Only the 132.3-kilometer 21st stage separates Tadej from victory in the 112th Tour de France. He wears the yellow jersey with a lead of 4:24 over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma Lease a Bike) and 11:09 over Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe).
The penultimate 20th stage from Nantua to Pontarlier, won by Kaden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck) after a solo action, did not spring a battle among the top riders in the general classification. However, they had to be cautious not to get involved in any of the crashes in the rain. »Today was full gas for the first two hours, in the rain, constantly left and right on hilly terrain. It was still very dangerous to lose the yellow jersey. I’m glad the day is over, and we’re going to Paris tomorrow,« Tadej checked off another challenging day in the Tour peloton.
In the last three weeks, he could always rely on his teammates from the UAE Team Emirates – XRG. »I’m very sad that we lost João Almeida. With him, the last week would have been less stressful. We could have aimed for another high spot in the general classification and perhaps another stage win in the Alps. The rest of the team was top notch, from the first day to the last kilometers, they were always by my side. Without them, this Tour would have been miserable. I’m very happy to be part of our group and to achieve such victories, as we did on the Tour,« said Tadej.
Tomorrow he won’t face the usual victory parade on the Champs-Élysées, as the organizers have included three climbs on Montmartre in the route. »We have a good team for such a route, but it’s not a classic race. The stage is short and there are only three classic laps on it. We’ll see, we also have Tim Wellens, Nils Politt, and Jhonatan Narvaez, they can do good on this route. We are all very tired. When we first cross the finish line in Paris, we’ll see how we feel. We’ll decide whether to get involved in the game or stay in the back, relax, and enjoy Paris,« Tadej said about the last challenge of the extremely demanding 2025 Tour.
»Every year we say this is the toughest Tour, the toughest race we’ve ever ridden. I honestly tell you that this year’s Tour has reached another level. Maybe there was only one day that was somewhat easier. If you look at the power data of the cyclists throughout the Tour, you’ll see it was extremely demanding. Even today we went full power almost from start to finish. Although it was one of the toughest Tours, I enjoyed it because I had good legs and was well-prepared. I’m already looking forward to the last day,« added Tadej.
If there are no unforeseen complications, he will celebrate his fourth victory on the Tour tomorrow, equaling the British champion Chris Froome. In addition to the yellow jersey, Tadej will also be awarded the polka dot jersey of the king of the mountains on the Champs-Élysées.