July 5 to 27
The rain is pounding down. The autumn winds are tearing at your cycling jersey, and your body is cold. You check your watch. The session is far from over. Back on the seat, and back up in the right zone. You didn't make it last year, did you? You had to look defeated, and hadn't you done everything in your power to stand on the top step then? Maybe not. There's always an inch to fight for, always an extra step. You close your eyes and visualize it all. Once again. There you break out of the sea of people, the fog lifts, and you see the finish line in the distance. Your body feels tired, but at the same time you're flying. You stand up on your haunches and give it the last of your strength. Do you dare take the chance of turning around and looking for him? The fear that he's on the back wheel makes it knot deep in your stomach. You turn around. He's not there. You can hardly believe it. Relief spreads, and your body suddenly becomes light as a feather. The bike is weightless, the cramp is gone. You turn around and pedal as hard as you can. Only one more turn now. The terrain is tricking you, there are still a few hundred meters to go. The acid is all the way up to your hairline, but this is going to pass. And that's when you hear his breathing. Suddenly he's there, glued to your back wheel. You pick up the pace once again, but he's motionless. You won't believe it. The turns straighten out, the finish line is waving in the wind, and you give it your all. It gets so quiet, so quiet. Suddenly the switch is turned on, and the huge roar of the crowd penetrates your ears. He's up next to you now. You fight frantically the last meters, but you see where it's going. He's over. You roll over the line, just too late. Six hours on the seat today, three weeks in total, and beaten by a meter. It goes black.
You zip up your jacket and get ready for another run. Summer is long gone, and the cameras are off. The job you choose to do now could prevent another defeat. You have to be better, because he will be better too. You've heard rumors that he's training hard. You can't be any worse. Ideally, you have to last an hour longer. One more hill. The rain whips at your face as you get up from your seat and grit your teeth. Next time, you're going to cross that finish line first, no matter what. You know you have it in you, you just have to dare to believe. And do the job, you can't slouch. You close your eyes and imagine a warm July day in France in 2025. Don't you see anything yellow?
The kick-off and the jerseys
It is less than a month until Christian Prudhomme waves the cyclists off in Lille in northern France. The road then continues towards Dunkirk, which is the finish city of the third stage, and where many have predicted a fierce sprint showdown. All 21 stages will take place on French soil this time. Dunkirk, which in 1940 was the city that was evacuated at the last second after the Germans advanced, will once again be in the center. The reason why everyone's eyes are focused on the city close to the border with Belgium is much nicer this time. The city is colored in red, white and blue, not to forget yellow. Because yellow is the color that applies during the three weeks. Will Pogacar defend last year's demonstration of power, or is this the year that Jonas Vingegaard strikes back? The time trial horse from Belgium, Remco Evenepoel . The other overall hopefuls probably don't have the greatest ambitions. Of course, one dreams, but toppling Pogacar from the throne seems almost unthinkable. The Slovenian is about to enter the top lists of all-time cyclists. The boy is only 26 years old. What a monster! Vingegaard must have an absolutely optimal charge if he is to be in shooting range, that much we can determine.
Some of the guys don't care about yellow, because those with a little more well-developed muscles think green. The green jersey hangs high in the world's biggest cycling race. Last year, it was a bit of a surprise that Girmay ran away with the jersey. You have to stay on the bike throughout the race, and you almost have to have a little luck, because here it is easy to end up in awkward situations. There is not much room on these climbs, and the speed is high. Sharp turns and sharp elbows. It is not for just anyone to fight for this year's points jersey. Peter Sagan had a clip card on this jersey before he retired, while Thor Hushovd has taken it home with him on two occasions. This year it may end up in Denmark, because Mads Pedersen is in the form of his life! The man has recently been devastating in Italy.
The climbers are fighting for stage wins, and the white jersey with the red dots. The climber's jersey goes to the man with the strongest legs and the strongest head. Here, you collect points on top of mountain peaks along the way, and it's an acid party from start to finish if you're going to go out on a fight for this particular garment. The all-around greats are always at the top here, but often the jersey goes to a distinguished climber who goes on frequent breaks. These breaks don't always hold up, but hopefully you've picked up enough points before the train comes trudging up the last climb.
The last jersey is the pure white one. This one goes to the overall youth rider of the year. In the Tour de France you are a youth until you are 26, so here a certain Slovenian has made a rough living in recent years. Pogacar is also 26 this year, so I think we can ignore any bets on where the white one ends up.
As the odds for these jerseys come in, we will present a couple of long bets for you. These bets are relatively predictable, well, if you choose to ignore everything that can happen during the three weeks on the bike. A fall, or a collision, could be the end of the visa, and then all you have to do is curl the betting slip too. The best riders still tend to stay on the bike, and therefore there may be some long bets that are relevant to mention. We hope to be able to present these to you in an article the week before the actual start.
Everything from sleepy to electric stages
Beyond this, the Tour de France is long and varied. Some stages are fierce, others are more like transport stages. The flatter stages are dominated by the teams with the strongest sprinters on the payroll, where any breakaways are roped in as the finish line approaches. The upstarts fight for the places furthest in the peloton, and play their cards one by one. In the end, it is the guys with the biggest thighs who are left, and the fight to cross the line first makes your chest pound a little extra. The margins are tiny, and it is almost a guarantee of drama and near-misses. We have seen big cyclists hit the asphalt year after year, and the consequences are often brutal. The collarbones are the most vulnerable, and if this breaks, the rest of the race breaks too. The sprinters who win the most are the ones who read the peloton the best, position themselves smartly, and stay out of trouble.
We have stages where it is a bit more hilly. Here it is often a bit up and down throughout the day, before the day's effort often ends with a real cracker, where you have to stand in the saddle and push as many watts as possible into the pedals. These stages are dominated by what are known as puncheurs. These cyclists are powerful, they are top-trained, and they have a jerk and a rhythm that few are blessed with. In my book, these are some of the coolest guys to follow through these rides. We could probably list names endlessly, but Peter Sagan is a decent benchmark in this category. The laid-back, long-haired magician has put his helmet on the shelf, and now it is names like Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel that matter. The two arch-enemies from Belgium and the Netherlands have pushed each other to unimaginable heights in recent years, and everything from classics to stage races is an opportunity to give their rival a little stab in the side. Where van der Poel has dominated the spring classics in recent seasons, van Aert has shown some absolutely crazy qualities in the Tour de France in particular. A man so tall and muscular should not in principle be able to win distinctive mountain stages, but he has done so. A couple of years ago he made a name for himself for the feat of winning both a sprint stage, a mountain stage and a time trial stage in the same edition. One should be vigilant in order to discipline these guys. Dane Mads Pedersen still has hope. Pedersen has cycled into solid form this spring, and will probably be a very noticeable contender in this category. The sprint is also not something to be drawn to, so here the green jersey could be within reach.
The mountain stages are a different story. Here it's straight up and straight down, often several times a day. Large mountain passes are passed, you're hot, you're cold, and the computers are ticking well over 100 km/h down the mountainside. Here the riders have to deal with changes of pace, long steep uphills, and sheer descents. Only the toughest are left standing. The overall favorites gradually sign up here, and both stage winners and time down to the most dangerous competitors are in the pot. These stages are the roughest to watch from the sofa, because here it boils throughout the days. No rest breaks, and no opportunities to hide away. The stages are often characterized by an early break, usually with somewhere between five and fifteen people. As the day goes on, they fall off, one by one, before the guns pick up speed on the last climb. Can the best climbers in the break hold on all the way? Before Pogacar, the answer was sometimes yes to this question. To this day, they are often picked off before the finish line appears in the fog. The Slovenian uses every meter along the course to cut seconds off his fiercest rivals. The machine in this man is almost beyond compare.
The tempo stages are like a short cross-country race with an interval start. Here, the riders appear on the starting ramp with the fastest goggles and the most daring clothing. Streamlined riders race against the clock through a stage of about three miles, either fairly flat or slightly hilly. If you are going to compete in the summary, you also have to deal with these stages. Anyone can try to win, but it is Remco Evenepoel who does it in the end. This man pedals watts like no other.
If you sum it all up, you have a lot of big and small goals, depending on who you are. A stage win is important. The jerseys are important. Just getting to ride in the yellow overall jersey for one day is a big deal. Being the best team overall is an achievement, and of course being the best of the best is too. During the race, you play your cards out, and the different teams are tailored to where your ambitions lie. For example, if you have one of the world's best sprinters on your team, the rest of the crew is probably built around this man. The teams are put together to win, and it's fascinating to witness the different strategies to leave with the most honor and glory possible.
Finally we are here again. You have been looking forward to it like a little kid. The most beautiful adventure of the year is served through the screen from France. Through small mountain villages with a church and a local shop, and to the big cities with arches and towers. You should not miss a second! Your favorites are riding on the Norwegian team. Imagine if we were to experience it. Thor Hushovd and his achievements were great, but now the bull from Grimstad is leading his own team. You can hardly wait to see the first attacks. Like wild horses, they gallop from the start. You are greatly impressed by what they are capable of, what they can withstand. The fantasy team is nailed, because isn't this the year you finally beat Frode on the books? The Excel sheet doesn't lie, you have found the formula for victory this year. Get ready, because now it's getting underway. The heirs to Hinault and Merckx will settle the score for the yellow jersey. Can the Dane strike back this year? You've read that he's been fighting through tough training sessions in pouring rain throughout the winter. The interview you saw the other day indicates that he's ready. Didn't he say he'd visualized standing on the podium wearing yellow then?
The big crews and little Norway
When we talk about teams, we have to mention the Norwegian crew, Uno-X . The red and yellow distinguished themselves well last year, and with fearless guys on the team, you can once again see the Norwegians dominating the TV channel. Here, people compete for the climbing jersey and stage wins, and youthful enthusiasm is given free rein. It gives an extra dimension to see these riders get involved with the fun, and they are not just spectators, they challenge and are with you all the way. Uno-X is a firework of a team!
We also quickly mention the two biggest teams in cycling, namely UAE Team Emirates and Team Visma – Lease a bike . The former consists of Tadej Pogacar and his selected support riders. This team has one goal in mind, and that is to help Pogacar to a new overall victory. The helpers are not just anyone, and with the right assistance, several of them could have made it in a summary. It will be a subordinate priority anyway, because here it is the star that should shine. The team and the strategy trump their own ambitions, and mercy on you if you disobey. We have seen mutinies and riders tearing out their earplugs to free themselves from an angry sports manager in the car behind repeatedly before. Good entertainment, but a crisis for a team that has been painstakingly built around a winning candidate. Team Visma – Lease a bike is the star gallery of the starting field. Jonas Vingegaard wants revenge, after winning the race in 2022 and 2023, but who had to see himself beaten by Pogacar last year. Simon Yates will help the Dane in the mountains, and then it doesn't help that he himself won the Giro d'Italia just weeks ago. Here he plays second fiddle. Sepp Kuss and Matteo Jorgenson are the team's two Americans, and two of the world's best cyclists. And then, last but not least, the superstar, Wout van Aert. The man who can do everything on a bike, and who is just as good a support rider as he is a finisher, climber, and pace horse. A lot will probably be about these two crews through vineyards and small villages in France in July.
We barely mentioned the role of the support rider. To illustrate what is expected, we have a little anecdote from 2012. This year we were presented with a somewhat incredible situation regarding the balance of power between the team's hope and precisely the support rider. Chris Froome, at the time a support rider, towed the team's star, Bradley Wiggins. Froome sailed from up to the top, and Wiggins was unable to hang on. The former experienced the somewhat bizarre situation of having to stop and wait for his captain, and watch his own chances disappear over the top of the hill. Embarrassing for Wiggins, and annoying for Froome. The following year, it was Froome himself who was the team's captain, and the Briton, born in Kenya, ended up winning the Tour de France in 2013, 2015, 2016 and 2017. He waited for no one.
Fantasy and our recommendations when the starting shot is fired
If you want to make this year's edition of the race a little extra exciting, we recommend TV2's Tourmanager game. Terrible fun for cycling enthusiasts, and also with opportunities for nice prizes along the way. Here you select your crew in the familiar Fantasy style, and make substitutions throughout the three weeks. The substitutions are limited, so your strategy must be refined here. There will probably be impulsive substitutions anyway, and what are these competitions without some spontaneous whims? We are creating our own 90minutefamily league, so sign up in time to be able to ruffle some feathers in the Discord channel. The league code will be available when the game is released.
We will post recommendations in the form of short analyses and odds tips as the race unfolds. Several of us in the editorial team love cycling, and especially the Tour de France. We take into account that we are in place with perspectives and tips on most stages, and especially when the race settles down a bit, the analyses will come. We will become wiser the more we see of the various riders' form curves and intentions, and then we will be on the ball. Or on the pedals if you like! Hope you find our contributions enriching and profitable these weeks, and that the adventure in France is raised a notch. We are looking forward to it.
Bon Voyage!
