Tour de France 2025 results: Why the Fourth Win Felt Different

Tour de France 2025 results: Why the Fourth Win Felt Different

Tadej Pogačar has done it again. For the fourth time in his career, the Slovenian phenom rode into Paris wearing yellow, but let's be honest, the Tour de France 2025 results felt less like a lucky break and more like a total takeover. It wasn't just the fact that he won; it was how he squeezed the life out of the competition. Jonas Vingegaard, the man who’s been the thorn in Pogačar’s side for years, looked human this time. By the time the peloton hit the cobbles of Montmartre for that wild new finale, the gap was 4 minutes and 24 seconds.

Basically, the 112th edition was a masterclass in psychological warfare as much as physical dominance. We saw a race that started in the crosswinds of Lille and ended with Wout van Aert stealing a stage in Paris, yet Pogačar was the gravity holding everything together. He didn't just win the General Classification. He took the Mountains jersey too. If you're looking for a surprise, look at Florian Lipowitz—the Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe rider who snagged third place and the White Jersey. Nobody saw that coming.

The Brutal Numbers Behind the Tour de France 2025 Results

When you look at the final standings, the time gaps tell a story of a peloton split into two tiers: Pogačar, and everyone else. Vingegaard fought like a lion, but the 33km time trial in Caen and the mountain finish at Hautacam essentially settled the score early. Pogačar regained the yellow jersey from Ben Healy on Stage 12 and never let it go.

The final General Classification top ten looks like this:

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG) finished with a total time of 76:00:32. Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) trailed by 4:24. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) secured the final podium spot at +11:00. Behind them, Oscar Onley (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL) put in a massive performance to take 4th (+12:12), followed by Felix Gall at +17:12. The rest of the top ten included Tobias Halland Johannessen, Kévin Vauquelin, Primož Roglič, Ben Healy, and Jordan Jegat.

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Vingegaard actually admitted on the final rest day that he had "two bad days." Specifically, the time trial on Stage 5 and the collapse at Hautacam on Stage 12. In a race decided by seconds in previous years, losing over three minutes in just two stages is a death sentence. Pogačar was pushing nearly 7.5 W/kg on the final ramps of Peyragudes during the Stage 13 mountain time trial. That’s not just fast; it’s statistically terrifying.

Where the Race Was Won and Lost

Stage 12 was the turning point. Before that, things were actually kinda chaotic. Ben Healy had been the darling of the race, holding the yellow jersey for a few days and giving Ireland its biggest cycling moment since Stephen Roche. But the Pyrenees have a way of humbling even the bravest riders. Pogačar attacked on the 13.6km ascent of Hautacam, leaving Vingegaard to limit the damage. The Dane didn't even try to follow. He just watched the gap grow to 2 minutes and 10 seconds by the summit.

The Sprinters and the Green Jersey

While the GC guys were killing each other in the mountains, the sprinters had their own civil war. Jonathan Milan was a beast. He took two stage wins and comfortably secured the Green Jersey with 345 points, beating Jasper Philipsen and Tim Merlier. Milan’s win in Valence on Stage 17 was particularly messy, with a crash in the final meters that he somehow avoided.

The Polka Dot and White Jersey Battles

Usually, the Mountains classification is won by a breakaway specialist, but in 2025, Pogačar was just too dominant. He took the Polka Dot jersey with 119 points, ahead of Vingegaard’s 104. Lenny Martinez gave the French fans something to cheer for by holding it for several stages in the middle of the race, but the sheer number of summit finishes Pogačar won (or placed second in) made it impossible for anyone else to take it home.

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The White Jersey for the best young rider went to Florian Lipowitz. He actually beat Oscar Onley by just over a minute. Lipowitz is 24, and after this podium finish, his contract value probably just tripled.

The Montmartre Experiment

The organizers took a huge risk with Stage 21. Instead of the usual processional laps on the Champs-Élysées, they sent the riders up the steep cobbles of the Côte de la Butte Montmartre. It was pure chaos. Because of the risk of rain, the GC times were actually taken with 50km to go, but the stage win was still up for grabs.

Wout van Aert, who had been uncharacteristically quiet for most of the race, countered an attack from Pogačar himself on those cobbles. He soloed to the line to win in the heart of Paris. It was a fitting end to a Tour that felt more aggressive and less predictable than the previous year.

Lessons from the 2025 Podium

Looking at the Tour de France 2025 results, it's clear that the "Big Four" era might be narrowing down to a "Big One." Remco Evenepoel, despite winning the first time trial, finished outside the top ten after a disastrous second half of the race. Primož Roglič, now 35, struggled to keep pace with the younger generation, finishing 8th.

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The gap between Pogačar and the rest isn't just physical. It’s tactical. UAE Team Emirates XRG managed the race perfectly even after losing João Almeida to a fractured rib on Stage 9. They didn't panic when Ben Healy took yellow; they just waited for the high altitude to do the work.

If you want to understand how Pogačar is winning, look at his recovery. Most riders' power drops by 5-10% in the third week. Pogačar’s numbers on the Col de la Loze (Stage 18) and La Plagne (Stage 19) were almost identical to his first-week stats. That’s the real secret.

For the rest of the peloton, the next step is clear: you can't just be a climber or a time trialist anymore. You have to be a freak of nature who can handle 2,000-meter peaks and 60 km/h flat finishes without blinking. To keep up with these results in the future, watch the development of riders like Lipowitz and Onley. They represent the only real threat to the Pogačar era—if there is one.

Audit your own training by focusing on "climbing durability"—the ability to put out max efforts after 4,000 meters of elevation gain. That’s where the 2025 Tour was settled.