184 riders who represent 23 teams are heading to France in search of Tour de France stardom. We’ve witnessed some sensational saddle sagas over the years, and we can expect more of the same over three titanic and thrilling weeks this summer. For the first time since 2020, the entire race is being staged solely on French soil. The wheels are set in motion in Lille on Saturday, July 5, and we reach a dramatic climax on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on Sunday, July 27. You won’t want to miss a single moment of the Tour de France 2025, and you don’t have to, as every stage will be screened live.
The last five editions of the Tour de France have been won by just two men, Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard. Both legends of the current cycling era are attempting to claim the most coveted crown in the sport once again, and unsurprisingly, both are fancied to be in the mix for honours. The only other former Tour de France winner competing is Britain’s Geraint Thomas. It’s been seven years since the Welshman wore yellow in Paris though, and at 39 years of age, he'll be the oldest rider taking part in the 2025 race.
The fanatical French crowd are longing for a Tour de France winner of their own. They haven’t celebrated a home success since Bernard Hinault and Laurent Fignon dominated the event in the early 1980s. Lenny Martinez, who is one of the youngest riders in the 2025 field, looks to be one of their best shots, albeit an outside one, at glory. Martinez, who finished 124th in his first crack at Le Tour twelve months ago, has shown improvement at some of this year’s major stage race events and will be aiming to make headlines on home soil.
Let GOAL help guide you through the 2025 Tour de France leading riders. We profile some of the contenders chasing general classification supremacy and the coveted yellow jersey this year.
When is the Tour de France 2025?
Getty ImagesThe Tour de France 2025, which is the 112th edition of the prestigious event and takes place from July 5-27, features 21 stages and an accumulative elevation of 52,500m. The 21 days of action consist of 7 flat, 6 hilly and 6 mountain stages, plus two time trials. The riders stay in the north of France during the first week, they tackle the Pyrenees during the second week and hit the Alps during the third. The race will feature five summit finishes, including the famous and intimidating Mont Ventoux.
Who are the Tour de France 2025 contenders?
Getty ImagesTadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Tadej Pogacar, the 3-time Tour de France king (and twice runner-up), is aiming to successfully defend his French crown, as he did in 2021 after clinching his inaugural yellow jersey in 2020. The fact he’s kept himself very active during the early months of the year doesn’t seem to have had an adverse reaction, as he continues to churn out the positive performances. In his last prep race before tackling the Tour de France, the Slovenian star participated in the Criterium du Dauphine for the first time since 2020. He dominated the event, winning 3 of the 8 stages and finishing 59 seconds ahead of Jonas Vingegaard. Pogacar is the strong favourite to be wearing yellow in Paris again, and if he does, he’ll become the first rider since Greg LeMond in 1990 to win the Tour de France as world champion.
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Despite starting 2025 on a winning note at the Volta ao Algarve, the 2022 & 2023 Tour de France champion, Jonas Vingegaard, suffered a setback following a crash at Paris-Nice in March, which forced him to reschedule his seasonal plans. He only returned to real race action when the Dauphine got underway on June 8. There was no sign of rustiness however, with the Dane producing some dazzling displays during the 8-stage event, en route to finishing second, and it’s been reported that he’s put in an abundance of additional altitude work as well. Vingegaard is of course no stranger to dealing with injury breaks, as he recovered from a horror crash at last year’s Itzulia Basque Country before giving a creditable account of himself at the Tour de France 2024. Vingegaard’s chances will be boosted by the backing of a strong Visma-Lease a Bike team, which includes the likes of Simon Yates and Wout van Aert, who demonstrated their strength at the Giro d’Italia.
Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)
Remco Evenepoel is another leading Tour de France contender who had to bounce back after accounting early-season issues. Whilst on a winter training run, the Belgian rider bizarrely collided with a postman's van door and suffered fractures to his right shoulder, ribs and right hand, which kept him out of action until April. The 2022 Vuelta a Espana winner was back in the saddle just in time for a crack at some of this year’s Classics. Evenepoel won the Brabantse Pijl, was third in the Amstel Gold Race and wore yellow for a period during the recent Dauphine after winning stage 4. The Soudal-Quickstep leader, who finished third on French soil last year, will be hopeful of a positive start with some favourable stages and a time trial that should bring out the best in him.
Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Joao Almeida may be seen as Tadej Pogacar's right-hand man at this year's Tour de France, but his own qualities shouldn’t be underestimated. Almeida has some terrific Grand Tour experience under his belt with six top-10 finishes at the three big annual events, dating back to his 4th in the 2020 Giro d’Italia. He also seems to have taken a further step forward in his development this season and has been in the form of his life, capturing both the Tour of the Basque Country and the Tour de Romandie titles in April/May.
Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe)
While the previous candidates have all ridden in the Tour de France before, Florian Lipowitz will be making his debut in the biggest cycling race on the planet. In fact, he’s only taken part in one Grand Tour event before, finishing 7th in last year’s Vuelta a Espana. The 24-year-old German has built on that impressively this season with eye-catching performances and results at the Paris-Nice (2nd) and the Dauphine (3rd). Will he now take to Le Tour like a duck to water?
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
We remain focused on the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe ranks, and now turn our attention to their team leader, Primoz Roglic. The Slovenian rider, who claimed his fourth Vuelta a Espana title last year and was Giro d’Italia king in 2023, is desperate for a change of Tour de France fortune, and at 35 years of age, he knows time is running out. Roglic crashed out after just a week’s racing on French soil twelve months ago, as he had done in both 2021 & 2022. His 2025 Grand Tour campaign also started poorly as he retired from the Giro d’Italia after suffering several spills over the first two weeks. Can ‘Rogla’ return to the form that saw him finish runner-up to fellow countryman, Tadej Pogacar, at the 2020 Tour de France, or will his quest for the prized maillot jaune go up in flames once again?
Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Like Almeida, Matteo Jorgenson, who successfully defended his Paris-Nice crown in March, is one of the key domestiques expected to be grafting hard at the business end of proceedings during some of the Tour’s toughest stages this year. The American’s time trialling and climbing capabilities have both improved since moving from Movistar to Visma last year, and he could well be in the shake-up during some of this year’s vital Le Tour moments.
Lenny Martinez (Team Bahrain Victorious)
Lenny Martinez looks to be the leading French fancy for this year’s Tour. He may have finished well down the general classification standings when debuting last year, but he would have learnt a great deal from the experience. At 21 years of age, Martinez is still developing his Grand Tour skills, but he's more than proved his potential to be a possible French star of the future. He’s produced a string of impressive results this season. The Bahrain Victorious rider improved on his 2024 results at both the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour de Romandie, finishing 5th and 2nd respectively this time around, where he had finished 7th and 8th twelve months earlier.
How to watch or stream the Tour de France 2025
The Tour de France coverage will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK. You can live stream on discovery+ and watch via TNT Sports' TV channels on Sky, BT and Virgin Media platforms. Discovery+ Premium is £30.99 per month and available on a monthly rolling contract. This includes TNT Sports and other entertainment channels. Existing BT broadband customers can access TNT Sports for £20 per month. The package consists of TNT Sports and Discovery+. You can also catch live coverage on ITV4 (and stream on ITVX) daily.
US viewers can watch the greatest Grand Tour event on NBC and stream live on Peacock (NBC’s streaming service). You’ll only need Peacock Premium to catch all the action, which costs just $7.99 per month (or $80 annually for ad-supported streaming). Every stage is live with pre- and post-race analysis and on-demand replays. Peacock has the exclusive US media rights for the Tour de France through 2029.
Another great streaming service that will let you watch the Tour de France live is fubo. Fubo packages start from $79.99 a month, and they offer all-inclusive free 7-day trials before you pay. Fubo’s massive streaming plans carry up to 200+ channels, and you can get even more depending on your location. For avid sports fans, Fubo is the ultimate choice as it also provides access to other popular sports, including NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL & MLS. International soccer fans can also enjoy some of the world’s best leagues, such as the Premier League and La Liga. Most Fubo plans allow you to stream on up to 10 devices simultaneously.