40km to go: “I like to back the break, definitely. I feel they are committed, they want to make this happen, but the writing is on the wall,” Jens Voigt says on the TNT Sports/Eurosport motorbike. Van der Poel and Pogacar are on the march, is what that means. 1 minute of a gap now.
“Geraint Thomas looks good, effective on the bike, keeping his body as ready as possible,” Voigt says when asked who of the break looks in the best shape. “Baudin looks really promising, I have to admit.”
It’s certainly not Haller, who decides he’s had enough and drops off.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford11 July 2025 14:42
46km to go: Nils Politt, with his German-striped sleeves as a former German national champion, is back on the front. He put in a phenomenal shift on the flat yesterday (pretty much every day, to be honest) and is back winding things up for UAE.
The breakaway have 1’04” but they’re beginning to fall apart now. Geraint Thomas wants to press on and Ewen Costiou follows, but Ivan Garcia Cortina can’t hold the wheel and slips back, leading Alex Baudin to look distinctly unimpressed.
Bernard Hinault is in the race director’s car! ‘The Badger’ says today is a “dream day”. Of course, the race traverses some of his old haunts today, including his home town of Yffiniac.
Flo Clifford11 July 2025 14:35
Breakaway’s lead slowly fading
52km to go: The breakaway’s lead is sadly eroding away, now down to barely a minute.
This, you suspect, was one of two or three days which Geraint Thomas would have identified as an opportunity to escape up the road and then outgun his fellow breakawayers, but there just doesn’t seem to be the firepower in the group to make a serious gap, and there is clearly enough motivation for the stage win in the peloton to keep the breakaway on a tight leash.
Lawrence Ostlere11 July 2025 14:26
A nice day to watch the Tour de France in Brittany:
Lawrence Ostlere11 July 2025 14:15
Thomas-led breakaway still 1min 30sec clear
65km to go: Our five-man break is 1min 30sec ahead of the peloton. Geraint Thomas is the standout name and he has done most of the work on the front, followed by Baudin and Costiou.
A reminder of the quintet:
Alex Baudin (EF Education-Easypost), Geraint Thomas (Ineos-Grenadiers), Marco Haller (Tudor), Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B), Ivan Garcia Cortina (Movistar).
Lawrence Ostlere11 July 2025 14:08
Vingegaard: ‘It’s going to be another hard day’
Jonas Vingegaard, speaking to Discovery+ before the stage, on his memories of the Mur-de-Bretagne in 2021, which Mathieu van der Poel won so impressively: “I remember Van der Poel going the first time for the bonus seconds, and then the second time, dropping everyone again. So he did an impressive ride back then, and it was a hard stage. So I I expect today to be hard as well.”
Mathieu van der Poel celebrates wins stage 2 of the 2021 Tour de France (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Lawrence Ostlere11 July 2025 14:02
Mattia Cattaneo withdraws from Tour de France
Confirmation that Mattia Cattaneo, a key teammate of Tour de France contender Remco Evenepoel, has withdrawn from the race.
The versatile Cattaneo, who rides for Evenepoel’s Soudal Quick-Step, was seen struggling at the back of the peloton during Friday’s stage 7 between Saint-Malo and Mur-de-Bretagne. The Italian rider retired after about 70 km, race organizers said.
Evenepoel, who finished third in last year’s Tour, was third overall before Friday’s 197km stage, lagging 43 seconds behind race leader Mathieu van der Poel.
Lawrence Ostlere11 July 2025 13:51
90km to go: It’s another hot day out there.
Alpecin are on the front now and the gap is shredding again, back down to around 1’15”. You’d expect Van der Poel to fancy another stage win today, if his team are setting such a ferocious pace.
(AFP via Getty Images)
Flo Clifford11 July 2025 13:37
98km to go: Thomas is the best placed on general classification among this breakaway, at 14 minutes down, but not much of a real threat to the likes of Pogacar.
He’s the only one of this break with a Tour stage win to his name – three, in fact: one on the opening day in 2017, and back-to-back mountain victories in 2018, the year he took his spectacular overall victory.
He’s also the elder statesman of this group (and the peloton) by some way: 39, with Haller second-oldest at 34. Ewen Costiou is the fresh-faced youngster at 22.
Alpecin have moved to the front of the peloton and the advantage has slipped slightly to 1’30”, before going back out to 1’40” or thereabouts. Still not a huge gap.
Flo Clifford11 July 2025 13:26
106km to go: Wouldn’t it be dreamy if Geraint Thomas could win today? The five-man break have 1’45” on the peloton and he’s one of the strongest in it, along with Haller and Baudin.
(REUTERS)
Flo Clifford11 July 2025 13:17