'Bonne soirée, Lille' - Parade of riders at Tour de France teams presentation delights crowd with new team kits, national colours and free bottles

The parade of 184 riders from the 23 teams participating in the 2025 Tour de France took place Thursday evening in Lille, two days ahead of the Grand Départ in the same city for the opening stage.

It's not just a chance for fans to see the faces and hear some comments from the top athletes, but also check out the special-edition team jerseys for the Grande Boucle and the national championship kits many riders will debut in France, and grab some free souvenirs tossed from the stage.

Spectators filled the city's Place du Général de Gaulle to cheer as athletes on each Tour team rode their bikes onto a circular stage wrapped around the Column of the Goddess statue, towering approximately 18 metres and punctuating the bright, blue sky.

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French team Cofidis were the first to take the stage, to huge applause. Kévin Vacquelin and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) addressed the home crowds, with two more French teams stirring the national pride - Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale and Groupama FDJ, which boasted seven compatriots on the team.

Speaking in English, last year's green jersey winner Biniam Girmay said his Intermarché-Wanty team were targeting another stage win, but was not guaranteeing he would seize three stages like in 2024.

"It's another opportunity to show together with my team, how strong we are, and then we are really looking forward to begin here in this beautiful city, Lille," Girmay said.

"I think it's going to be hard to do the same, like last year, to win three stages in the green jersey. So for our ambition this year, it's quite simple, we are here to win a stage."

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Among the 11 road race national champions in the field, Kazakh Yevgeny Fedorov (XDS Astana), Latvian Toms Skujinš (Lidl-Trek) and Switzerland's Mauro Schmid (Jayco-AlUla) all scored double victories and will also represent home country colours on all stages. There are six individual ITT national champions in the field, a few taking the opportunity to wear their colours at the presentation.

There were nine new looks on display from team jerseys as well, two of those a mid-season change that will continue for the rest of the year for Ineos and Tudor Pro Cycling.

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Ineos Grenadiers, wearing new jerseys with new sponsor TotalEnergies emblazoned on a white band on the chest, received cheers for lots of free bottles tossed to the crowd and remarks from former Tour champion Geraint Thomas.

"It is a strange feeling. I haven't really thought too much about it," Thomas said about starting his final Tour prior to retiring at the end of the year. "Just wanted to come here and be in the best shape with the boys, the good team, and try to get the results we want. There's joy [at] this last one."

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Among the final teams to take the stage were the teams of top GC heavy favourites Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike and Tadej Pogačar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG. Their last head-to-head meeting was at the Critérium du Dauphiné, where Vingegaard finished runner-up to his Slovenian rival.

"It's been a bit of a weird season for me, but it only gives me more motivation to do well here," the Danish two-time winner of the Tour said on the stage, referring to his withdrawal from Paris-Nice after stage 5.

"Hopefully, I can be even better than I was in the Dauphiné. We have a strong team. We're all ready for it."

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UAE Team Emirates-XRG surrounded the circular stage with reigning world champion and Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar taking the microphone and showing off a few French phrases he had recently learned.

"Bonne soirée, Lille. Comment allez-vous," the Slovenian, who has won the Tour three times, said in a welcome to impress the crowd. "Thank you for a big welcome. Super beautiful city, super beautiful fans, and we are ready to fight again for the Tour de France."

During his introduction, it was noted he had 99 career road wins coming into the Tour, so a stage win in France would be significant.

"Yeah, to win 100 races in a career is a very big number, and if I can achieve it at the Tour, it's going to be amazing. Viva le France, Viva le Tour."

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The 112th edition of the Tour de France begins Saturday in Lille and concludes three weeks later in Paris on Sunday, July 27, with the finale featuring three passes of Côte de la Butte Montmartre before the traditional sprint on the Champs-Élysées. There are two rest days set among the 21 days of racing, the first on Tuesday, July 15, followed by the final rest day on Monday, July 21.

Following the live introductions of riders, a video presentation was presented to the local and global audiences to preview the upcoming Tour de France Femmes, which will take place July 26-August 3 between Brittany and the Alps.

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