Tour de France 2025 Favourites stage 2: Punchy finale for yellow

foto: Cor VosStage 2 covers 209.1 kilometres with 2,550 metres of climbing, featuring two punchy climbs in the final 10 kilometres. So, that's one explosive finale... (Slideshow route/profile)

Obviously, there are plenty of contenders in the mix. Given the fierce intensity with which they race, the main favourites for the overall win – Pogacar, Vingegaard, Evenepoel, Roglic – won’t be sitting idle. And Van Aert won’t be turning his nose up at the yellow jersey either.

Besides a stage win, the yellow jersey could be on the line in Boulogne-sur-Mer, making for an even more thrilling finale. On the other hand, Philipsen is not the type of sprinter who shies away from the odd ramp.

The route undulates throughout the day, never for too long, never too steep, but rarely flat. For most sprinters, the course will be too challenging, especially given the closing section. In the pre-finale, the riders get a preview of what’s to come: the Côte du Haut Pichot serves up a 1.1-kilometre climb at 10.4%, but the last two ascents will be decisive.

With just under 10 kilometres to go comes the Côte de Saint-Étienne-au-Mont – 1 kilometre at 10.6% – followed immediately by the Côte d’Outreau: 800 metres at 8.8%. From the top of that final climb, there are still 4 kilometres to race before the last 1.2-kilometre drag to the line at an average of 3.8%.

Favourites 2nd stage 2025 Tour de France

*** Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert
** Jasper Philipsen, Thibau Nys, Primoz Roglic, Kévin Vauquelin
* Remco Evenepoel, Julian Alaphilippe, Romain Grégoire, Alex Aranburu

Another interesting read: route 2nd stage 2025 Tour de France.