It certainly wasn’t easy, but Romain Grégoire once again battled with the “big guys” of the Tour de France this Tuesday. In the explosive final in Rouen, the Frenchman fought even harder than two days ago in Boulogne-sur-Mer to stay in contention for the stage victory until the very end. Dropped by Pogacar’s attack five kilometres from the finish, the Groupama-FDJ’s rider came back just two kilometres from the finish line and then gave everything he had left in the sprint. This led to a superb fifth place, his second top-5 finish out of four stages in this 2025 Tour de France.
Normandy, here they come! After three days in the north of France, the Tour peloton was set to leave Amiens to reach Rouen after 174 kilometres on Tuesday. As in the second stage, the punchers could have a smile on their face considering the day’s menu, since following a relatively easy first half of the race, five climbs featured in the final fifty kilometres, and even four in the last twenty-five! There was therefore little doubt that the breakaway would, even today, have no chance of winning. “I did a recon of the stage, Guillaume as well, and we knew what to expect,” explained Benoît Vaugrenard. Initially, a breakaway of four riders animated the stage, and Lenny Martinez was the last man standing from this group. Everything came back together with twenty kilometres to go, at the bottom of the third-to-last climb of the day, while the peloton had already reduced However, it was the Côte de la Grand’Mare (1.8 km at 5%), located fourteen kilometres from the finish, that was about to make the pack explode. Thanks to a strong effort from Lewis Askey and Quentin Pacher, Romain Grégoire was able to tackle it in the top ten positions. “Positioning is almost the most important thing on days like these, and I’m lucky to be able to rely on a super-strong team,” he said. “Our team really has experience in this regard, and I have 100% confidence in them. Today, like the day before yesterday, they really saved me.”
“A crazy finish,” Romain Grégoire
Well-positioned, Romain Grégoire also put his legs to good use to maintain his place at the front of a broken-up peloton. Also, when Jonas Vingegaard’s teammates increased the pace even further at the top of this penultimate climb, and then during the winding and intense approach to the final hill, the rider from Besançon handled perfectly alongside the favorites, slipping into Mathieu van der Poel’s wheel. Then came the day’s defining moment, the Rampe Saint-Hilaire (800 metres at 10,5%). The very small peloton thinned further due to the frenetic pace set by Tadej Pogacar’s teammates, and Romain Grégoire was able to hang on… until the world champion’s attack, about 250 metres from the summit. “It was a crazy finish,” said the 22-year-old. “When I saw UAE pulling, I held on, but it was really going too fast, and I tried to manage my effort.” When he got to the top, before heading to the finish line about four kilometers further down, Romain Grégoire was a dozen seconds behind the Pogacar-Vingegaard duo, and a little less behind a chasing group. However, the Groupama-FDJ rider took advantage of the descending section to put on a nice show, with fond memories of the Tour de Suisse, and was able to join the leading group of seven riders, two kilometres from the finish.
“No regrets,” Romain Grégoire
“We would have liked to anticipate, but we quickly realized it would be hard when the leaders made their team pull and attacked each other,” Benoît explained. “We eventually needed to react. Romain made a great effort to come back. We know he’s got good skills, he has a good sense of direction, and he can take the turns fast.” “In Boulogne-sur-Mer, I said I would have liked to have been better positioned to see what would have happened, but today, I have no regrets,” Romain added. “I gave it my all, I think I was in the right place when it all happened, and the legs spoke.” So, despite returning to the front for the final sprint, the young man was unable to compete against Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, and Jonas Vingegaard, and was narrowly beaten by Oscar Onley for fourth place. “I managed to come back, but they were still able to pull off a big sprint in the last 200 metres,” said Romain. “I was able to stand on the pedals, but I didn’t have much left in my legs. Today, I can say it was a very good performance because I gave it my all, and it was really down to courage. I think that a top-5 finish in this context, and considering who’s in front, is a very good result.” “There’s nothing to regret,” added Benoît. “We’re not disappointed. The standings leave no doubt: it’s top-level.”It was at this “top-level” that Romain Grégoire secured his second top-5 finish in this Tour de France, in just four days, while Guillaume Martin-Guyonnet limited his losses (16th overall, editor’s note) before an already important test on Wednesday. In Caen, a thirty-three-kilometre time trial will indeed bring some changes. “We know that time trial isn’t his great specialty, but he knows it, he’s done a recon of it, he’s at home, and he’s motivated,” Benoît added.
