Tadej Pogacar defeated Jonas Vingegaard in a thrilling uphill sprint on the Mûr-de-Bretagne to win stage seven of the 2025 Tour de France and reclaim the yellow jersey. The defending champion edged out the Dane at the summit of the Côtes-d'Armor climb, with world champion Remco Evenepoel finishing close behind.
Pogacar now leads the general classification after Mathieu van der Poel faded on the steep finish. Evenepoel sits 54 seconds back, while French rider Kevin Vauquelin holds third place overall. Vingegaard is fourth, more than a minute behind the leader.
The 24-year-old Vauquelin has quickly won over French fans, and Pogacar praised the younger generation, including Britain's Oscar Onley, who finished third on the stage and lies seventh overall. “There’s a lot of professionalism already at a young age,” Pogacar said. “To see young guys coming through is good, especially Kevin in the last two days.”
Pogacar's victory was marred by a crash involving his key climbing support, João Almeida, who went down at speed less than 6km from the finish. Pogacar dedicated the win to his Portuguese teammate, saying, “It’s beautiful to be in yellow and win the stage. I hope it’s nothing broken and he can continue.”
Geraint Thomas featured in a mid-stage break but was caught 17km from the finish. The Welshman's effort gave Ineos Grenadiers some visibility after a disappointing start to the race. Tensions between UAE Emirates and Visma Lease-a-bike continue to rise as the race heats up.
Stage eight is expected to favour the sprinters, with a flat 171km route from Saint-Meen-Le-Grand to Laval. Pogacar warned that tougher days lie ahead, with stage 10 promising “a proper hard day of suffering with hot temperatures and lots of climbs.”
