Arensman's debut among the veterans' one-on-one
Tadej Pogacar. This is the main name in the Tour de France after two weeks of competition. The Slovenian from UAE Team Emirates-XRG arrived in the Pyrenees to settle the matter... and he succeeded, so far. After being overwhelming in Hautacam, the world champion long-distance rider put his foot down again in the Peyragudes time trial and secured his second consecutive victory with pomp and circumstance, extending his lead at the top of the general classification to over four minutes. The confidence and supremacy were all on Pogacar's side, and even without João Almeida, he continues to show he has the team and the legs to win the Tour. The Alps—and what remains of the Pyrenees—will tell.
“I'm super happy. I've had a big question mark going into this time trial since December. I wanted everything to go perfectly, and the team gave it their all in the final moments to ensure everything was at its best. I started the day well, had a calm morning, and wanted to go all out from start to finish, trying to give it my best. I almost blew up at the end, but I saw the stopwatch up, and that gave me an extra push because I knew I was going to win. Choosing which bike to use was the most important decision. Obviously, we race road bikes most of the year, 99% of the time. In the end, we did the math, and if you can't push that hard on a time trial bike, it doesn't make a difference. I decided to be more comfortable and rode the last 10 stages on the same bike, so it worked for me. I decided not to use the radio and just relied on the time checks at the intermediate points,” shared the Slovenian after another triumph.
“I can be satisfied with my performance today [Friday]. I probably gave my best effort. Today I'm back to normal, and I just need to keep trying. Today was perhaps my best performance. Tadej was stronger and deserved the victory. Yesterday [Thursday] was a terrible day for us. On the final climb, I felt great, but suddenly everything fell apart. It was very disappointing, but my level wasn't what it used to be. I haven't lost faith in myself yet. I believe in the level I'm at. I hope I don't have any more bad days. Is the Tour over? Of course not. We have to keep trying and believe we can still do something in this race. The whole team is very strong, and we just need to show that in the coming days,” said Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who finished the time trial after overtaking Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) near the finish line.
???? Almost 5,000m of D+ and 2 HC climbs on today's menu! Hang in there!
???? Presque 5,000m de D+ et 2 cols Hors-Catégorie au menu du jour ! Bon courage! #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/bxRIbX3Icr
— Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 19, 2025
Saturday was the queen stage day in the Pyrenees, with the cyclists facing a 182-kilometer stage between Pau—which hosted the race for the 76th time—and Luchon-SuperBagnerès, on a day with over 5,000 meters of accumulated elevation gain. After the intermediate sprint , the peloton tackled the historic Tourmalet, with 19 kilometers of ascent and average gradients of 7.4%. Following the descent were the Col d'Aspin, with five kilometers at 7.6%, and Peyresourde, with 7.1 to 8.1%. Thirty-six years later, Luchon-Superbagnères was the final stage, a climb with a very challenging second half, with over 10% gradient, and a final kilometer of steep climbs.
On the 14th day, cold, rain, and fog descended heavily on the race, complicating the runners' mission from the outset. The first phase of the stage was marked by the retirements of Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), who hit a traffic jam, and Evenepoel, third, who fell behind with 108 kilometers remaining and decided to retire, in tears, on the Tourmalet. Jonathan Milan (Lidl) was once again the fastest in the intermediate sprint and cemented his lead in the points standings, despite Pogacar's close approach. From then on, a large group formed at the front, notably featuring Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Sepp Kuss and Simon Yates (Visma), Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers), and Enric Mas (Movistar).
❌ Evenepoel gets off his bike and abandons the Tour de Francia. #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/Bx7ls5cokW
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) July 19, 2025
Looking for points to regain the lead in the mountains jersey, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain-Victorious) was the fastest to pass the top of Tourmalet and d'Aspin, solo, and was later caught by Kuss and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal). At the start of the summit of Peyresourde, Thymen Arensman (Ineos), Rodríguez, Ben O'Connor (Jayco AlUla), and Johannessen joined the leading trio. Arensman split the group shortly after, attacking solo towards the summit, where he passed with a comfortable 1.50-minute lead over the chasers and 3.30 minutes over the group of favorites, who continued without incident at the pace of Emirates. Despite the adverse conditions and speeds of around 100 km/h, the descent presented no problems, with the final decision being reserved for Luchon-Superbagnère.
The climb began with Pavel Sivakov (Emirates) and Matteo Jorgenson (Visma) breaking away from the strongest packs, followed by Victor Campenaerts (Visma), leaving Vingegaard alone. With seven kilometers to go, the main group caught up with the remaining escapees, leaving only Arensman, who maintained a steady pace and gained 2.40 minutes. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was the first to attack, finding no response. The lead dwindled until the finish, but victory was practically in the hands of the escapee. Vingegaard attacked four kilometers from the summit, with Pogacar responding immediately, and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) joining further ahead. The yellow jersey responded later, catching Gall, with the Dane responding and counterattacking.
Vingegaard's attack with the response to Pogacar's street. #TDF2025 pic.twitter.com/JMxghvJ2gT
— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) July 19, 2025
At the front, Thymen Arensman took his fourth career victory, his first in the Tour, after triumphing in the 2022 Vuelta. The British team hadn't won the Grande Boucle for two years. In the fight for second place, Pogacar was stronger in the sprint and gained four seconds on his rival on the road, plus four more in bonuses. Gall finished 1.19 minutes behind and Lipowitz 1.25. Overall, the Slovenian now has a 4.13 lead over Jonas Vingegaard, with Florian Lipowitz making it onto the podium, 7.53 further back. Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) was 9.18 behind, Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) was 10.21 behind, Primoz Roglic (10.34) and Felix Gall (12.00) also moved up a place with Evenepoel's withdrawal.
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