Jonas Vingegaard is 'happy' while Tadej Pogačar calls Tour de France 2025 route 'brutal'

Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Grischa Niermann says course 'certainly appeals' to Dutch squad

Jonas Vingegaard in a Visma-Lease a Bike jersey
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Absent from the official unveiling in Paris, two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard was likely rubbing his hands together upon seeing the race route for 2025, according to his Visma-Lease a Bike sports director Grischa Niermann.

Meanwhile, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), the defending champion, described the course as "brutal".

The route for next year’s edition of the race was announced by organiser ASO on Wednesday, detailing a course for the pure climbers, with five mountain finishes and 51,500m elevation gain.

For Niermann, Visma-Lease a Bike’s head of racing, the course “certainly appeals” to the Dutch squad.

"I think it’s also a course for Wout where he could do something. But in the coming period, together with all the riders, we’ll make decisions about the programs for the upcoming season. All options are still open at the moment. We’re going to prepare ourselves in the best possible way for the 2025 Tour de France."

Speaking to L'Équipe, Pogačar said the race opens with "tricky stages".

Vingegaard finished second at this year’s edition, six minutes and 17 seconds down on the winner Pogačar. The Dane’s participation came less than three months after he was involved in a high-speed crash at Itzulia Basque Country, suffering a broken collarbone, several broken ribs and a collapsed lung.

According to Vingegaard’s coach, Tim Heemskerk, the two-time Tour winner is already in training for next July’s race. "He’s in a good place and confident," Heemskerk told Velo. "He’s already thinking about, and looking forward to, next year."

Explore More

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Tom Davidson
Senior News and Features Writer

Tom joined Cycling Weekly as a news and features writer in the summer of 2022, having previously contributed as a freelancer. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and holds a master's degree in International Journalism. Since 2020, he has been the host of The TT Podcast, offering race analysis and rider interviews.

An enthusiastic cyclist himself, Tom likes it most when the road goes uphill, and actively seeks out double-figure gradients on his rides. His best result is 28th in a hill-climb competition, albeit out of 40 entrants.