Tour de France 2025 preview – what’s in store for Scandinavia?

The 2025 Tour de France promises high drama for Scandinavian cycling fans, with returning stars, rising talents, and teams chasing history. Scan Magazine takes a closer look at what to expect – from Jonas Vingegaard’s comeback and Skjelmose’s ambitions to Uno-X’s growing momentum – in a year where the North might just steal the spotlight.

On 5 July, the Norwegian-Danish professional cycling team Uno-X will line up for its third consecutive Tour de France, still chasing its first stage victory. All eyes will also be on Danish rider Jonas Vingegaard (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), who hopes to reclaim the Tour crown from the world’s top cyclist, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Emirates). A life-threatening crash earlier this year severely disrupted Vingegaard’s preparations. Meanwhile, leading the ambitious American team Lidl-Trek, Danish star Mathias Skjelmose aims to raise the bar further after an impressive 2024 season.
To get a realistic take on what is in store for Danish and Scandinavian riders this year, Scan Magazine spoke with cycling commentator Anders Mielke, who will be part of Discovery+’s Tour de France coverage.

Vinegaard and a team mate during training this winter. Photo: Team Visma I Lease a Bike.

Can Vingegaard bounce back?

Across Scandinavia and beyond, cycling fans are wondering whether Vingegaard, Tour winner in 2022 and 2023, can wrest the yellow jersey back from Pogačar, now a three-time champion and widely considered the strongest rider in the world.
The verdict from Mielke is probably not the one Danish cycling fans wanted to hear: “What I learned from last year’s Tour de France was that UAE, and especially Pogačar, were pushed to improve their level to their very best, as the two defeats to Jonas (Vingegaard) taught the team and Pogačar that Visma was beatable.”

One conversation between UAE and Visma at the end of the 2024 TDF especially stayed with Mielke. “The UAE allegedly told Visma – thank you for pushing us, you made us this strong,” he says.

However, Mielke thinks there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to judging which of the two is currently stronger: “I don’t think we have seen the best version of Vingegaar yet against the best version of Pogačar. It was terrifying how good Pogačar was last year in the Tour – but Vingegaard came back from injury, so he was not in the same shape as previously and seemed mentally impacted by his serious crash.”

Mielke explains: “I don’t think we can understand just how much this crash impacted him. It has had a bigger mental impact on him, and more than we think.”

While Mielke thinks that Pogačar can sometimes be his own worst enemy, he believes that the gameplay the Slovenian will display this year is very different from when the Dane won the Tour de France. “Pogačar was way too eager – he went for stage victories, bonus sprint points – which is also why he is such a loved competitor,” he explained.

Mielke, who this year will also be part of Discovery+’s Tour de France team, adds that, historically, the striking difference between UAE and Visma is: “Pogačar races with his heart, whereas Vingegaard and his team compete with their brain – though that is not to say that Pogačar is not also a very smart rider.” But he thinks that Pogačar has changed and knows he cannot do these kinds of antics and win the race: “I don’t see a Tour this year where Pogačar is going to attack and attack from the beginning of the race.”

Skjelmose during training. Photo: Lidl-Trek.

Skjelmose to reach new heights

The other Big Danish hope, Skjelmose, who beat Pogačar in the 2025 Amstel Gold Race and finished fifth in last year’s Vuelta a España, is aiming for his best Tour yet after finishing 29th in 2023. Although illness disrupted his build-up and kept him out of key warm-up races, he showed strong form by winning a mountainous one-day race in Andorra just two weeks before the Tour. “I think a top ten would be a realistic target with a top five being a dream scenario – but for this to materialise, everything has to go his way,” says Mielke.

It is especially in the first week that Mielke sees good opportunities for Skjelmose: “The start of the Tour suits him really well, with the possibility of crosswinds and shorter but more punchy climbs and uphill sprint finishes. And with a time trial already on stage five, the white jersey is within reach for him to take within that week.”

Route of the 2025 Tour de France. Image: Andrei loas – Own work

Is it finally Uno-X’s year?

Both in Scandinavia and internationally, Uno-X have been impressive – winning many fans and accolades for the mature and aggressive riding styles. In their third consecutive Tour, the ambition to win a Tour de France stage remains the team’s overall goal, after they came agonisingly close to achieving it last year.

Amongst their lead riders, Norwegian Tobias Halland Johannesen recently finished fourth overall in a key warm-up race – an impressive result against top GC contenders. Does Mielke believe this year will be the year for Uno-X? “I hope so,” he responds. “The way they have been riding this year has been very impressive.” He thinks Dane Magnus Cort is the best Uno-X bet for a stage victory: “He is probably the best breakaway rider in the peloton – he has proven that so many times. If he finds his top shape, I believe he can be the first Uno-X rider to cross a TDF finish line first.”

Cort, known for his trademark moustache, banter, and humour, showed his versatility earlier in the season at the Spanish stage race O Gran Camiño, where he won three out of five stages and finished third overall.

But the versatile team also has other cards to play, such as Norwegian sprinter and all-rounder Søren Wærenskjold. He favours hard races and, like Cort, could be a favourite in reduced pelotons. He is faster than Cort, though not as strong uphill as his Danish counterpart.

Also on the team is the twin brother of Tobias Halland Johannesen, Anders Halland Johannessen, who has found some form lately, winning the general classification at the Tour of Slovenia. He is similar in terms of his qualities to his brother, although his CV is not as impressive and his performance is less consistent.

This is the first time the twin brothers race together in the TDF. They look very much alike, and it will be interesting to see if this creates confusion among pundits and team managers alike as to who is who.

The best of the rest

The young Danish sprinter, Tobias Lund Andreasen, has been selected for the Dutch outfit Team Picnic PostNL. While he has yet to excel at the highest level and among the world’s best sprinters, Mielke is optimistic about his chances at this year’s TDF.

“I think the Tour is well suited to Tobias [Andreasen]. There are some tougher sprint stages, and he can climb well. He’s among the better climbers in the sprinters’ group. It’s too much pressure to say he’ll win a stage, but he will definitely be up there.”

In terms of what could realistically be expected in Scandinavian stage victories, Mielke believes two stage wins are possible .“Which is also a lot,” he added.

At the time of writing, only Uno-X has confirmed the full TDF team, so the final start list is not yet certain. However, the participation of the riders mentioned in this article has previously been confirmed. As it stands, eight Norwegians and five Danes are set to line up when the 2025 Tour de France starts on 5 July in the French city of Lille.

Magnus Cort (r) and Søren Wærenskjold (l). Photo: Uno-X Mobility