Yates wins Tour de France's first
mountainous stage and Healy takes yellow jersey
[July 15, 2025]
LE MONT-DORE, France (AP) — British rider Simon Yates won the first
mountainous stage of the Tour de France on Monday and Irish rider
Ben Healy was consoled by taking the yellow jersey.
Healy was nominated the most combative rider of the day after
forcing the initiative on the 10th stage, but Yates - who won the
Giro d’Italia last month – timed his break perfectly on the final
climb to win a stage for the third time.
“It’s been a long time, but actually I also was not really expecting
any opportunities here,” said Yates, a teammate of two-time Tour
champion Jonas Vingegaard. “We came here fully focused on Jonas and
the GC (general classification), so the stage played out in a way
that I could be there for the stage. I took it with both hands.”
Dutch rider Thymen Arensman was 9 seconds behind, while Healy
finished third, 31 seconds behind Yates.
Three-time Tour champion Tadej Pogačar finished farther back
alongside main rival Vingegaard and French rider Lenny Martinez with
a gap of 4 minutes, 51 seconds.
It meant Healy, who claimed his first stage victory on Thursday,
took the overall lead, 29 seconds ahead of Pogačar.
“It’s a fairy tale,” said Healy, the fourth Irish rider to wear the
yellow jersey.
Remco Evenepoel was third in the general ranking, 1:29 behind, and
Vingegaard 1:46 behind in fourth.
“I’m still behind and I have to take time at one point,” said
Vingegaard, who remained positive that Pogačar wasn't too far ahead.
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“So far I’ve been able to follow all his attacks
which I couldn’t do in (Critérium du) Dauphiné," Vingegaard said,
referring to the traditional Tour curtain-raiser. “I think that that
shows that I have a better level now than I had in Dauphiné.”
Stage 10 took the riders on an arduous
165.3-kilometer route in the Massif Central — France’s south-central
highland region — from Ennezat through seven category two climbs. It
finished on the ascent of Puy de Sancy — the region’s highest peak —
after 3.3 kilometers of an 8% gradient climb.
French rider Julian Alaphilippe lived up to expectations with the
first break on France’s national day, Bastille Day, carving out a
10-second lead before he was caught on the first climb up Côte de
Loubeyrat.
Norwegian rider Søren Wærenskjold had to withdraw early as the tough
start proved too much after his crash the day before.
German rider Georg Zimmermann withdrew before the start following
his crash on Sunday. His team, Intermarché-Wanty, said he “developed
signs of a concussion during the night.”
Dutch sprinter Marijn van den Berg also retired due to injuries from
his crash on Stage 1, EF Education-Easypost said.
The riders can look forward to their first rest day on Tuesday.
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