Seeing professional cyclists in casual clothes is like seeing a teacher on the weekend.
Just one of many French turtlenecks masterfully modeled by Lenny Martinez.
Professional cyclists in civilian clothes are rarely seen in public. Most of the year, when they are at or near bike races, their attire is as follows: heavily branded team gear and heavily branded casual wear. There are team tracksuits, team t-shirts, team jackets and team hats; Some teams wear team denim and team sneakers. And that’s okay! There is a place for uniform, both from a sponsorship representation perspective and to reduce the mental effort involved in choosing clothing on a daily basis. But it does This means that without any sign of personal flair and fashion, these athletes are a little…unrecognizable.
What makes the route presentation of the Tour de France particularly exciting: these grown adults are allowed to dress themselves and thus reveal new complexities of their character.
There have been some standout outfits over the years – we’re talking about Jonas Vingegaard in a turtleneck. Mathieu Burgaudeau in a turtleneck sweater. Romain Bardet in a turtleneck sweater. Almost certainly some other French dudes in turtlenecks (Is this a national fascination/disease? Does it reveal something significant about the Gallic neck aversion, and furthermore, does it explain why their GC riders have repeatedly proven incapable of responding to the jugular? )
But despite all these hidden throats, there is also a long track record of riders flying their freak flags – the Tadej Pogačars of the world in his jaunty little suspenders, Mark Cavendish in sportswear, Golden Greg van Avermaet in his loosely draped scarf. All of these outfits tell us a little more about the person wearing them.
LR: Schoolboy Cav, grumpy Greg and Tony Martin watch cat videos on YouTube.
Of course we are interested in the details about the routes of the Tour de France 2025, after all we are a cycling magazine. But we’re also interested in the people who will ride these routes, especially if they’re wearing a cummerbund to a cycling event on a Tuesday morning.
(You’ll notice I’m just focusing on the guys here. Nothing good can come of men commenting on the looks of women they don’t know [and even, usually, ones they do]other than that this is a group of incredible athletes and I love how colorful Neve Bradbury’s top is. I’d also like to say that our on-site photographers dropped the ball quite a bit this year, so I had to rely on screenshots from the ASO’s grainy media player. These are the sacrifices we make for #content 🫠)
INCORRECT. This is a jaunty yellow strip of fabric on a chair. Here is Christian Prudhomme wearing a standard suit like a normal man. This time he looks into the barrel of the camera. Well done, Christian. Oh look, it’s the Stinky King (middle)! He’s an ambassador for the Pau region – which he only vaguely hints at – and stays at the starting village of the Tour de France throughout July, switching between three royal outfits that become increasingly distinctive as the month progresses. This is the yellow one and I can confirm – after speaking to him at length – that it is his personal favorite. Although he continues to play the role of King Henry IV in interviews, he has also revealed that he is actually an actor named Bernard and that his family finds his job very funny (as do we).
It’s always nice to see him anyway. His mustache has taken a surprising turn since July.
It’s just Biniam Girmay in a beautiful, slim-fitting, charcoal gray suit, standing in front of a wall. Lots of friends from the press corps here in the auditorium, as well as a thoughtful-looking Yoann Offredo (he’s not a friend of ours. No particular reason). Visma-Lease a bike masterminds Richard Plugge and Grischa Niermann are happy about something. [sotto voce] “You’re a fucking motorcycle, Richard.”OK, now we’re onto the grainy screenshots. Hurray! Here’s expensive potato enthusiast (and endearingly shy man) Mathieu Burgaudeau, wearing a suit instead of a turtleneck and looking shy. Since I last saw him, his Alaphilippe goatee has also grown back. You know, just in case you’re keeping an eye on that.Sandy Dujardin is dressed in paisley.Fabian Grellier presents the dark clothing above and white sneakers below, which seems to be a recurring theme in this year’s men’s collection.Tobias Halland Johanessen in a nice but boring suit with white sneakers. Hot on his heels is……Valentin Madouas! Looks a little less like a doom metal fan now that he’s cut his hair short, but still seems slightly dazed/stoned even after a season capped off by an Olympic silver medal. Opted for the casual/formal staple of a plain white t-shirt under a suit jacket. This isn’t the last time such an outfit will appear today. Hugo Page, a completely normal man.The great Norwegian Søren Wærenskjold has donned a suit but at the same time dressed modestly thanks to a crumpled shirt that he daringly unbuttoned almost to the nipple. One senses that this is not the most comfortable terrain for him in terms of fashion. On the bright side, he’ll be in for an all-too-familiar hug from announcer Marc Chavet.A bespectacled Sam Bennett wearing an AG2R-Decathlon jacket and shirt. Very pretty. Very on brand.A casual Magnus Cort without a blue mustache. Big Bouncer calls the boys back to check their ID.Alexander Kristoff chose a large paisley overshirt, which I’m – quietly – a big fan of. However, the rest of the outfit will most likely be covered in tomato sauce by one of his four excited sons. Victor Lafay is also wearing matching AG2R evening wear and still looks like he’s been teleported from the 13th century……unlike Dylan Groenewegen, who’s a bit snoopy but admirably committed to his “Amsterdam Fuckboi” schtick. Marc Chavet answered and answered a call with the name Anthony Turgis, only no one actually seemed to call him “Turgis.” However, Turgis looked pretty dapper in his green suit. Swings and roundabouts!Oh, just Kevin Vauquelin, another Frenchman in a turtleneck. Mark Cavendish! In a Richard Mille watch with a shoulder bag! There were a great few seconds where both wanted to hold the microphone. Yes, it looks like Cav is seriously singing something tender. Yes, I think he has a beautiful tenor voice. Probably Nessun Dorma. And so it was time for the big route reveal.
