Stage 12 Tour de France Summary
Stage 12 of the Tour de France was wild and resulted in big changes in the overall classification. The riders experienced the mountains for the first time on stage 12. There were four categorized climbs on this difficult stage 12, including the beyond classification climb of the Hautacam, a massive mountain with a history.
It is probably the hardest climb of the Pyrenees. At times during stage 12, the riders maintained a record rate of speed. There was a lack of respect for the big climb and the individual time trial the next day. Were you excited for the first mountain stage of the 2025 Tour de France?
Stage 12 Tour de France Summary
There was a breakaway early on that had 53 riders. Most of them fell off on the first real climb of the day. This stage was so demanding that there were many significant changes to the overall classification. The climb of the last mountain lasted for about thirty minutes. Including stage 12 was great vindication for Tadej Pogačar.
The winner of stage 12 was Pogačar. He is the greatest bike racer ever, but even he suffered on this climb. This was his 20th stage win in the Tour de France. Jonas Vingegaard was a distant second. Florian Lipowitz was third. He had a great race and is now the leader of his team. He is teammates with Primoz Roglic. Tobias Johannson was fourth. Oscar Onley finished fifth.
It is important to keep track of how things are shaking out in the overall classification. In the overall classification after stage 12. Ben Healy lost his lead to Pogacar. Pogacar is the best bicycle racer in the world and will win the Tour de France. Vingegaard was in second place overall, 3:31 back. He was dropped by Pogacar on the last climb of the day. Remco Eveneepoel recovered to third, 4:45 back. Lipowitz rose four spots to fourth place, 5:34 back. Kévin Vauquelin rose to fifth place, 5:40 back.
Crazy Mountain Fans
Stage 12, the first mountain stage, is a good time to discuss one of the strangest practices of the Tour de France. On the mountains, you will see the odd behavior of the spectators. They wear bizarre costumes, like superheroes and fruit. Some take their shirts off, or are naked. Some camp in the mountains. You see fantastic images mowed into the grass along the road, like French flags or the faces of famous bike racers.
Many fans wave flags in the faces of the riders or use flares or fireworks to create smoke, and some spectators run with the riders along the route. A crane was suspending a person on a bike and swinging him around in circles. You see some spectacular things on the mountains of the Tour de France. The police try to keep the fans off the road, but they fail as the passion of the fans is outstanding.
Conclusion
Stage 12 was insanely fast. It was the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. It was hot, and the pace was very fast. Several of the high-ranking riders in the overall classification got in trouble and fell in the overall rankings. This is exactly what is supposed to happen on the mountain stages. There should be more big changes tomorrow.
Stage 13 is an uphill individual time trial. The time trial is only 10.9 kilometers long, but the riders travel from Loudenvielle to Peyragudes. Television coverage begins again at 6:30 AM. Though in time trials, riders start individually two minutes apart, so seeing the beginning of the race is not that important, as lowly regarded riders go first. Tune in at the end, about 11:00 AM Eastern.
