Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen return to form the golden duo of Alpecin-Deceuninck at the 2025 Tour de France, ready to put on a show from the first stages of this edition.

The pair, who have already collected 10 stage wins in the last four editions of the Grande Boucle, aim to make their mark right from the start: Philipsen is the number one favourite for the first stage with the finish in Lille, which could give him the first yellow jersey of his career, while van der Poel has his sights set on the second stage to Boulogne-sur-Mer, characterised by two steep climbs in the final 10 km and a slightly uphill finish.

The team has been further strengthened with the arrival of Kaden Groves to the sprint train, but van der Poel will still retain his key role as Philipsen's last man, a partnership that has yielded seven victories in the 2023-2024 two-year period.

'My main goal remains to help Jasper. With Kaden we have an extra element in the train, particularly useful in the Tour where every man is needed to get Jasper in the best possible condition for the sprint,' explained van der Poel in the pre-Tour press conference.

Philipsen, who has won only twice this season but says he is in top form, does not hide his ambitions for the first stage: 'The yellow jersey is a concrete goal, probably the first real opportunity of my career. There won't be many more opportunities in the future, so Saturday will be a very important day.'

The Alpecin duo therefore presents itself as one of the main attractions of this Tour, with Philipsen hunting for the sprints and van der Poel ready to strike on the most challenging finishes, in a first week that promises to be a great show.

Sprint Cycling Photo