22km to go: Are they starting to dream? The seven leaders have 6’50” on the peloton and 1’30” on the Healy group.
“Make sure you do as much work as Abrahamsen,” the Astana team car tells Velasco, which seems absolutely terrible advice. No one works as hard as Abrahamsen. That’s a hiding to nothing.
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 14:40
32km to go: Fred Wright has been dropped from this leading group and is rapidly going backwards towards the Healy group. And then there were seven.
Can they hold off this man?
(AP)
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 14:25
37km to go: Nils Politt has been doing his best on the front for UAE but he’s lost ground to this eight-man breakaway, who have been rotating well together.
Behind them, the Ben Healy group is playing games and is already 1’38” back and counting. Alaphilippe and Trentin’s teammates in this group, Haller and Hirschi, are being as disruptive as possible. “No one wants to ride!” Krists Neilands of Israel-PremierTech says on his radio in frustration.
TotalEnergies’ Thomas Gachignard, meanwhile, is more than 15 minutes back, the poor Frenchman is having a terrible day out.
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 14:18
This is what’s coming…
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 14:10
Abrahamsen wins intermediate sprint
55km to go: Abrahamsen launches a clever sprint at the intermediate and holds off Velasco, his only challenger, for the maximum 20 points.
The rest of this lead group roll over the line in orderly fashion and 28 seconds behind them, so does the Ben Healy group.
(AP)
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 13:57
62km to go: The irrepressible Julian Alaphilippe has been part of a split in this enormous leading group. Eenkhorn, Wright, Arensman, Mas, Velasco, Abrahamsen, and Alaphilippe’s teammate Trentin are all on the right side of this split, and the pair have two Tudor teammates in the group behind, some 18 seconds back now, who could help them stay away.
The gap to the peloton has gone out to more than four minutes, with Verstrynge and Rickaert still 30” off the front of the breakaway.
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 13:49
Retiring Geraint Thomas is going up Mont Ventoux for the final time today as his last-ever Tour de France nears its end. “I think he’s definitely glad this is his last Tour de France,” close friend Luke Rowe says on TNT Sports comms. He adds that the Welshman still wants something from this Tour; a stage win would be the perfect end to a fine career.
“What G brings is his charisma off the bike,” he adds. “He’s not the loudest guy on the bus, but when he talks, he talks a lot of sense. He’s a massive asset to that squad.”
(AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 13:42
75km to go: Some more attacking and counter-attacking later, this is a huge, huge, move, and the big news is that Jonathan Milan – who has been on the attack with Biniam Girmay again – has failed to get into it. You’d think that may be the end of his green jersey hopes, with somebody else going to pick up the 20 intermediate sprint points and Pogacar most likely to take 30 at the summit.
36 riders up the road with 30 seconds on the Alpecin-Deceuninck pair of Jonas Rickaert and Emiel Verstrynge, with the peloton three minutes and counting down the road.
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 13:35
Vingegaard on breaking Pogacar
“He hasn’t really shown any sign of weakness so far. Obviously it’s pretty hard to read something out of that but we just have to keep trying.
“We didn’t lose our hopes, we still believe it can be possible, and we’ll keep on trying.
“I’m feeling good. I had a good rest day, together with the team. We’ll see today, Hopefully the legs are good then we can maybe try something.”
Jonas Vingegaard has it all to do in the final week (AFP/Getty)
Lawrence Ostlere22 July 2025 13:34
Milan’s points jersey in danger
Jonathan Milan has had one threat to his green jersey lead removed in the form of Mathieu van der Poel leaving the race entirely. The Dutchman had been third in the standings at the start of the day.
But Pogacar is just 28 points off the pace as things stand and is likely to continue picking up points as he hoovers up stage wins. Today’s stage, bizarrely classified as a medium mountain despite featuring a HC summit finish, has 30 green jersey points on offer as well as 20 KOM points.
Pogacar winning today – as seems the most likely outcome – would also help him usurp Milan’s jersey, should the Italian pick up no points today (or one, or two).
There are 20 points on offer for first over the intermediate sprint at Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 112km into the stage, so Milan is in serious need of doing well in that sprint.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford22 July 2025 13:19