Cycling
The 4 biggest takeaways from the 2025 Tour de France
This year’s Tour de France was a tough test for teams and riders every single day. Here are the men who stood out.
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In the current era, reaching the podium of the Tour de France has to be seen as a victory in itself; possibly enough, indeed, to have taken victory during many other periods. For Florian Lipowitz to accomplish this feat on his Tour debut, securing the white jersey for the best young rider en route, is a seriously impressive result. Especially when you consider that, since 2020, the Tour de France has been dominated by two riders – Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard – who've finished 1-2 in the general classification in every edition since 2021.
The 24-year-old German was the breakout star of this year’s race, recording Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s best-ever result at the Tour de France, while also putting German cycling back on the map after almost two decades without a podium finish. It wasn’t the plan at the start of the Grand Tour, either – the young rookie was initially seen as a key support for team leader Primož Roglič as the 36-year-old Slovenian targetted his own third-place.
Lipowitz’s rise is just one of the key moments from this year’s Tour de France though.
01
Roglič finds a bit of redemption with a strong top-10 finish
Florian Lipowitz side by side with team captain Primož Roglič
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe entered the Tour de France targeting a podium finish for GC leader Roglič. While the Slovenian has five Grand Tour wins to his name (four La Vuelta red jerseys and one Giro d’Italia), he was in a realistic mood ahead of his seventh Tour de France, playing down his prospects for a win and removing some pressure that can often overwhelm riders on an already nervy first week of racing.
“With the way Tadej [Pogačar], Jonas [Vingegaard] and Remco [Evenepoel] are riding, about myself I don’t really care too much,” he said in a pre-race press conference. “We all know in the end what races I won and the races I didn’t yet win. Yes, I have unfinished business with the Tour de France, but on the other hand, winning it or not, I’m almost 36 years old, and I'm happy and proud that I'm able to come to the Tour de France and be part of the biggest cycling event in the world.
“With obviously growing up, not getting younger, but definitely getting older, you learn some things and what actually helps you. From this point, it’s helping [me to be more relaxed], to look at the facts that you are competing with Tadej, who is on another level, and others also.”
Roglič achieved a top-10 finish
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
I'm happy and proud that I'm able to come to the Tour de France and be part of the biggest cycling event in the world
Roglič would be supported in his podium tilt by Florian Lipowitz, a 24-year-old making his Tour debut. While the German was to be a key lieutenant, particularly once the race reached the mountains, he had shown his own potential in 2025 with podium finishes at the stage races Paris-Nice (second) and Critérium du Dauphiné (third).
The team’s tactics appeared to work, with Roglič and Lipowitz both in the top 10 and within reach of the podium on the first rest day and the mountains of the Pyrenees and Alps still to come. On the first day in the former, Lipowitz showed his climbing prowess, finishing third on the stage and propelling himself to fourth in the overall. Although Roglič wasn’t able to match his protégé on the slopes of the hors categorie Hautacam, the Slovenian would edge up to seventh on GC.
The next day’s individual time trial was another show of strength from the team, Roglič and Lipowitz finishing third and fourth respectively on the uphill individual time trial, with the young German only six seconds from a GC podium spot.
Florian Lipowitz celebrates his white jersey win as best young rider
© Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
The final day in the Pyrenees saw third-place Remco Evenepoel’s withdrawal, bumping Lipowitz up to third in the general classification and first in the white jersey competition. “When I came to the Tour, I never thought about being on the podium or fighting for the podium,” said Lipowitz. “I knew I am in a good shape and now I’m third and I have the white jersey, I can only be happy.
We are a team and we discuss things together. So far, I’ve showed that I’m in a good shape, but Primož [Roglič] is the leader. We are super close. He will tell me what to do and what’s the plan for the coming days. He showed yesterday in the TT that he can perform really good and I believe that he is a guy for the third week and for sure we’ll see something great from him.
Lipowitz will still be eligible for the white jersey in 2026
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
When I came to the Tour, I never thought about being on the podium
The team’s goal is to be on the podium of the Tour, and we have to see who will be fighting for it, Primož or me.”
While there was still more than a week’s racing to go, the team were in the envious position of having two riders who could be on the podium come Paris. Ultimately, the German managed to hold on as Roglič’s solo attacks on stage 18 and 19 came to nothing; Lipowitz surviving a scare on stage 18 when he lost time to his closest competitor on GC and the white jersey – Oscar Onley – before reaffirming his superiority on stage 19 to ride away from the Scottish rider to all-but-clinch third place.
The result is Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe’s highest finish on GC at the Tour de France, and their first-ever white jersey win.
"It's a dream come true to reach the podium of the Tour de France,” said Lipowitz on reaching Paris. “I've been thinking about it for several years, but I didn't think it would happen so soon. We'll see what happens in the coming years. I hope I can stay at this level. After the Dauphiné, I knew I had good legs, but three weeks of racing is something very different. I can be proud of myself, but also of the whole team. We worked very well together and fought hard until the end. It's very special.”
We'll see what happens in the coming years
02
Germany has a new Tour de France podium star after nearly two decades
Florian Lipowitz powers through Paris
© Bernard Papon/Pool/Getty Images
Lipowitz’s success doesn’t end at the team, and it is a result that has been a long-time coming for the whole of Germany. The country only has one recognised winner at the race in 112 editions – Jan Ullrich’s 1997 victory – and a German rider hasn’t finished on the podium since Andreas Klöden in 2006, when Lipowitz was just six years old.
While Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe have come close to rectifying this in the more recent past – Emanuel Buchmann finishing fourth in 2019, 1m 56s behind winner Egan Bernal – Lipowitz’s success and age is hopefully a sign that Germany won’t have to wait much longer for a second yellow jersey.
03
Young talents are stepping up
Lipowitz conquers Col de la Loze on Stage 18
© Maximilian Fries/Red Bull Content Pool
While Roglič has been the focus going into this year’s two Grand Tours, two young riders have risen to fill the Slovenian’s shoes when his attempts have faltered through injury or form.
Although only 19, Giulio Pellizzari proved that he’s more than capable of mounting his own general classification bid, riding to sixth at the 2025 Giro d’Italia and finishing within 10 minutes of winner Simon Yates despite only being released from domestique duties midway through stage 16 after Roglič’s retirement. The Italian is in line to race La Vuelta at the end of August, which will be his first Grand Tour outside of his homeland.
Although Lipowitz is five years Pellizzari’s senior, the young German is still only 24 and has already proven himself on the world’s biggest stage. He remains eligible for the white jersey competition in next year’s Tour too, and could look to target the general and young rider classifications, becoming only the eighth different rider to achieve the feat.
04
Wout van Aert reminds everyone he can still win on the biggest stage
Wout van Aert climbs Mont Ventoux
© Kristof Ramon/Red Bull Content Pool
Wout van Aert reprised his domestique duties for the Tour de France, riding in support of team leader Jonas Vingegaard as the Dane attempted to win his third yellow jersey. While Vingegaard and Team Visma Lease a Bike would ultimately fail in their quest, the Belgian rider would provide a silver lining on a damp and wet final stage.
Competing on a Parisian course inspired by the 2024 Olympic Games road race route, van Aert had positioned himself in the lead group as the race entered its final ascent of Montmarte, where he attacked and broke free of Tadej Pogačar and the chasing pack to solo 6km to the line. The second time that van Aert has won the final stage in his career, it was his first Tour stage win since 2022, and shows he can still beat anyone on his day.
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