The most anticipated day on the cycling calendar arrives on stage 1 of the Tour de France, with the opening of the 2025 race set to bring the drama, emotions, misery and unbridled joy that a Grand Départ always does.
Lille will play host, as the sport's biggest event returns for its first French start in four years, and it's the fastest sprinters in the world who are expected to have their day, after several years in favour of the puncheurs.
Many iconic fast men of the Tour have had the honour of wearing the first yellow jersey, from André Darrigade back in the 1950s to Marcel Kittel and Mark Cavendish in the 2010s. A new name will likely be added to that list, with Alexander Kristoff's magic day in Nice in 2020 the last time a sprinter took the day 1 spoils.
Fittingly, the last time a Tour stage arrived in Lille, back in 2014, Kittel took one of his 14 Tour stage wins in the sprint, ahead of Kristoff, mid-way through establishing his legacy – stage 1 offers the chance for someone to do similarly.
Sprinting royalty of the 2020s arrives at the start line in anticipation of the opportunity, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – the Tour's best sprinter over the past three seasons – being joined by his two closest rivals: Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) and debutant Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).
A 185-kilometre route heading out and back from Lille's centre is what will decide the day, with only three categorised climbs, and a flat run for home on the Boulecard Vauban awaiting them. But there are dangers in the Hauts-de-France region, and the expected carnage will see a race within the race develop as the GC favourites try to survive.
The sprint for yellow
Nine-time Tour stage winner Jasper Philipsen is among the favourites in Lille (Image credit: Getty Images)
Philipsen has the best Tour sprinting pedigree by a long way, with nine stage wins and a green jersey to his name, but he also has the strongest lead-out, with Kaden Groves joining Mathieu van der Poel as part of the well-oiled Alpecin-Deceuninck machine.
But he isn't the favourite, as it hasn't been his best season, netting only two wins to date. He played down the importance of this speaking two days before the start, knowing that one win in the next three weeks outweighs all the races so far in 2025.
"The season so far has gone with a lot of ups and downs for me personally," he said. "But it's not that I'm stressed about it. The last weeks are going well, and I will be in the best shape possible. That's the thing that counts, not the previous wins."
Merlier is the consensus favourite, with 10 wins in 2025, several in front of his compatriot and Milan, earning him his first Tour start since 2021, when he and Philipsen were teammates.
He does have the weakest train, though, with Soudal-QuickStep's main focus on Remco Evenepoel, but childhood friend Bert Van Lerberghe will be with him, and their tactic of gambling late could catapult him into yellow.
"If you don't have a full team, and you're in position 15, you either let them box you in and hope you get out, or you box them in and come at the last moment," Van Lerberghe told Cyclingnews, with the second option their chosen weapon.
"OK it's a big effort but if we have the legs to do it, we are more sure to do it than waiting in a good position and letting other teams box us in – then you are fucked. We have to gamble and wait."
For Milan, the youngest of the three, it's been a rapid rise straight to the top, with his powerful frame reminding many of Kittel, and his obscene watts impressing all.
He may be the weakest at moving through the wheels, but if he gets a clear run at the line, then few are able to overpower his raw speed. Lidl-Trek's lead-out will be essential to success, but they have brought a team to do just that. Simone Consonni will be his last man, after Jasper Stuyven and Edward Theuns ramp up the pace.
History-maker Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla), and the in-form Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) will also be in the mix, adding to the furious fight for position. The big names could easily be caught out, so a surprise sprint winner could be in order.
The final corner they'll have to navigate comes just inside 1.5km to go, where either Lidl or Alpecin are likely to be holding front position, but with no one wanting to hit the wind too early, the washing machine effect could put more danger into the equation.
It will be a tree-lined final sprint on a 7-metre wide road, so the elbows and shoulders will certainly be out, and the sprinters, with the prestige of yellow on offer, may throw caution to the wind to fight for every inch of road and their lead-out man's wheel. A stage win is one thing, but wearing the maillot jaune is a significantly higher honour. For those eyeing GC in the bunch behind, they'll want to avoid the fight as much as possible and let the fast men get to work.
A nervous race to the 5km to go mark
The likes of Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel will be hoping to avoid disaster on day one (Image credit: Getty Images)
An extended safety zone from 3km to 5km from the finish gives GC riders a new target to aim for on the opening day, with this being where any late incident or accident sees you get the same time.
With no punchy finale, this is where Evenepoel, Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), and all those looking for a solid start to their GC bid, will be hoping to reach.
The chaos of Grand Tours has taken many out in Grand Départs over the years, and the first sprint stage always brings a crash or two, so expect the nerves to be at an all-time high.
Echelons are the other big fear, where missing a split can see your Tour hopes disappear. Things could open up in the final 80km of the day, when the route heads back east towards Lille, and at times could see a cross-tailwind induce the carnage.
After the second category 4 climb of the day to Mont Cassel, only the ascent up to Mont Noir will remain. The latter itself is far from hard enough to cause splits, at only 1.3km with an average gradient of 6.4%, but with exposed roads coming soon after in the final 40km, the pace will surely be rapid before more changes in direction along the France-Belgium border provide the perfect environment for splits.
Attentiveness will be vital, where Visma's "Classics squad", as Matteo Jorgenson described it, will be on duty to guide Vingegaard to safety, meaning Wout van Aert may be giving the sprint a miss. Pogačar, too, will have help from several elite rouleurs, and Evenepoel, as a Belgian, will of course be no stranger to some hectic racing in the wind. Survival will be paramount, and just arriving back into Lille in the main bunch would be the first box ticked in the long list of desires.
This first stage also forms part of an opening 10 race days filled with potential drama and chaos, with only the stage 5 time trial bringing some solitary peace around an abundance of flat finishes and punchy kicks to the line, that will keep the whole bunch interested, and the danger at a maximum.
Stage 1 Profile and map
Image 1 of 2
Profile of the 2025 Tour de France stage 1(Image credit: A.S.O.)
Map of the 2025 Tour de France stage 1(Image credit: Geoatlast)
A VPN will unblock your usual streams while abroad so you don't miss a minute. NordVPN is the best, say TechRadar, and right now Cyclingnews readers can save over 70% on a two-year plan, get an extra four months thrown in for free, plus up to $50/£50 in Amazon gift cards.
Disclaimer
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
James Moultrie is a gold-standard NCTJ journalist who joined Cyclingnews as a News Writer in 2023 after originally contributing as a freelancer for eight months, during which time he also wrote for Eurosport, Rouleur and Cycling Weekly. Prior to joining the team he reported on races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Giro d’Italia Donne for Eurosport and has interviewed some of the sport’s top riders in Chloé Dygert, Lizzie Deignan and Wout van Aert. Outside of cycling, he spends the majority of his time watching other sports – rugby, football, cricket, and American Football to name a few.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
