The Grand Départ gets going! Three days away from stage 1, the headquarters and the press room were officially inaugurated on Wednesday in the Hauts-de-France Regional Council, in Lille. Entirely held on French roads, the Tour 2025 invites the 38 local riders gearing up for the race to battle for the highest prizes, 40 years after Bernard Hinault took the last overall victory for France. 38 French riders are gearing for the start and four of them - Lenny Martinez, Julian Alaphilippe, Benjamin Thomas and Anthony Turgis - shared their enthusiasm during the children’s press conference. They’re all aiming for stage wins on home soil. On Thursday (6:30 PM), fans and riders will gather for the team presentation, on the Grand Place in Lille, where Olivier Giroud was introduced to the crowds on Tuesday in his new colours. There will be 23 different jerseys - worn by 184 riders - on stage tomorrow.
1985-2025: A FRENCH DROUGHT WITH HONOURABLE MENTIONS
The Tour 2025 marks 40 years since the last victory for a French rider, Bernard Hinault, in 1985. In that time, French stars have occasionally made their mark, with seven of them finishing on the podium, starting with Hinault himself (2nd in 1986), followed by Jean-François Bernard (3rd in 1987), Laurent Fignon (2nd in 1989), Richard Virenque (3rd in 1996, 2nd in 1997), Jean-Christophe Péraud (2nd in 2014), Thibaut Pinot (3rd in 2014) and Romain Bardet (2nd in 2016, 3rd in 2017).
The 2014 edition saw the highest concentration of French riders at the top of the rankings, with Péraud (2nd), Pinot (3rd) and Bardet (6th) finishing in a tight group, earning them the nickname “Patrouille de France” (French Air Force Patrol) in L’Equipe. On two occasions, the top-10 featured more French riders than with any other nationality: in 1986 with Hinault (2nd), Caritoux (5th), Pensec (6th) and Y. Madiot (10th); then in 1991 with Mottet (4th), Leblanc (5th), Fignon (6th) and Rué (10th).
Since the Tour’s inception in 1903, there have been 12 editions in which no French rider finished in the top 10. This was the case last year, for example, when Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet was 13th in Nice.
MARTIN-GUYONNET: “THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS TO MAKE YOUR MARK”
Among the French riders lining up for the Tour 2025, Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet is a regular in the top 10 (8th in 2021, 10th in 2023) and he aims for another strong showing in his first participation with Groupama-FDJ.
"There are several ways to make your mark on the Tour, and not just by finishing in first place”, he says after a “good Dauphiné” where he placed 10th. “I consider the race for the overall classification an effort that requires consistency, regularity and endurance, and that's where I'm at my best. You also have to accept that a year’s work can be lost in the blink of an eye, even in the final days. So the hunt for a high result is somewhat undervalued in France, where people prefer panache and spectacular feats, but I see it as a form of nobility, almost a sport in its own right."
Nevertheless, on his ninth participation, the Groupama-FDJ leader would also like to win his first Tour stage: “There may be some openings in the first week, and then we'll have to see what shape we're in when we get to the Pyrenees and then the Alps.”
700+: FRENCH STAGE HUNTERS HAVE THE HIGHEST TALLY
From Lille, the peloton of the Tour de France 2025 set off for an edition held entirely on national roads, not crossing borders for the first time since 2020. Will it see local heroes rack up successes, in line with the more than 700 stages won by French riders in the history of the Tour?
The first three stages, in 1903, were won by Maurice Garin (stage 1) and Hippolyte Aucouturier (2 and 3), before Switzerland’s Charles Laeser delivered the first foreign victory in Bordeaux. Only two editions saw no French victory: 1926 and 1999. On the other hand, local riders won 45 stages in a row from 1904 until 1908!
Last year, French attackers showed their worth with the successful breakaways of Romain Bardet, Kevin Vauquelin and Anthony Turgis. Previous editions also saw Christophe Laporte upset the field with a late attack in Cahors (2022). In the mountains, Nans Peters flew to victory in Loudenvielle in 2020, a year after Thibaut Pinot conquered the Tourmalet. As for the last French victory in a bunch sprint, it came from Arnaud Démare, who got the better of Laporte in Pau in 2018. Such a 1-2 in a sprint had not been witnessed since 1978!
MARTINEZ: “FOR NOW, I PREFER TO RIDE WITH MORE FREEDOM”
A native of the Lille region and director of the Tour de France between 1989 and 2006, Jean-Marie Leblanc lends his name this week to the room where the press conferences are being held prior to the 112th edition of the Grande Boucle. It was inaugurated on Wednesday by Lenny Martinez who, at 21, is among the brightest prospects in French cycling.
“My goal is stage victories”, the young climber said in line with his recent success in the final stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. “I might pick up some points for the mountains classification along the way, but we'll only think about the polka dot jersey later on.”
Martinez leaves the fight for the overall classification to his Colombian teammate Santiago Buitrago (10th in 2024). "Winning the Tour de France is a long way off for me at the moment”, he says. “I don’t see the point in coming to the race and battling for a top-15. For now, I prefer to ride with more freedom and go for stages.” Which ones does he target? “Mûr-de-Bretagne, Mont Ventoux, Le Mont-Dore…. But winning a stage would be awesome anyway, no matter where.”
ALAPHILIPPE: “IT’S LIKE THE HOLY GRAIL”
With 6 stage wins, 18 Maillot Jaune, and innumerable accolades, Julian Alaphilippe has been an absolute reference for France since his debut in the Tour, in 2016. In the entire history of the race, he ranks 3rd for the highest number of days leading the overall standings without a final victory (5th in 2019).
As he gears to participate for the first time with Tudor, his new team, the French star aims to raise his arms victoriously again in the Tour, for the first time since 2021: “To win a stage, it’s like the holy grail”, he said at the children’s press conference, before disclosing his first target: “For me, it’s stage 2.”
Alaphilippe then told letour.fr why he has his eyes set on the punchy finale in Boulogne-sur-Mer, featuring two steep kickers in the final 10 kilometres, ahead of an uphill finish: “On paper, it really suits our characteristics, with Marc Hirschi and myself, so we’re focusing on this day. I actually went to see the finale earlier today. I like it. We know there’ll be other opportunities later on but it’s nice to already have this goal on our mind to get the Tour going.”
TURGIS: “LILLE IS PERHAPS A UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY”
He already knows the winning formula. In 2024, Anthony Turgis won stage 9 in Troyes, in his seventh Tour de France. The rider from TotalEnergies doesn't intend to wait that long to repeat his feat and is determined to work hard to achieve his goal as soon as possible: “I know I've managed to get involved in some sprints, so I think I can try my luck at the end of the stage in Lille. That's where the first Maillot Jaune will be awarded, and it's perhaps a unique opportunity to wear it. It's risky, but you shouldn't stop yourself from dreaming.”
If the plan doesn't work out as he'd hoped, there will be other opportunities in a scenario more similar to last year's, with a difference that allows him to target other finishes: "Compared to 2024, I've worked a lot on the climbs and I feel stronger on stages with a hilly profile. I know that in the Dauphiné, for example, I was able to surprise a few teams by breaking away on stages that were unusual for me. So you never know, I'm going into this Tour knowing that I'm a better climber."
