After a doping scandal upended the sport, professional cycling is pursuing dual challenges of keeping cycling honest and convincing a skeptical audience it is.

Analysis of the final day of action at the 2025 Tour de France – a 132km stage finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris

Former Wolves and England footballer Geoff Thomas has completed his seventh Tour De France challenge with the hope of raising £1m for research into leukaemia. Thomas, who lives in Worcestershire, has been part of Tour 21 team which has been following the exact same route as the Tour De France, a week ahead of the professionals racing.

American and Canadian riders raced with grit in the Tour de France, earning respect in France and giving fans at home something to cheer for.

The Tour de France’s reputation precedes it. Even if you’ve never seen a bike race or struggle to name a professional rider, the most casual of sports fans are aware of just how physically and mentally demanding the event can be.

Italy's Jonathan Milan, second left, celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 160.4 kilometers (99.7 miles) with start in Bollene and finish in Valence, France, Wednesday, July 23, 2025. Credit: AP/Mosa'ab Elshamy

Two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard on today's final: "It's just, in general, a very hard climb. It's 13.5km so it's a very long climb. It will take between 30 and 40 minutes to climb it so, in general, I think today will be a hard day."

She won the first Tour de France Feminin. Now, after crashing her bike in early October, this Boulder woman is facing another uphill battle: recovery.