The Bastille Day stage of the 2025 Tour de France saw an Englishman, Simon Yates, take the victory in the Auvergne, an Irishman, Ben Healy, claim the yellow jersey, and a French hope, Kévin Vauquelin, fade from contention. Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard called a truce ahead of the first rest day, setting the stage for a dramatic shift in the overall standings.
Healy Makes History with Yellow Jersey
Ben Healy, who won Stage 7 in Vire, started the day nearly four minutes behind the race leader, Pogacar. However, Healy’s relentless effort and his team’s strong support allowed him to leapfrog the defending champion and take the yellow jersey. Healy became the first Irishman to wear the maillot jaune since Stephen Roche in 1987.
“I gave everything in the last 40 kilometres to give myself the best possible chance of taking the yellow jersey,” said Healy after the stage. “This is more for the team. They had to work hard today to put me in this position. Winning a stage was the first dream, but don’t get me wrong, this yellow jersey is unbelievable.”
Yates’ Third Career Stage Win
Simon Yates added to his Tour stage win tally, claiming his third career victory in the race with a powerful attack on the final climb to Puy de Sancy. After dropping his breakaway companions, Yates held off Thymen Arensman to claim the victory.
Yates had admitted that he was still recovering from his Giro d’Italia win but showed his strength on the Bastille Day stage. “It was a tough start for me,” said Yates. “Mentally, that was the hardest part.” Despite his struggles early in the Tour, Yates showed his resilience and class on Stage 10.
A Mixed Day for France
It wasn’t all smiles for the French, as Kévin Vauquelin, who had been in third place overall before the stage, lost time and dropped to sixth. However, Lenny Martinez, the grandson of 1980 Bastille Day stage winner Mariano Martinez, showed his potential by taking the King of the Mountains jersey. Martinez’s accelerations on each climb played a pivotal role in breaking up the day’s breakaway group.
Healy Heads into Rest Day with the Lead
As the Tour heads into the first rest day, Ben Healy finds himself in the unique position of leading the race, a remarkable achievement after a grueling 10th stage. Healy and his EF Education-Easy Post team now focus on defending the yellow jersey as the race enters the Pyrenees.
