'The Tour de France is a massive bucket list thing' – meet the first-time finishers, the new Kings of the Road

Cycling Weekly chats to five Tour de France debutants about what going all the way to Paris would mean

Tour de France 2025 stage 18
(Image credit: Getty Images)

From early Spring Classics like Milan-San Remo all the way through to the World Championships, cycling is full of big races – each packaged with big emotions, big fan bases and big winner's cheques.

But can you really say you've made it in the men's WorldTour peloton until you've seen the Eiffel Tower hove into view, on the 21st back-to-back day of racing yourself into oblivion around France?

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After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.

Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.

He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France.

A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.

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