Tour de France should have been over after the crash, despite a brief comeback. The Italian and Swiss riders were disappointed to have to abandon the race due to injuries sustained in the crash.
Benjamin Thomas wins the first mountain jersey of the 2025 Tour de France
After the first mountain classification – which Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) secured the lead – the breakaway group was caught again by the high pace of the peloton. This allowed the top sprinters to battle for the highest score in the intermediate sprint. This went to the Italian in La-Motte-au-Bois. jonathan milan (Lidl – Trek). Bryan coquard (Cofidis), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché – Wanty) and Jasper Phillipsen (Alpecin – Deceuninck). Tim Merlier (Soudal – Quick-Step) held back to save energy for the final sprint. In the battle for the mountain jersey, Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) and Matteo Vercher (Team TotalEnergies) didn't hold back. After being caught and completing the intermediate sprint, they went on the offensive again. At Mont Cassel, the two Frenchmen sprinted for every millimeter on the cobblestones. Thomas again won the classification, but lost control of his bike during the Tiger Jump – and both fell.
This is one of the images of this 1st stage of the Tour de France: the chute of Benjamin Thomas and Mattéo Vercher on the mountain of Mont Cassel, or the two men dispute a point for the classification of the montagne. #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/1eLxDxPd0h
— Le Gruppetto (@LeGruppetto) July 5, 2025
Jonas Vingegaard gets his first mountain point
After 140 kilometers, the first action of the day took place on Mont Noir – the last mountain classification of the day about 45 kilometers from the finish. jonas vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike). After all the breakaway riders were caught, the Dane was the first rider to cross the line, securing a mountain point. An unusual move for him, but since no one else was interested in this point, the two-time Tour de France winner didn't have to invest any energy. For his teammate Simon yates (Visma – Lease a Bike) had a tough day. The reigning Giro winner was dropped at an unfortunate moment and was unable to rejoin the peloton. This meant that Option B was already out of the question for the Dutch team on the first day.
Wind relay 17 kilometers from the finish
Even before the start of the 2025 Tour de France, there was much talk about possible wind edges on the early stages. And today, the warnings proved right. With about 17 kilometers to go, several teams initiated a wind relay, which immediately created gaps in the peloton. The main field split into several parts, and a frenzy erupted. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal – Quick Step) and Primois Roglic (RB – Bora – hansgrohe) missed the chance to make it into the first group. Germany's hopes Florian Lipowitz (RB – Bora – hangrohe) was searched for in vain at the front. To make matters worse, there was a crash shortly before the finish, in which Marijn van den Berg (EF Education – EasyPost) and Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla) were involved. So, today's race can't really be described as a classic bunch sprint. Only about 25 riders were expected to reach the finish line at the same time in the first group.
| He is Jasper Philipsen, who has signed a pact for four years! What a demonstration by the men of Alpecin-Deceuninck. #TourdeFrance
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— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) July 5, 2025