If you are looking for some semi-challenging mountain biking terrain, this might be right for you.
Accessible via Metro-North from New York City, with a stop at Tarrytown, and a short jaunt across the Andrew M. Cuomo Bridge on their bike and walk path, leads you to north and south exploration. Just travel north through Nyack and Upper Nyack to the park entrance.
You can also drive directly to Nyack State Park. There is an $8 entry fee for motor vehicles and parking is facing the Hudson River.
I lucked out with a parking space right next to the trail start.
Before I started my ride, I realized I had no food, and some lovely people offered me their Korean cakes and of all things–an avocado!
So grateful for the kindness of strangers. They were going for a hike and had driven all the way from Jersey City.
There is a lot of history here, starting with Hook Mountain at the entrance to the park. The area is home to the original rock quarrying that supplied building materials to New York City, carried from the mountain to sloops that sailed down to the city.
According to local historical sources, more than 30 quarries operated at Hook Mountain. In the early 1900’s the Palisades Interstate Park Commission purchased the quarries, and built the parks and trails as we see them today. But remnants of the old operation can still be seen at the start of the trail.
Nyack Beach was established in 1911 and once had a big beach for families! (No longer!) There was also an amusement park, a carousel, bumper cars and a merry go round. There was even a pier for docking boats . But in 1950 a storm came along and destroyed most of the park.
If you follow the entire trail to Haverstraw, you will be able to ride almost 5 miles in each direction. Going north is more challenging than the return, but in the fall with a narrow path and a leaf covered trail, with gravely terrain, and rapid climbs, you could experience a little bit more than the usual challenge, depending on your fitness level.
The way back is significantly easier.
I just want to say that I have written previously about Hook Mountain. Besides its magnificent vistas, accessible terrain, and access to riverside wilderness, there is a spooky magnetic edge to the mountain.
I wrote about it on Benepe’s Bike Blog years ago, and it involves the death of a young woman in contemporary times, but also long in the past along the same vertiginous paths through the mountain.
Needless to say, there is more to this park than meets the eye. Its like eating a great meal with tremendous spices.
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 20 | Nantua > Pontarlier
Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) is much more than a sprinter, as he has proved time and again in his career – though never before at the Tour de France. You could see his tears after the stage, and feel strongly with him–what an accomplishment. He stayed ahead of a breakaway, and managed to avoid a serious crash on slick, wet road, to make it to the finish alone in Pontarlier.
Already a winner of seven stages at La Vuelta and two at the Giro d’Italia, the Australian rider came to the French Grand Tour for the first time this year as lead-out man for Jasper Philipsen, who crashed out of the race on day 3.
26/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 20 – Nantua / Pontarlier (184,2 km) – (c) A.S.O.
After Mathieu van der Poel also retired due to illness at the beginning of week 3, Groves made today’s breakaway, displaying his versatility in a stage marked by aggressive racing from Santa to Pontarlier, where he took his maiden Tour stage win.
Part of a 13-man breakaway, he covered the final 16 kilometers solo to claim victory ahead of Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL) and Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step). He is the 114th rider to win stages in all three Grand Tours. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) continues to lead the overall standings going into the final stage on Sunday in Paris.
What a Tour it has been: we are looking forward to tomorrow when riders attack a new road with climbs through Montmartre–the same road that competitors followed during last year’s Olympic road race held in Paris.
Attackers felt it was their time to win with a 184.2-km challenging course from Nantua to Pontarlier. Many riders have been targeting stage 20 of the Tour 2025 for a long time as they envisioned a great opportunity to claim victory on the eve of the Champs-Élysées. Yevgeniy Fedorov didn’t participate in this battle as his team XDS Astana reports he has to retire due to an intestinal infection.
A huge battle for the breakaway
26/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 20 – Nantua / Pontarlier (184,2 km) – (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
Right from the gun, Kasper Asgreen (EF Education-EasyPost) set off. The Danish rouleur has found success on these roads before, having pulled off a hard-fought breakaway victory in Bourg-en-Bresse (stage 18, 2023), some 30 kilometers west of Nantua. The Dane went hard under the rain but he didn’t succeed in breaking away due to the many attacks and counter-attacks shaking up the bunch.
His EF teammates, and notably Ben Healy, were very active. Harry Sweeny eventually made a 13-man breakaway formed at km 65, as the Australian rider joined Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) with nine more chasers: Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal-Quick Step), Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Ivan Romeo (Movistar), Simone Velasco (XDS-Astana), Jordan Jegat (Total Energies), Frank van den Broek (Picnic-PostNL) and Jake Stewart (Israel-Premier Tech).
Sweeny tried his luck
26/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 20 – Nantua / Pontarlier (184,2 km) – Ivan ROMEO (MOVISTAR TEAM) (c) A.S.O.
As Jegat threatened Ben O’Connor’s 10th place in the overall standings (4’08’’ of difference between them), Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) was tasked with driving the scattered bunch. Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) and Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) were momentarily dropped but the situation eventually settled. Despite a crash at km 71, the Swiss national champion controled the gap at 2’30’’ at the bottom of the main climb of the day, Côte de Thésy. Ivan Romeo crashed heavily on a corner during a chase, but managed to get up and go to the end.
Jegat accelerated on the climb. Sweeny joined him at the summit. And the Australian rider went solo with 54 kilometers to go to the finish. He opened a gap of 40’’ to his his breakaway rivals before the latter changed the script. Ten riders got back together as they hit the bottom of the Côte de Longeville (cat. 4, summit 24.1km away from the finish). Costiou, Wellens and Jorgenson were behind.
A dramatic finale A group of six riders emerges over the top: Grégoire, Romeo, Velasco, Groves, Stewart and Van den Broek. Grégoire accelerates on the downhill but his rivals follow. Romeo counter-attacks but he slips in a turn with 22 km to go and hits the deck. Grégoire and Velasco are also affected. Groves, Stewart and Van den Broek keep going.
With 16.5 km to go, Stewart and Van den Broek looked at each other. Groves didn’t wait for them and took off towards victory! At the finish, Van den Broek (+54’’) and Eenkhoorn (+59’’) completed the top 3 while Grégoire had to settle for 5th on his home roads. The peloton crossed the line with a gap of over 7 minutes. Jegat took the 10th place in the overall standings from O’Connor.
The General Classification standings ahead of the final stage in Paris tomorrow:
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 19 | Albertville > La Plagne
Already a stage winner at Hautacam, Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) doubled up with a second stage win, this time at La Plagne.
The Dutchman attacked with 13 kilometers to go on the final HC climb of the Tour de France 2025. At the summit, he narrowly resisted Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who crossed the line only 2 seconds behind the winner.
Right behind them, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) defended his white jersey and his spot on the GC podium against Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL). With just two stages to go, Tadej Pogacar takes his 52nd Maillot Jaune. He matches Jacques Anquetil’s record and enters the top-5 for most days leading the overall standings of the Tour.
25/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 19 – Albertville / La Plagne (93,1 km) – Thymen ARENSMAN (INEOS GRENADIERS) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
One could only wonder if Pogacar had been warned by Tour organizers to allow someone else to win on this stage, as we all knew he could win himself. The Tour has become a bit of a yawn with Pogacar dominating so many stages, especially in the mountains. Now that he has a comfortable lead, there is no need for him to win more stages. I can almost imagine the conversation between Paul Prudhomme and the team management right now.
Due to the change of course because of sick cows, a 161-man peloton headed to Beaufort, where they rejoined he original route, heading to La Plagne. The stage became the shortest because of this change, tp 93.1 km instead of the originally planned 129,9 km. The cows in the region the Tour now avoided had contracted a form of dermatitis that was highly contagious and there was fear among the farmers that the contagion would spread through the region because of the Tour traffic.
The logic failed Cyclists International, as hundreds of thousands of tour fans had already moved to the contaminated region, and then back to the new route, bringing whatever cow dung on their shoes with them.
Roglic, Paret-Peintre and Martinez lead the way
25/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 19 – Albertville / La Plagne (93,1 km) – Lenny MARTINEZ (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
A sequence exactly similar to the previous day begins with Lidl-Trek riders taking control of the peloton, en route to the intermediate sprint at Villard-sur-Doron (km 12.1). Clad with his green jersey, and thanks to a strong team lead up, Jonathan Milan was first on the line.
25/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 19 – Albertville / La Plagne (93,1 km) – (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
The climb to the Col du Pré came next and after several attacks, two groups formed at the front of the race. Eventually Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Valentin Paret-Peintre (Soudal-Quick Step) emerged, crossing the pass in that order before launching their assault on the Cormet de Roselend.
Roglic sets off Once again, Martinez went first at the summit. He had to make up for a penalty of 20 points he
received when receiving a push from his team car using a thinly veiled bottle exchange, that resulted in no bottle but a hefty push. In the peloton, Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) sets the pace to distance Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), who was distanced over the top of Col du Pré. At Cormet de Roselend, the GC group are 50’’ behind the leaders while the French man trails by 1’50’’.
Roglic distanced the two French climbers on the downhill. Back on the valley, Paret-Peintre and Martinez were reeled in by the bunch, led by Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), with 32 km to go. The Belgian all-rounder then bridged the gap to Roglic 2 kilometers away from the start of the final major climb of the
25/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 19 – Albertville / La Plagne (93,1 km) – Jonas VINGEGAARD (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE), Tadej POGACAR (UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
Tour 2025: 19.1km at 7.2% to reach the finish line at La Plagne.
The last major summit Roglic was dropped early on the ascent, which incited Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale to up the ante as
Felix Gall could take the 5th place in the overall standings.
With 14 kilometers to go, Tadej Pogacar launched an attack that splintered the group. Only Jonas Vingegaard managed to stay on his wheel, but the duo was joined by Arensman. The Dutchman took a gamble and dropped them with 13 kilometer to go. Three kilometers further on, a group reformed around Pogacar and Vingegaard, with Gall, Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) and Ben Healy, while Arensman tried to keep his hopes alive with a 30’’ lead.
The gap was still up to 20’’ into the last 3 kilometers and Onley showed some signs of weakness. Lipowitz accelerated, Arensman was in sight… But he resisted and in a nail biting sequence, took the win 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard and Pogacar.
It is only fair, after my critique of his racing style, to laud the performance of the American Champion, Quinn Simmons, who almost single handedly kept his Green Jersey clad teammate, Jonathon Milan, in contention for his win yesterday. L’Equipe called Simmons “phenomenal” for his selfless efforts, his ability to stay on front of the bunch as long and often as he did. To see the joy of his Lidl – Trek teammates pointing out and applauding the Coloradan on the finish line was a sure sign that the Champ had pulled off a great number.
Simmons, at 21-years-old, finished his first Tour in 2022 with a highly respectable performance having done his first grand tour, the Vuelta, in 2021. A couple of lean years followed, a DNF in the 2023 Tour and no grand tour at all last year, so that we are seeing a bit of a comeback for the Mighty Quinn. He’s racing like a mad bull but absorbing the punishment and showing no signs of fatigue. He’ll come out of this Tour a changed racer, with a much deeper and more powerful body and the knowledge that he’s been strong enough to roam the front of the Tour peloton, for a full three-weeks, with impunity.
Today and tomorrow are the last chances for Vingegaard to try and somehow dislodge Tadej Pogačar, and time for any GC contenders to make their moves. The Alps are here, the beauty of the Tour continues, and the stories never end. Watch for the drama of the time delay and big Jonathon Milan, who had real difficulty even on the somewhat benign Col du Pertus yesterday, and who will be riding the races of his life today and tomorrow, racing to simply finish. It would be tragic for him to be eliminated this close to Paris, but it could happen.
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 18 | Vif > Courchevel Col de la Loze
Australian Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla) conquered the highest summit of the 2025 Tour de France, the Col de la Loze (2,304 m), to claim his second stage win in the race four years after his triumph at Tignes.
The 29-year-old said he realized he “had a chance,” at the top of the Madeleine, the first major out of category climb. “I wanted to have another victory for so many years…I could not be prouder of myself, and the boys that backed me.” “It was worth the shot, … and then it was just about pacing…typical time trial stuff…what I do best.”
O’Connor had covered the final 17 km solo. He dropped his last rival, Einer Rubio (Movistar), with 16 km to go and held off a late chase by Tadej
24/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 18 – Vif / Courchevel Col de la Loze (171,5 km) – Ben O’CONNOR (TEAM JAYCO ALULA) – Col de la Loze (c) Billy Ceusters
Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). The Slovenian crossed the line 1’45’’ behind, just ahead of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike), who lost 11 seconds including time bonuses. Heading into the final mountain stage to La Plagne on Friday, the Slovenian continued to add to his lead over Vingegaard, now 4’26’’ in the overall standings. The battle for third place and the white jersey is extremely close as Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL) gained 1’37’’ on Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), narrowing the gap to just 22’’.
Just four days ahead of the finish in Paris, the riders face three HC climbs – Glandon, Madeleine and La Loze – and an impressive total of 5,450 meters.
24/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 18 – Vif / Courchevel Col de la Loze (171,5 km) – Tadej POGACAR (UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG) – Col de la Madeleine (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
The intermediate sprint for Milan As Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) and Cyril Barthe (Groupama-FDJ) withdraw, there were now 162 riders left in the Tour de France. The large number of Lidl-Trek riders at the front of the peloton sent a clear message to any potential attackers that the green jersey is very interested in the points at the intermediate sprint at km 23.
No one is looking to upset Jonathan Milan, who fulfills his first mission for the day. But then the battle to break away begins immediately afterwards, with an acceleration by Wout van Aert, followed by Tim Wellens.
Lenny Martinez took the lead at Glandon After numerous attacks and counter-attacks, two fairly large groups formed on the climb to the Col du Glandon:
At the front of the race, there were Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Ben O’Connor (Jayco AlUla), Raul Garcia Pierna (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Will Barta, Gregor Muhlberger, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Felix Gall, Bruno Armirail (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Michael Woods, Alexey Lutsenko (Israel Premier Tech)
In pursuit at 30 seconds halfway up the climb were: Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X Mobility) are riding 30 seconds ahead of Luke Plapp (Jayco AlUla), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Enric Mas, Pablo Castrillo (Movistar), Jordan Jegat (Total Energies) and Frank van den Broek (Picnic PostNL).
Lenny Martinez managed to take the 20 points at the summit, while the peloton trails by 1’50”.
24/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 18 – Vif / Courchevel Col de la Loze (171,5 km) – Col de la Loze (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
Visma-Lease a Bike changed the script On the descent, the Jorgenson-Arensman duo took off, but the configuration changed again on the climb to the Col de la Madeleine, where Lenny Martinez was no longer in contention.
Some 11 km away from the summit, the two descenders were caught by Primoz Roglic, Ben O’Connor, Einer Rubio, Felix Gall, Bruno Armirail and Alex Baudin. But their 2’30” lead das Visma-Lease a Bike steps up the pace, preparing Vingegaard’s attack 5 km away from the summit (72 km to go to Col de la Loze!).
The shake-up is radical, with only Pogacar remaining on the Dane’s wheel. The leading duo in the general classification catches up with the rest of the breakaway 4 km from the Col de la Madeleine and finishes the climb with this group. Vingegaard goes first at the top ahead of Pogacar.
O’Connor put the hammer down Back on the valley, the pace dropped. O’Connor attacked with 41 km to go. Rubio and Jorgenson followed him. The others looked at each other. Lipowitz seized the opportunity to return and attack with 34 km to go. Yet another situation developed ahead of the final ascent of the day. At the bottom, the three attackers were 1 minute away from Lipowitz. And a strong group of chasers – including Oscar Onley (Picnic PostNL), Kevin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) and Tobias Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) – got back to the Pogacar – Vingegaard group. They started the climb with a gap of 3’50’’.
O’Connor and Rubio dropped Jorgenson with 21 km to go. And the Australian climber went solo 16 km away from the finish. At that point, Lipowitz was 1’50’’ behind. Simon Yates drove the GC group with a gap of 3’05’’.
O’Connor didn’t look back while UAE Team Emirates-XRG took control of the GC group with Jhonatan Narvaez and then Adam Yates, whose pace prevented further attacks until the last kilometer. Vingegaard tried again but he could not keep up when Pogacar pounced in the final 500 meters, flying past Rubio to take the 2nd place (+1’45’’) ahead of his Danish rival (+1’54’’). Right behind them, Onley (+1’58’’) gained 1’37’’ on Lipowitz and narrowed the gap to the third place in the overall standings to 22’’.
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 17 | Bollène > Valence
Stage 17 was virtually the “last chance to dance” in the 2025 Tour de France for sprinters – and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) heard the call!
Dropped early in the stage, the Italian powerhouse survived the climbs as well as a rough finale in pouring rain to take his second win in his debut Tour and tighten his hold on the green jersey, with only four days remaining before Paris.
Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL) completed the podium, while Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) were caught up in a crash as they entered the final kilometer. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) safely navigated the stage to claim his 50th Maillot Jaune on the eve of a major battle en route to the Col de la Loze.
In between the summit finishes at Mont Ventoux and Col de la Loze, stage 17 took the riders from Bollène to Valence, with a 160.4-km course featuring 1,650 meters of elevation. The last categorized climb, Col de Tartaiguille (cat. 4) was more than 40 kilometers away from the finish. But attackers dreamt of getting the better of tired sprint teams.
23/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 17 – Bollène / Valence (160,4 km) – (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
Abrahamsen attacked, Simmons controlled A 164-man peloton set off from Bollène without Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), heading home as his partner gave birth a few hours earlier.
Meanwhile, Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) showed his intention to make yet another breakaway. Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) was immediately in action, with the task to prevent the formation of too-strong group at the front.
At km 5, Abrahamsen had opened up a gap of 30 seconds with Vincenzo Albanese (EF Education-EasyPost), Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ) and Mathieu Burgaudeau (Total Energies). Many more riders wanted to join them at the front but Simmons prevented them from doing so. Most notably, Axel Laurance (Ineos Grenadiers) gave up on his chase and was reeled in as the gap hits its maximum for the day: 2’50’’ at km 23.
Skirmish at Col du Pertuis Abrahamsen led the way through the intermediate sprint at Roche-Saint-Secret-Béconne (km 47.9),
Stage 17, Jonathan Milan wins (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
where the breakaway maintained a 2’00” advantage.
The scripts changed when Ineos Grenadiers began to pull the peloton on the approach to Col du Pertuis (cat. 4, summit at km 66.3), reducing the gap to just 35″ at the top and opening up the race on two fronts.
On one side, there were multiple attacks controlled again by Simmons. On the other, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) were dropped along with other sprinters such as Dylan Groenwegen (Jayco-AlUla) and Arnaud Démare (Arkéa-B&B Hotels).
Van Aert tried his luck Despite the efforts of teams such as Alberto Dainese’s Tudor, Kaden Groves’ Alpecin-Deceuninck and Biniam Girmay’s Intermarché-Wanty, who had made it over the pass, the dropped sprinters managed to catch up with the peloton, well supported by their teammates, at kilometer 85 of the stage. At that point, the breakaway’s lead had been reduced to 30 seconds.
Quinn Simmons (USA) at stage 17, (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
The situation settles in the bunch and the gap gets back up to 1’10’’ for the last 50 kilometres. The riders quickly face the climb of Col de Tartaiguille (cat. 4, km 117). Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) attacks towards the summit and gets as close as 25 seconds behind Albanese, Pacher and Burgaudeau. But he can’t bridge the remaining gap and is caught by the bunch after 12 kilometres of pursuit.
Milan survived The tension increased in the bunch as the rain started to fall. Sprint teams had to put the hammer down to get back to the attackers. With 12 km to go, the gap was down to 20’’ and Abrahamsen went solo. He was eventually caught by the bunch with 4 kilometers to go. Then it was all go.
As the sprinters geared up for a furious battle, a crash occurred in the front positions with one kilometer to go. Eight riders sprint out in front go for the win. Ahead of the split, Milan proved to be the strongest of them, claiming his second stage win in his Tour debut, ahead of Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL).
TDF 2025: Stage 16- July 22, 2025 – By John Eustice
While almost everyone out there was screaming for Ben Healy to triumph at the top of Mount Ventoux at the end of yet another breathtakingly exciting race, I was urging on tiny Valentin Paret-Peintre.
Thing is, he’s from the Haute Savoie region of France, located at the southern border with Geneva and along its grand lake, extending farther south to include Chamonix and Annecy. Without doubt one of the most beautiful places in the world, a region that took me in when I was an amateur and guided me to the pros.
So, as a heartfelt member of the Amicale des Coureurs des Savoie, I had to cheer on my fellow Savoyard, even if
22/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 16 – Montpellier / Mont Ventoux (171,5 km) – Ben HEALY (EF EDUCATION – EASYPOST), Valentin PARET PEINTRE (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
mine is only an honorary membership. I also had a celebratory phone call with my dear friend Jacques Michaud, the last rider from Haute Savoie to win a Tour stage, at Morzine in 1983, and who was a fine Director Sportif as well. We talked racing. Jacques was in a grand mood, both he and Paret-Peintre came out of Velo Club Annemasse, the famed developmental club that still organizes the 89-year-old Annemasse-Belgarde Elite race.
He had thought the young Frenchman was going to win as “he’s a real specialist in les Course de Côte (climbing races) and only weighs 50-kilos (110-lbs) which, like little Lenny Martinez (currently second in the KOM standing) can be a problem as their size makes it almost impossible for them to fight on a daily basis. Their bodies are just too little, they don’t possess the sort of robust strength that’s needed, so they have off days and must carefully select the stages where they can perform. The riders who can support the daily pressure are heavier, more in the region of 60 to 65-kilos like Pogačar – Healy outweighed Paret-Peintre by 15-kilos (33-lbs) it should be noted- and tend to have solid, muscular bodies.”
Jacques also feels that Vingegaard is getting stronger while Pogačar is now at his max level which he will try and
Vingegaard and Pogacar battled it out on Ventoux. (c) A.S.O.
maintain. “Pogačar can’t drop Vingegaard with ease as he could in the Pyrenees, the Dane is looking better and better, but it might be too late for him. Pogačar has no one else to worry about, no one is close on the GC, and all he needs to do is stay on the Dane’s wheel till Paris. I see him riding a defensive race until then.”
We talked about the Visma-Lease a Bike tactics and how they seem confusing to many of us. “Look, they are a top, very expensive team and a second place in the Tour is not enough for them. They must show that they are still in the fight, that they are still ‘patrons’ of the Tour. So, while they do everything correctly, putting satellite riders up front to wait for Vingegaard and controlling the peloton, Pogačar is simply, so far, too strong.
Riding as they are will allow them to say that they fought hard to the end.” We finished up with me complementing my fellow Haute Savoyards, telling Jacques, “You don’t win often, but when you do it’s big. Morzine and Ventoux are two great trophies to bring back to the region.”
It was painful to watch Quinn Simmons throw away yet another stage on Monday’s race to Carcassonne. The American Champion seems to delight in eating as much wind as he can while riding in the peloton, showing everyone just how strong he is – compare that with Sneaky Simon Yates who, like a ninja, remains invisible until he strikes the fatal blow – closing gaps he doesn’t need to, accelerating off the front of the pacelines like a junior, gesticulating at the other riders to go harder, certainly to their extreme annoyance, and making every move except the right one. Then he tops it off by complaining about the winner, Tim Wellens, the Champion of Belgium, captain of the strongest team in the world, one that happens to be holding the Yellow Jersey.
20/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 15 – Muret / Carcassonne (169,3 km) – Tim WELLENS (UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG) (c) A.S.O. Charly Lopez
Any fool could have seen that Wellens was going to win that race. He was stilling on the back of the break the entire day, able to quickly cover all the moves, and, you know, dude is the Belgian Champion so knows every trick in the book and is a bona fide gangster bike racer. Simmons, instead of blaming motorcycle drafting for Wellen’s 40-kilometer solo victory, should have known that there was only one wheel to follow in that break, the one he missed. There will be payback for his comments, it will come one day when he least expects it. The other directors on Radio Tour call him Captain America and I don’t believe it’s complementary.
It’s a shame because I really enjoy him as a racer, think his much-criticized look with all the hair and earrings is great, appealing to a younger crowd, and absolutely love his warrior spirit. It just must be tough for him, a wild child from the far West, home schooled and raised on wide-open outdoor adventure, to live and race in the constricted atmosphere of Europe. Not sure how well he’s adapting even after all this time. He needs a Quinn-whisperer, like what my old friend Alain De Roo used to do for Freddy Maertens, someone always by his side, guiding him. Imagine what a Matteo Trentin could do for him for example. But, would he listen?
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 15 | Muret > Carcassonne
After three grueling days in the Pyrenees, it was the domestique’s turn to shine at the end of the second week of the Tour de France 2025.
One could not help smiling with Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) who is usually tasked with protecting Tadej Pogacar, as he hand-slapped the hands of spectators on both sides as he made his way to the finish in Carcassonne. Today he made the most of the opportunity to participate in a string of attacks, while his leader safely controlled the peloton and let him get away.
He could afford to, because the Pogs is well over 4 minutes ahead of his rival Jonas Vingegaard, and unless something extraordinary occurs between now and Paris, appears to have the top podium place all sewn up. Of course he kept a tight watch on his top two rivals, who stayed with the bunch behind the breaks today.
20/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 15 – Muret / Carcassonne (169,3 km) – (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
More than 30 riders managed to break away en route to Carcassonne. Wellens left them all in his wake with 43.5 km to go, claiming his first victory in the Tour de France.
“I know that tomorrow is Belgium’s national holiday, but it’s a rest day, so it’s good to win today. It was a great stage and we needed someone from the team at the front with such a big breakaway,” said Wellens after the stage. “And actually, the hardest part was getting into the right breakaway. Then at the end, there were only a few of us left and I had to make a decision because I knew I wouldn’t win if I finished in a small group. I think Victor Campenaerts knew that we were the two strongest riders, so it was better to attack him on a section that was still climbing a little.”
Already a winner at La Vuelta and the Giro, he becomes the 113th rider with stage wins in all three Grand Tours, just a couple of months after Wout van Aert was the 112th. Wellens also succeeds Van Aert as a Belgian national champion claiming victory in the Tour (Van Aert had done so in 2021). Behind him, Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) completed the top 3 of the stage, ahead of Van Aert. The peloton crossed the line with a gap of 6 minutes.
After three days in the Pyrenees, the peloton headed out to Carcassonne with a hilly course that could favor attackers. Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto) didn’t take part in the battle as he withdrew ahead of the start. The Belgian climber was far from the best version of himself after a crash early in the Tour.
Early scare for Vingegaard and Lipowitz As soon as the flag dropped, Mauro Schmid (Jayco AlUla) and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) attacked with hopes to of repeating their stunt on Toulouse (stage 11). But there were dozens of contenders for the breakaway, which led to a nasty battle culminating in a crash at km 17.
Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) were among the many riders affected. They led a strong chase but at the front, attacks kept coming, which prevented them from getting back to the bunch until km 38.
Van de Poel initiated the break In the meantime, Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) attacked at km 27. He was
20/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 15 – Muret / Carcassonne (169,3 km) – Tadej POGACAR (UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
followed by Victor Campenaerts (Visma-Lease a Bike), Neilson Powless (EF Education-EasyPost), Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious), Clément Russo (Groupama-FDJ), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Matteo Vercher (Total Energies), Alexey Lutsenko (Israel Premier Tech) and Jarrad Drizners (Lotto).
Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Pascal Eenkhoorn (Soudal Quick-Step), Tobias Lund Andresen (Picnic PostNL), Jake Stewart (Israel Premier Tech) and Arnaud De Lie (Lotto) made it 15 riders in the lead at km 34… And the battle went on, as Ineos Grenadiers pushed to have someone at the front!
The battle goes on and on The configuration changed slightly on the Côte de Saint-Ferréol (km 72.8), where Jasper Stuyven, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Michael Storer (Tudor) join the breakaway.
Onto the Sorèze climb (km 86.6), a breakaway within the breakaway emergesdwith Campenaerts, Wellens, Mohoric, Lutsenko, Powless, Simmons and Storer. Behind them, a huge chasing group forms with 28 riders (including Alaphilippe, Van Aert and Van der Poel, among others).
Among the chasers, Carlos Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers) manages to join the front group at km 86. Andreas Leknessund (Uno-X) emulates him at km 110, and then it’s Alexandr Vlasov (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Warren Barguil (Picnic PostNL) at km 113.
Wellens flies away Storer destroyed the break by attacking on the first slopes of the Pas du Sant (km 114). He was followed by Simmons, and then Wellens and Campenaerts. The four attackers reached the summit together. After the climb, they were joined by Vlasov, Lutsenko, Barguil and Rodriguez with 44 kilometers to go.
Right after the junction, Wellens attacked. His rivals couldn’t follow the Belgian, who opened a gap of more than a minute en route to Carcassonne. Behind him, the chase groups got back together. Campenaerts attacked inside the last 2 kilometers to take the 2nd place ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor).
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 14 | Pau > Luchon-Superbagnères – July 19, 2025
Finally the rinse-repeat outcome of the final stage being held in the Pyrenees changed today, and early attacker Dutchman Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) managed to fend off Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) to take the stage win.
The Tour had taken on too much of a rote outcome in the last few days, with the simple grin of Pogacar daily capturing the eye of the cameras. Don’t be mistaken, he still holds a commanding lead in the overall GC by more than 4 minutes over his arch rival, Jonas Vingegaard, and wears the Yellow Jersey.
And unless something dramatic happens in the coming stages, he is likely to be atop the podium in Paris. But today Arensman, part of a strong breakaway that emerged on the climb to the Col du Tourmalet, beat him at his game by staying away unpredictably through some of the toughest climbs in this year’s Tour.
19/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 14 – Pau / Luchon-Superbagnères (182,6 km) – Thymen ARENSMAN (INEOS GRENADIERS)- Luchon Superbagnères (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
Already a winner at Hautacam and Peyragudes, the Slovenian Tour leader got the better of Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the final meters of the climb to Superbagnères. But he had to finish for second to Arensman this time.
Arensman tamed the Col d’Aspin and attacked his rivals on the ascent of the Col de Peyresourde. After a 37-km solo ride, he was able to celebrate his second Grand Tour stage win, having previously conquered Sierra Nevada at La Vuelta 2022, on a day that saw him be the only early attacker to resist the return of the bigger GC contenders. Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) is now the third man in the overall standings.
Sadly Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) suffering from exhaustion, retired early in the stage. Cameras dogged him as he waved them off, finally climbing into his team car.
19/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 14 – Pau / Luchon-Superbagnères (182,6 km) – Jonathan MILAN (LIDL-TREK) (C) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
The final stage in the Pyrenees is the most brutal, with four major climbs to tackle – Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde, Superbagnères – and 4,950 metres of elevation en route to Superbagnères. Couple the altitude with the weather which was cold and rainy at times, the riders handled a double brutality of climbing and shivering on the way down. After Bryan Coquard withdrew due to a hand injury, 170 riders started in Pau.
Milan wants the intermediate sprint
Despite the drizzle falling on the peloton, there are many contenders for the breakaway. The ultra-mountainous profile does not particularly suit Jonathan Milan, but the intermediate sprint just before the climb to Tourmalet encouraged him to attack.
He didn’t succeed, nor did Valentin Madouas, Fred Wright, Michael Woods and Bruno Armirail, whose moves were systematically reeled in, either by Visma-Lease au Bike or by Lidl-Trek, who took control of the race.
Skjelmose and Evenepoel abandon the race
The American team controlled the bunch for Jonathan Milan, who sprinted for the 20 points in the sprint (km 70.1). But behind them, their Danish climber Mattias Skjelmose had already suffered a heavy fall at km 53. He was forced to withdraw.
19/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 14 – Pau / Luchon-Superbagnères (182,6 km) – Carlos RODRIGUEZ (INEOS GRENADIERS), Lenny MARTINEZ (BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS) – Col de Peyresourde (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
The first slopes of the Tourmalet climb shredded the sprinters, and much more surprisingly Remco Evenepoel, who was among the first to be dropped under the pace set by UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the head of the Yellow Jersey group.
Lenny Martinez goes solo
Meanwhile, an attack develops 15 kilometers from the summit in two stages. First, a group consisting of Rubio, Muhlberger (Movistar), Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), V. Paret-Peintre (Soudal-Quick Step), O’Connor (Jayco-AlUla), Healy (EF Education Easypost) and Johannessen (Uno-X) got away.
19/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 14 – Pau / Luchon-Superbagnères (182,6 km) – KUSS Sepp (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE)- Col de Peyresourde (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
And then a counter-attack developed with American Sepp Kuss, Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike), Ca. Rodriguez (Ineos Grenadiers), Vlasov (RedBull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Verstrynge (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Storer (Tudor), Costiou (Arkéa-B&B), Mas, Castrillo (Movistar), Higuita (XDS Astana), Jegat (TotalEnergies) and Woods (Israel-Premier Tech).
The polka dot jersey went solo for the last 6 kilometers of ascent. Over the top, he has opened a gap of 1’45’’ over his closest pursuers and 3’30’ over the yellow jersey peloton.
Martinez caught on the descent from Aspin
Despite losing half his advantage on the descent following the Tourmalet, the polka dot jersey (Martinez) is still on his own over the top of the second climb, Col d’Aspin (km 119.3). But the threat from Sepp Kuss and V. Paret-Peintre, who had set off in pursuit, materialized as they caught him at the bottom of the descent to Arreau (km 131).
The other chasers did not give up, and as they entered the climb to the Col de Peyresourde, the groups came together again, with eight riders remaining. Thymen Arensman proved to be the most inspired and strongest on this climb, attacking 4.5 kilometers from the summit.
Arensman goes solo
19/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 14 – Pau / Luchon-Superbagnères (182,6 km) – Tadej POGACAR (UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG), Thymen ARENSMAN (INEOS GRENADIERS) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
The Dutchman crossed the Col de Peyresourde with a 1’20’’ lead over his closest rivals, including Martinez, who secured the polka dot jersey by taking second place, and 3’30’ over the Yellow Jersey group, which began its chase under the impetus of UAE Team Emirates-XRG.
Entering the final climb, the Ineos Grenadiers rider keeps his hopes alive with a 2’15‘’ lead over his closest pursuers and 3’05’’ over the yellow jersey group. Felix Gall (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was the first of the GC contenders to attack, with 8 km to go. Then Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) set off 4 km later.
Vingegaard and Pogacar traded attacks until the Slovenian got the better of his Danish rival in the final stretch, opening a gap of 4’’ on the line. But Arensman had already finished a minute earlier, for a maiden Tour victory in his maiden participation. Fifth on the day, Florian Lipowitz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) takes the white jersey as well as the third place in the overall standings left vacant by Evenepoel.
Tour de France 2025 | Stage 13 | Loudenvielle > Peyragudes – July 18, 2025
On the day after he overtook his rivals at Hautacam, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) brought another dominant performance to Peyragudes.
He was already a winner at the ski resort in 2022, and now again the Slovenian 3-time winner of the Tour de France dominated the uphill time trial held on the same slopes, matching his record at La (Super) Planche des Belles Filles, where he also won an ITT (2020) and a road stage (2022).
Pogacar brings his tally to 21 Tour stage wins, with 9 of these successes coming in the Pyrenees. He’s also reigned in the last six finishes atop category 1 or HC climbs. In the overall standings, he claimed his 46th Maillot Jaune and pushed his lead over Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) to 4’07’’ while Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) had another tough day and now trails by 7’24’’. The peloton remains in the Pyrenees to face a very different challenge on Saturday, with four major ascents en route to Luchon-Superbagnères.
18/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 13 – Loudenvielle / Peyragudes (10,9 km CLM) – Primoz ROGLIC (RED BULL – BORA – HANSGROHE) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
The day had some sad images as well. Perhaps for the first time ever for him, Evenepol was passed as he neared the finish line by his rival, Jonas Vingegaard.
Kicking of the stage there was some concern among riders about avoiding elimination. Fortunately, the time limits were raised to 40% on this occasion instead of the 33% initially planned.
Plapp goes hard
Matteo Vercher sets an initial benchmark time (30’01’’) that was quickly beaten by Jordi Meeus (29’32’’), and then by Roel van Sintmaartensdijk (29’12’’). The race then entered a different phase with the arrival of young climber Lennert Van Eetvelt, the first rider to break the 28-minute barrier (27’49’’).
The Lotto rider then ceded the hot seat to Luke Plapp, who combined the qualities of a
18/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 13 – Loudenvielle / Peyragudes (10,9 km CLM) – Remco EVENEPOEL (SOUDAL QUICK-STEP) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
rouleur and a climber, which he had already demonstrated in Paris-Nice in 2024 (6th). Reaching the top of the final ramp with a time of 24’58” (26.2 km/h), the Australian champion took a comfortable lead in the provisional standings.
Roglic took the hot seat, Pogacar took it all
18/07/2025 – Tour de France 2025 – Étape 13 – Loudenvielle / Peyragudes (10,9 km CLM) – Jonas VINGEGAARD (TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE) (c) A.S.O. Billy Ceusters
On the hunt for KOM points, Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) was having a good day. The French youngster only trailed by 9’’ halfway through the ascent but he faltered on the final gradients and crossed the line with a gap of 23’’. Adam Yates also trailed by 4’’ at the 2nd intermediate checkpoint (km 7.6) and 17’’ on the line.
As the GC contenders set off, Plapp’s lead was under threat. He resisted Matteo Jorgenson (+5’’) but Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) edged him out of the lead. The Slovenian proved to be the third strongest man of the day, ahead of his teammate Florian Lipowitz, 36 seconds behind him.
Ahead, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) delivered another strong performance: 23’00’’ (28.4 km/h). Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) was his closest rival (+36’’), crossing the line just before Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step), who had another tough day (12th, +2’39’’).
If you are looking for some semi-challenging mountain biking terrain, this might be right for you.
I lucked out with a parking space right next to the trail start.
According to local historical sources, more than 30 quarries operated at Hook Mountain. In the early 1900’s the Palisades Interstate Park Commission purchased the quarries, and built the parks and trails as we see them today. But remnants of the old operation can still be seen at the start of the trail.
If you follow the entire trail to Haverstraw, you will be able to ride almost 5 miles in each direction. Going north is more challenging than the return, but in the fall with a narrow path and a leaf covered trail, with gravely terrain, and rapid climbs, you could experience a little bit more than the usual challenge, depending on your fitness level.
