Tour 2025: Tim Wellens Wins in Carcassonne After Impressive 43-Kilometer Solo in Crazy Stage

Belgian champion Tim Wellens impressively won the fifteenth stage of the 2025 Tour de France in Carcassonne. The domestique for yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar joined a large breakaway group, survived multiple selections, and powered away just before the top of the final climb from a group including Victor Campenaerts, Quinn Simmons, and Michael Storer. Wellens thus completes the trilogy, having already won stages in the Giro and the Vuelta.

After three mountain stages in the Pyrenees, the fifteenth stage of this Tour was a transitional route to Carcassonne. Nearly 170 kilometers with 2,400 meters of elevation gain, featuring halfway the Côte de Sorèze (6.3 km at 5.7%) and 50 kilometers from the finish the two-step Pas du Sant and Col de Fontbruno, with the first 3 kilometers at 9.2%. A stage that screamed for attackers.

Pogačar, Van der Poel, and Van Aert stay up front; Vingegaard and fallen Lipowitz did not
Neilson Powless was the first attacker of the day. As he stormed through the small villages, the peloton found itself in trouble. At a narrow passage, there was a major bottleneck causing much of the peloton to halt. Several riders fell, including third-placed Florian Lipowitz and a battered Julian Alaphilippe. Among those held up was Jonas Vingegaard.

Jonas Vingegaard had to chase back in the opening phase - photo: Cor Vos

Up front, racing was aggressive. Among others, Wout van Aert, Mathieu van der Poel, Matej Mohoric, Jonathan Milan, Biniam Girmay, and yellow jersey Tadej Pogačar were very attentive and attacking. They stayed ahead of the split by about a minute from the peloton (the Vingegaard/Lipowitz group), where Visma | Lease a Bike was leading. Chaos reigned, and the situation was difficult to assess, despite UAE Emirates XRG requesting Pogačar early on to slow things down because his rivals were delayed.

Large breakaway, hard work by Arensman and company fails
Pogačar allowed a large group including Van der Poel and Van Aert to get away. He didn’t drop back himself because Matteo Jorgenson was with them and was shadowed by the yellow jersey. As a result, that group stalled and merged with the group of Vingegaard and Lipowitz. A group of 15 strong riders had already separated: Van der Poel, Van Aert, Powless, Mohoric, Tim Wellens, Victor Campenaerts, Pascal Eenkhoorn, Kaden Groves, Tobias Lund Andresen, Alexey Lutsenko, Jake Stewart, Arnaud De Lie, Jarrad Drizners, Clément Russo, and Mattéo Vercher.

The gap was 45 seconds and the break seemed away, but INEOS Grenadiers kept the pressure. Thanks to brutal work by Thymen Arensman, the peloton even fractured into three parts, but Alpecin-Deceuninck stopped the move. The lead group rotated well and reached the intermediate sprint, where Van der Poel grabbed 20 points. Behind, Axel Laurance tried to reward his team’s effort by bridging to the breakaway, but a 35-second gap proved too large. For the Frenchman from INEOS, it became a frustrating chase.

Mathieu van der Poel was active and took 20 'green' points - photo: Cor Vos

Large breakaway groups finally get space on Côte de Sorèze
Tudor took over the pace and reached the first climb of the day within 20 seconds of the leaders. Quinn Simmons, Jasper Stuyven, and Michael Storer then jumped to the break. Did it quiet down behind? Not at all, as riders kept attacking from the peloton. The break fragmented on Côte de Sorèze, and there, Van der Poel and Van Aert missed the move. Wellens, Campenaerts, Powless, Mohoric, Lutsenko, Storer, and Simmons (later joined by Carlos Rodriguez) broke clear.

A group of attackers from the peloton caught up with Van der Poel and co. Included were Frank van den Broek, Thibau Nys, Santiago Buitrago, and Jordan Jegat, growing the group to over 25 riders. Behind, control finally returned to the peloton over 80 kilometers from the finish. UAE Emirates XRG called it enough and let the two breakaway groups extend their lead. Rodriguez (at 22:57) and Jegat (at 24:18) were the best-placed riders up front but posed no danger to Pogačar.

The gaps remained manageable between the two lead groups. Andreas Leknessund bridged to the front eight, followed by the rest within about 20 seconds. Everything was so close in the build-up to the steep Pas du Sant (3 km at 9.2%). The peloton was already four minutes down there and seemed ready to concede the stage win to the attackers. The breakaway including Van der Poel (106), Van Aert (17), and Wellens (7) - photo: Cor Vos

Wellens and Campenaerts survive selection; Belgian champion attacks powerfully
Storer and Simmons launched an early attack there, though Campenaerts and Wellens were able to return at their own pace. This left four riders cresting the climb together. Behind, the whole chase group fragmented; no sign of Van der Poel or Van Aert anymore. Aleksandr Vlasov, Warren Barguil, Lutsenko, and Rodriguez were the first chasers. Up front, collaboration was weak, though it was crucial because after the Pas du Sant summit the road gently climbed for several kilometers.

The group with Rodriguez and Barguil joined the front eight 44 kilometers from the finish, creating a leading group of eight. Were we heading into the descent with that? No, because just before the descent Tim Wellens launched a long, sharp acceleration. With a strong solo move, he smoked the rest. Barguil cracked, and Simmons and Campenaerts also failed to follow the Belgian champion. The race was on: Wellens dove down the descent toward Carcassonne like a man possessed. Was he on his way to a 43-kilometer solo victory?

In the peloton, UAE Emirates XRG was happy to let it be. They allowed the gap to grow beyond six minutes, but teams of Ben Healy and Tobias Halland Johannessen were not pleased. Breakaway rider Rodriguez was dangerously close to their general classification positions. The Spaniard was dropped after Wellens’ acceleration, much to the relief of Healy and Johannessen.

Tim Wellens is unstoppable
Meanwhile, the in-form Wellens quickly extended his lead by 20 seconds and kept increasing the gap over the chasers. Starting the last 25 kilometers toward Carcassonne with a one-minute advantage, he steadily widened his margin. Wearing the Belgian tricolore, he was poised to claim an impressive solo victory and make history. After stage wins in the Giro d'Italia (2016 and 2018) and the Vuelta a España (two in 2020), he added a Tour stage win to his prestigious palmarès.

In the chase group, Campenaerts and Simmons tried to escape but to no avail. In the last 10 kilometers, a dropped Van Aert, together with Iván Romeo, closed in on the Campenaerts group. Another chasing group including Nys was also on their heels. This led to an intriguing tactical battle for second place as the groups merged in the ultimate finale.

Campenaerts secured second with a well-timed attack, followed by Van Aert and Alaphilippe sprinting for third. The Frenchman narrowly won the sprint ahead of Van Aert and Laurance. The peloton arrived more than six minutes later. Carlos Rodriguez gained approximately four and a half minutes on the rest of the top 10.