The first stage around Bilbao in the Basque Country saw a crash of several riders, which ultimately forced two pre-race favourites, Richard Carapaz (EF Education–EasyPost) and Enric Mas (Movistar Team), to abandon. It was later determined Carapaz had fractured his patella.[2] The race broke into several groups over the two final climbs of the day, with identical twins Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) and Simon Yates (Team Jayco–AlUla) breaking away from a select group on the final ascent. The pair held their advantage to the finish, with Adam Yates taking the stage win and the first leader's yellow jersey ahead of his brother. Two-time winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) won the sprint in the group behind to finish third, and Neilson Powless (EF Education–EasyPost) took the lead in the mountains classification.[3][4][5]
Stage 2 featured the climb of the Jaizkibel, prominently used in the race Clásica de San Sebastián later in the season. On the climb, a select group of favourites emerged ahead of the peloton, with Pogačar taking eight bonus seconds available at the summit ahead of defending champion Jonas Vingegaard (Team Jumbo–Visma). Victor Lafay (Cofidis) broke clear of the leading group within the final kilometre of the stage and managed to keep his advantage to win the stage ahead of defending green jersey winner Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo–Visma), while Yates retained the yellow jersey.[8]
On stage 4, Philipsen won ahead of Caleb Ewan (Lotto–Dstny) and Bauhaus in a sprint finish at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro.[14] The final part of the stage was marred by several crashes, including Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal–Quick-Step), while Yates retained the yellow jersey for another day.[15] Following two hard opening days and with the high mountains of the Pyrenees to come the day after, the field took a slow tempo during stage 4, with no breakaway forming until 100km (62mi) into the race. This led to criticism, with some, such as stage winner Philipsen, describing it as "the most boring Tour de France stage for a long time".[16]
On Stage 5, the first mountain stage in the Pyrenees, a substantial breakaway group of 17 riders emerged, including several pre-race favorites. This breakaway, which included Jai Hindley (Bora–Hansgrohe), his teammate Emanuel Buchmann, Giulio Ciccone, Wout van Aert, former world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal–Quick-Step), and Austrian climber Felix Gall (AG2R Citroën Team), gained an advantage over the main peloton and maintained a consistent lead. The breakaway's maximum lead over the peloton was four minutes, and it remained at around 2:30 minutes as the riders approached the final climb of the day, the Col de Marie-Blanque.
During the ascent of the Col de Marie-Blanque, Gall and Hindley, who had accumulated enough points to secure the mountains classification lead, broke away from the breakaway group. Hindley managed to drop Gall and proceeded to ride solo over the top of the climb and to the finish line in Laruns, securing the stage victory and taking the lead in the general classification.
In the pursuing group of favorites, Vingegaard launched an attack 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the summit of the Marie-Blanque. This move allowed him to distance Pogačar. As Vingegaard caught up to Gall, Buchmann, and Ciccone on the descent, he secured a fifth-place finish on the stage, crossing the finish line 34 seconds behind Hindley. Pogačar tried to limit his losses, waiting for his distanced teammate Adam Yates, and eventually crossed the finish line 1:04 minutes behind Vingegaard, causing him to drop to sixth place overall. Other contenders like Gaudu, Martinez, Rodriguez, and the Yates brothers also finished together with Pogačar. Meanwhile, Ben O'Connor and Romain Bardet lost 1:57 minutes to Hindley.[19][20]
The first mountain finish of the Tour occurred on Stage 6 in Cauterets-Cambasque. A breakaway of twenty riders formed, which included van Aert and Powless. This breakaway enabled Powless to regain the lead in the mountains classification. During the ascent of the Col du Tourmalet, Team Jumbo–Visma picked up the pace in the peloton, led by Sepp Kuss to support Vingegaard. As a result, all riders were distanced except for Pogačar. Vingegaard caught up with van Aert, who had dropped back from the lead group to assist his team leader.
Approximately halfway up the 16 km (9.9 mi) final ascent to Cambasque, a lead-out by Van Aert set the stage for Vingegaard and Pogačar to pull ahead of all other riders. Around 2.5 km (1.6 mi) from the finish, Pogačar launched an acceleration that allowed him to distance Vingegaard. Pogačar secured the stage victory, while Vingegaard finished second, 24 seconds behind. Vingegaard's performance granted him the coveted yellow jersey of the race leader, holding a 25-second advantage over Pogačar in the general classification. The previous overnight leader, Hindley, who had fallen behind on the Tourmalet climb, experienced a significant time loss and dropped to third place overall, trailing Vingegaard by 1:34 minutes.[23][24]
Stage 7 was a flat stage ending in a bunch sprint in Bordeaux. The sprint was won by Philipsen again, narrowly beating Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team), whose bicycle gears slipped within metres of the finish line.[27]
Stage 8 put an end to Cavendish's attempt to break the record for most stage wins, as an injury sustained in a crash forced him to abandon the Tour; the stage was won in a sprint by Mads Pedersen.[30]
The Tour returned to the Puy de Dôme for the first time since 1988, with a summit finish. A 14-man breakaway emerged early; late in the stage, Matteo Jorgenson (Movistar Team) broke away from the breakaway and led the race alone for most of the last 47km before being overtaken in the last 500 metres by Michael Woods (Israel–Premier Tech), who won the stage at the top of the Puy de Dôme. Vingegaard retained the yellow jersey, but lost time to Pogačar, who crossed the finish line eight seconds ahead of him.[33]
After the first rest day, stage 10 had a chaotic beginning, with many groups of riders—at one point including Vingegaard and Pogačar—attempting to break away before being caught by the peloton; a stable breakaway emerged around the halfway point of the stage. Krists Neilands (Israel–Premier Tech), attacked the breakaway group and was solo leader for much of the last section of the stage, but was eventually caught by other breakaway riders including Pello Bilbao (Team Bahrain Victorious), who went on to win the stage. Bilbao dedicated his victory to his late teammate Gino Mäder, who had died after a crash in the Tour de Suisse the previous month.[34][35]
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