The finish at the top of The Tumble, this Saturday, was the major obstacle of the 2025 Tour of Britain. Wearing the leader’s jersey since his victory on Friday, Romain Grégoire brilliantly overcame it! After 5,5 kilometres of climbing, and thanks to excellent work from his teammates, the young Frenchman was able to keep up with the favorites all the way to the finish, where he also secured fifth place. Heading into the final stage towards Cardiff, he leads the overall standings by two seconds ahead of today’s winner, Remco Evenepoel.
Although it was quite short, with barely 133 kilometers, the fifth stage of the Tour of Britain could nevertheless be considered as the “queen stage” of the race this Saturday. The riders indeed had to cover The Tumble climb (5.5 km at 7.3%) twice in the final sixty kilometres, including at the very end. Romain Grégoire started the day in Pontypool wearing the green jersey, the one awarded to the race leader. The first goal for his teammates was therefore to control the breakaway. “It took a while for the right move to go clear,” said Jérôme Gannat. “It eventually went after thirty kilometers, with nine riders, one of whom was seventeen seconds behind on GC. The breakaway was quite big, but the main teams weren’t represented, so that suited us. We could manage the chase with Matt, Reef, and Olivier, and the maximum gap was 2’30.” As the first climb of The Tumble approached, the fight for positioning within the peloton meant that the breakaways’ lead decreased significantly, before Remco Evenepoel took advantage of the first few ramps to test his rivals. “Quite quickly, Quentin Pacher had to take commands and maintain a good pace throughout the climb to prevent any attacks,” explained Jérôme. “At the top, there were about thirty riders left.”
“I fought really hard until the finish,” Romain Grégoire
On the downhill, several riders managed to come back, including Lorenzo Germani and Olivier Le Gac. “Two riders went away in the final, but it wasn’t very dangerous,” assured Jérôme. “They took a minute, but it didn’t worry us too much. The goal was also to let them fight for the intermediate sprint.” The duo was then able to maintain a thirty-second margin before starting the final ascent, where Romain Grégoire was replaced by Olivier Le Gac at the bottom, before receiving support from Quentin Pacher in the first two kilometres of climbing. The fugitives were quickly neutralized, but attacks among the favorites began more than three kilometres from the summit. Thymen Arensman, Oscar Onley, and Afonso Eulalio launched the first offensives, and Romain Grégoire then tried not to lose contact. Two kilometers from the top, a dozen men got back together for the final part, which was more exposed. “We went from 10% to 5-6%, and with a strong headwind,” Jérôme said. “Romain was struggling, but he always managed to stay in the wheels.” Further attacks occurred as the summit approached, but Romain Grégoire was able to keep pace with Remco Evenepoel when the Belgian closed a gap before the flamme rouge.
The winner was then decided in a small-group sprint at the top of The Tumble, where Remco Evenepoel claimed victory while Romain Grégoire crossed the line in fifth place. “The most important thing was to not be behind a split,” explained Jérôme. “The last climb was really hard,” said the young man. “I wasn’t in an easy position, but the headwind and the easier last kilometre helped me a lot. In the wheels, it was okay to follow, but I still fought really hard until the finish to keep the jersey. I did it, so I’m very happy.” Only thirteen riders finished with the same time, and Romain Grégoire therefore kept the green jersey. In the general classification, Remco Evenepoel is now two seconds behind, and Julian Alaphilippe is four seconds behind. “It’s better to be two seconds ahead than two seconds behind,” said Romain with a smile. “We’re expecting a big fight tomorrow, but we’ll try to defend the jersey.” “It’s a bit of a tricky stage towards Cardiff and there will be a nice 1.2-km climb at 10% with ten kilometres to go, where there will be action for sure,” added Jérôme. “It’s still within Romain’s reach. We’ll try to support him as best we can, as we did today. Having the jersey makes you push harder. We showed today that we’re capable of defending it. Let’s do it again tomorrow!”
