Is it April or July? Classics-style racing and early GC tension delivers thrilling Tour de France opening weekend – Analysis

Two Tour de France stage victories and two yellow jerseys for Alpecin-Deceuninck and two days of classic Tour de France racing. The opening weekend of the 2025 Tour in the north of the country produced some thrilling racing, big-name winners and plenty of big-name losers. It was as entertaining as the Tour of Flanders and as dramatic as Paris-Roubaix.

It's early July but it feels more like April, as Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceunink) knocked chunks out of each other as if they were racing across the cobbles of a northern Monument.

"There was everything, rain, stress, dangers and short climbs. It was like a Classic," Pogačar said after Sunday's finish, perfectly summing up the weekend that included crashes and echelons on Saturday and then rain, attacks and a thrilling sprint finish on Sunday.

It feels like April but it's July because Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was also up there, joining the aggressive racing and even attacking himself. Some other GC riders joined them in the front groups on Saturday and Sunday but others were cut adrift by the attacks and lost precious time.

There are still 19 stages and three more weekends to race before the curtain comes down on the 2025 Tour de France in Paris but some riders already seem out of GC contention.

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) has not fallen but appears to have thrown in the GC towel after his Giro d'Italia crash injuries and disrupted training. If the Tour continues to be so intense, he knows he has virtually no chance of staying in the overall battle - such is the impact of the high-octane racing we've seen during this first, ultra-fraught weekend.

Jasper Philipsen and Alpecin-Deceuninck dominated stage 1 with a team performance equal to that of the Belgian's wins at Milan-San Remo or Scheldeprijs. They made sure they had the muscle in the echelon attack and then Jonas Rickaert, Kaden Groves and Mathieu van der Poel gave Philipsen a textbook lead-out.

Philipsen had only won twice so far in 2025 after crashes disrupted his Classics campaign but he was back to his very best in Lille and took the first yellow jersey of the 2025 Tour. A Tour de France stage victory is now equal to winning a Classic.

24 hours later, as often is the case, Philipsen's success inspired van der Poel to lift his game. They are friends and teammates but Van der Poel always wants to show who is the top dog.

Stage 2 had a rollercoaster final 20km and an uphill finish. The sun came out after the early rain and the racing turned into a GC day, with Pogačar and Vingegaard always up front and vigilant. They were on Van der Poel's wheel but could do nothing to beat him in the rising sprint.

Too much too soon?

The first week of the Tour de France used to be a doozy affair, with the GC riders avoiding any risks and any major efforts to stay safe and stay fresh for the mountain stages.

Not any more, not in an era driven by high carbohydrate feeding, aero-everything and riders like Pogačar and Mathieu van der Poel, all backed by super-team strategies.

Can the race continue like this all the way to Paris? Surely there will be a quiet stage when the GC riders take a day off and the breakaway is given their 15 minutes of fame?

Pogačar is no cannibal and will likely allow someone to enjoy the limelight. He will also surely need to save some mental and physical energy for his mountain showdown with Vingegaard. The riders can probably not perform with such intensity for so long.

Stage 3 is largely a flat ride to Dunkirk but will it have a different, more relaxed race dynamic? Don't count on it. The weather forecast is for more rain and crosswinds. It could be like Gent-Wevelgem in July.

Then stage 4 is another hilly day, with four categorised climbs and a number of others packed into the final 50km.

"If you think today was bad, wait until you see stage 4," Jayco-AlUla directeur sportif Matthew Hayman warned Cyclingnews. I fear he may be right.

Then on Wednesday, the 33km Caen time trial comes and every second won or lost will be vital. Either Pogačar or Vingegaard could take the yellow jersey, but all eyes will be on Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) to claw back his lost time.

There are more hilly stages and uphill finishes before the weekend to Vire Normandie and especially to Mur-de-Bretagne on Friday. The first block of the 2025 Tour de France finally ends on Bastille Day on Monday in the Massif Central.

So far, we've seen a weekend of classic Tour de France racing. It's probably only a taste of what is to come, we've probably only just got going.

Get ready for more, for a week of daily Classics: each one different, each one worth watching.

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