After a thrilling first 11 stages packed with drama, the 2025 Tour de France shifts into a new gear on Thursday with its first high-altitude summit finish atop the brutal Hautacam.
Wednesday delivered an emotional victory for Norway’s Jonas Abrahamsen, who took Uno-X Mobility’s first-ever Tour stage win in a two-up sprint just four weeks after breaking his collarbone. It was a nice finish to a chaotic first half of the race. There have been surprise wins, some crazy breakaways and a great solo ride by Ben Healy which gave him yellow.
But the real GC fireworks could ignite today. I mean, probably not could, but will. The 180-km stage from Auch to Hautacam features 3,850 m of climbing and four categorized ascents, including the Col du Soulor and Col des Bordères, before finishing atop the race’s first hors-catégorie climb: 13.5 km at an average 7.8 per cent.
It’s a stage built for Tadej Pogačar, who crashed late Wednesday but avoided losing time. His team hopes he can shake off any soreness and launch an attack to reclaim yellow. But the climb also holds special significance for Jonas Vingegaard, who won here in 2022 and whose Visma-Lease a Bike squad will be eager to repeat that feat. Might we see Israel – Premier Tech’s Mike Woods in the mix if his climbing legs are feeling good? He’s been mixing it up with some of the King of the Mountain sprints. Right now he sits third overall, with Lenny Martinez (Bahrain – Victorious) in polka dots.
With plenty of GC tension simmering and steep gradients awaiting, stage 12 promises fireworks as the Pyrénées take centre stage and the contenders face their first true test.
You can catch all the action on Flobikes.com, and Canadian Cycling Magazine will have reports and photos after. Buckle up sports fans, the game is on!
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Canadian Cycling Magazine…