Tour de France 2025 live: Stage 21 route and updates with Tadej Pogacar set to be crowned in Paris – UK Times

Today’s route is spikier than many riders would like after three intense weeks.

Five climbs on the menu, the first two in the first 50km, and the final three inside the final 50km. There are seven passages of the Champs-Elysees finish line in total, with the intermediate sprint on the third passage, and the last three climbs coming after the fourth, fifth, and sixth.

• cat-four Cote de Bazemont (1.7km at 7%)
• cat-four Cote du Pave des Gardes (700m at 9.7%)
• cat-four Cote de la Butte Montmartre (1.1km at 5.9%), climbed three times

It’s the final neutralised start of the Tour de France! 7.7km of départ fictif to go before, one final time, the chaos begins.

Pogacar refused to be drawn on whether he’ll attack once more on the Champs-Elysees. He has done so before, but more for a laugh than anything else, whereas today, he could genuinely make a move that sticks.

“Anything can happen, but I’m not going to promise anything, we will have to see tomorrow and try to enjoy yellow in Paris,” he said.

Normally a sprint finish would be nailed-on for stage 21 of the Tour de France, but this edition of the race has a huge question mark over it. The final climb of Montmartre comes just 6km from the finish and the accumulated fatigue of three difficult weeks of racing, plus three sharp climbs in quick succession, may be enough to kill off the sprinters.

But after the final ascent there’s a flat run-in to the traditional finish line on the Champs-Elysees, so it’s entirely possible the race may come back together for a bunch sprint. If a reduced group makes it over the final climb, the punchier fast men like Kaden Groves will have an advantage; Wout van Aert hasn’t looked near his best this Tour, but should be let off the Visma-Lease a Bike leash on the final stage and could still pick up a result (probably second place, if his season so far is anything to go by).

But if all the sprinters’ teams work together and come over the Montmartre together, Tim Merlier has had the beating of everyone on the stages he’s been able to contest.

But if the GC teams win the battle for positioning on the narrow cobbled climb of Montmartre, could Tadej Pogacar top off his magnificent Tour with one more stage win, on the race’s most iconic finish line of all? I wouldn’t rule him out…

Florian Lipowitz, the German former biathlete riding his debut Tour, has sewn up the best young rider’s white jersey and third spot on the podium, taking the place Remco Evenepoel occupied in both classifications last year.

And Britain has a new general classification contender for the future in the form of unassuming 22-year-old climber Oscar Onley, who proved one of very few riders who could stick with Pogacar and Vingegaard on the toughest slopes of this monumentally difficult Tour, and will finish fourth in Paris on just his second appearance at the race.

Meanwhile sprinter Jonathan Milan is set to take home the green points jersey after a battle with Pogacar himself for ownership of that classification – and could add glory on the Champs-Elysees to his two stage wins too.

And Pogacar will win the KOM classification too, for the third time.

There was no movement among the top 10 except at the very bottom: Ben O’Connor was leapfrogged by Jordan Jegat, who did well to get in the breakaway and overhauled his four-minute deficit to the Australian. He’ll finish in Paris with a top 10 in his home race.

Tadej Pogacar stayed upright, and only needs to do that for one more day to seal his fourth Tour de France title.

1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) in 73:54:59
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma – Lease a Bike) +4:24
3. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +11:09
4. Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) +12:12
5. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) +17:12
6. Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) +20:14
7. Kevin Vauquelin (Arkea – B&B Hotels) +22:35
8. Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe) +25:30
9. Ben Healy (EF Education – EasyPost) +28:02
10. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies) + 32:42

1. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in 4:06:09
2. Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) +54”
3. Pascal Eenkhorn (Soudal Quick-Step) +59”
4. Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana) +1’04”
5. Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ)
6. Jake Stewart (Israel Premier-Tech)
7. Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies)
8. Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates – XRG)
9. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma – Lease a Bike)
10. Harry Sweeny (EF Education – EasyPost), all at same time

“Today we weren’t sure whether to go for the stage or wait for tomorrow but when the rain falls I have a super feeling normally in the cold weather,” an emotional Groves said.

“It’s my first ever solo win and it’s a Tour stage so it’s pretty incredible.

“There’s so much pressure at the Tour. Having won in the Giro and won in the Vuelta all I ever get asked is if am I good enough to win in the Tour and now I’ve shown them.”

Kaden Groves won stage 20 of the Tour de France from a breakaway in Pontarlier as Tadej Pogacar came through the penultimate day unscathed to ensure he will wear yellow into Paris on Sunday.

Groves left Frank van den Broek and Briton Jake Stewart behind with 16 kilometres of the rolling 184km stage from Nantua remaining, taking advantage of their hesitancy to quickly build a lead as he won by 55 seconds from Van den Broek, completing a trilogy with wins in all three Grand Tours.

Behind, the peloton rolled in some seven minutes down, happy to survive a damp day that saw several riders crash as Pogacar retained his four minute 24 second lead over rival Jonas Vingegaard on the last day before Paris.