Matteo Vercher is the current lanterne rouge and he rolls down the ramp first. This first section is rolling for the first three kilometres, with the next kilometre averaging 4.5%, before it then kicks up really steeply.
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 12:12
Romain Bardet previews stage 13
Romain Bardet had a chat with TNT Sports yesterday about stage 13. Having won a mountain stage from Pau to Peyragudes in the 2017 Tour, he’s a good man to ask.
“The last wall could be a climb in itself. It’s so steep, so wide also, due to the altiport, for the flights to take off. The guys will have to push before that more than 25 minutes over threshold, then you have to keep something in reserve for that last steep bit. Also you can never see the top, it keeps climbing and climbing, so it requires a lot of mental strength because you just have to keep going.” Delightful.
“It can mean winning or losing this time trial, the way you climb the last 300m,” he adds.
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 12:10
Could Tadej Pogacar do the double? The Slovenian has already won three stages of this year’s Tour, up to 20 career stages (watch out, Mark Cavendish) and looks in supreme form, even with that crash on stage 11. There’s every possibility that it may hamper him more today than it did yesterday, but he still looks a cut above Jonas Vingegaard and Remco Evenepoel, who would otherwise be among the favourites for today.
Evenepoel is of course the world and Olympic time-trial champion but the Belgian prefers a flatter, more specialist-friendly course and any aero benefits from his position on the bike will be rendered null by the climbing on the menu today. Vingegaard has serious time to make up on his rival but has had two bad days at this year’s Tour, one in the previous time trial and one yesterday, so combining the Pyrenean climbs with a race against the clock doesn’t seem likely to suit the Dane today.
None of the peloton’s other time-trial specialists, like Edoardo Affini, can climb as well as Pogacar; French national TT champion Bruno Armirail had a phenomenal day out yesterday but is not a pure climber and may well pay for those efforts. For all of those reasons, we are once again going with Tadej Pogacar.
(AP)
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 12:02
Elsewhere, Matteo Jorgenson lost 10 minutes, severely hampering his own GC challenge and meaning that UAE can take any attacks of his in the next road stage – on Saturday – less seriously, as he doesn’t represent a threat to Pogacar in yellow at the moment.
Remco Evenepoel suffered on the climbs but managed to limit his losses and is still third overall, but is left looking over his shoulder at the likes of Florian Lipowitz, Kevin Vauquelin, and Oscar Onley, who all performed brilliantly today and are hot on his heels in the white jersey standings today.
Lipowitz in particular was excellent, finishing third on the stage and moving up four places to third overall. He now sits two minutes ahead of his theoretical team leader Primoz Roglic. Will Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe now change tack, and go all-in for the German’s podium chances?
Primoz Roglic had a tough day out (AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 11:54
Of course stage 12 cemented that Pogacar is the man to beat, if indeed he is beatable at all. But it also exposed Visma-Lease a Bike, who looked like the strongest team by far after UAE lost Joao Almeida to a crash and several domestiques appeared to struggle in the last few days.
The tables were turned today and it was Jhonatan Narvaez, not, on paper, UAE’s best climber, who delivered the astonishing turn of pace that forced the entire GC group to disintegrate and set up Pogacar’s attack with 12km to go on Hautacam.
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 11:47
Tadej Pogacar dedicates Tour de France win to teenaged Italian cyclist who died in crash
Privitera, 19, crashed during the opening stage of the Giro della Valle d’Aosta in the Italian Alps. The Hagens Berman Jayco rider reportedly came off his bike during a descent, losing his helmet and colliding with a gate. He was taken to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
“This stage can go for Samuele, to all his family,” Pogacar said. “It was really sad, it was the first thing I read in the morning, and I was thinking in the last kilometre about him and how tough this sport can be, and how much pain it can cause.”
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 11:41
Tadej Pogacar delivered a display of pure dominance on the first true mountain test of this year’s Tour de France to retake the yellow jersey with a solo win.
On the Hautacam, where Jonas Vingegaard left Pogacar behind in a decisive attack in his 2022 Tour win, the world champion exacted revenge, attacking 12 kilometres from the summit finish and putting two minutes 10 seconds into his rival, who finished second on the day.
Pogacar’s third stage win of this Tour, the 20th of his career, put him a big step closer to what would be a fourth overall title as he leads by three minutes 31 seconds from Vingegaard, with both men putting time into third-placed Remco Evenepoel, now four minutes 45 seconds down.
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 11:35
General classification after stage 12Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), in 45:22:51 Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +3’31” Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), +4’45” Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +5’34” Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), +5’40” Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), +6’05” Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +7’30” Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), +7’44” Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), +9’21” Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), +12’12” 
Tadej Pogacar once again leads the Tour de France after stage 12 (REUTERS)
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 11:30
Stage 12 resultsTadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), in 4:21:19 Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), +2’10” Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +2’23” Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), +3’00” Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), +3’00” Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea-B&B Hotels), +3’33” Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), +3’35” Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), +4’02” Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), +4’08” Cristian Rodriguez (Arkea – B&B Hotels) +7’26” 
Pogacar blasted past all his rivals to win stage 12 and move back into the race lead (AP)
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 11:25
The Slovenian went solo with 12km to go, teed up superbly by teammate Jhonatan Narvaez, and while initially Jonas Vingegaard was the only rider who could stick with him, the Dane was quickly distanced and began rapidly shedding time.
By the summit finish at Hautacam – the toughest climb of the race so far – Pogacar had once again emphasised his superiority and his rivals were left licking their wounds and taking stock of their losses.
Vingegaard finished 2’10” down, falling to 3’31” behind Pogacar in the overall standings, while Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic also suffered on the brutal slopes and in the punishing heat.
Vingegaard slipped to 3’31” behind his rival in the overall standings (AP)
Flo Clifford18 July 2025 11:21